Farmer shot dead outside home in Kabankalan

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY – A 53-year-old farmer was shot and killed outside his home in Sitio Abtao, Barangay Tapi, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, on Saturday night.

Police identified the victim only as “Jerry.”

Police Lt. Col. Roberto Indiape Jr., chief of the Kabankalan City Police Station, said the victim was drinking with his son-in-law when three unidentified men approached them.

One of the suspects, armed with an M16 rifle, shot the victim in the head while instructing the son-in-law to lie on the ground.

Indiape said the two other suspects entered the victim’s house, appearing to search for something before the group fled the scene.

The son-in-law was unharmed.

Police recovered two fired cartridge cases from an M16 rifle at the scene.

Indiape said they are not ruling out the possibility of insurgency-related motives but are also investigating other angles.

He noted that the victim was allegedly involved in a 2023 shooting incident that injured a man, reportedly in defense of his wife over a land dispute.

The killing occurred just two days after the Philippine Army’s 94th Infantry Battalion clashed with the New People’s Army in Barangay Tan-awan, injuring a Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit member and displacing 116 families in Barangay Carol-an.

Indiape clarified that Barangay Tapi is far from the encounter site.