BACOLOD CITY — A total reward of PHP500,000 has been offered for any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects in the massacre of sugarcane workers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental on Saturday night.
Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., who condemned the killings in his own hometown in the strongest possible terms, said in a media interview on Sunday that his son, Sagay City Mayor Alfredo Marañon III, has put up a bounty of PHP250,000.
He added that the provincial government will also provide the same amount.
The governor said the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office has provided assistance to the families of victims along with City Social Welfare Office of Sagay.
“I directed the police to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident”, he added.
In a statement, Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Police Regional Office (PRO) Western Visayas director, also condemned the killings.
“We condemn this evil and cowardly act of these criminals. As Regional Director of PRO-6, I have issued orders to use maximum resources to arrest the suspects immediately so that due justice may be served to the victims and their families,” he said.
“I assure the victim’s families that we will not cease in our efforts until the perpetrators are placed behind bars,” Bulalacao added.
PRO-Western Visayas tagged the communist rebels in Negros Island as the suspects in the killing.
Bulalacao said the “Oplan Bungkalan at Okupasyon” of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) plans to occupy private and government properties using their mass base.
This is the suspected motive behind the mass murder of the nine farmers at Hacienda Nene in Barangay Bulanon, Sagay City, he added.
Bulalacao ordered all police field commanders in Western Visayas to exert efforts to pre-empt and prevent similar incidents from happening.
“Let’s coordinate with our counterparts from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other agencies to ensure that similar incidents will not happen again. We should use all our resources to stop them from doing their evil plans in Western Visayas,” he added.
According to the police, the fatalities were members of the National Federation of Sugarcane Workers (NFSW) who occupied the farm at Hacienda Nene on Saturday morning.
The male fatalities were identified as Eglicerio Villegas, 36; Paterno Baron, 48; Rene “Dodong” Laurencio; and Rannel “Bingbing” Bantigue, 41, while the females were Angelife Arsenal, 47; Morena Mendoza; and Marcelina “Necnec” Dumaguit.
The two minors were identified as Jomarie Ughayon Jr., 16, and Marchtel Sumicad, 17. (Nanette Guadalquiver/PNA)
