Senior citizen nabbed for slay of two caretakers

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) recently arrested a 62-year-old caretaker in Barangay Estefania here for allegedly conspiring with three unidentified individuals in the killing of two sugarcane field caretakers.

The suspect, identified as Hernane, of Barangay Talotog, Murcia, Negros Occidental, was tagged as the region’s second most wanted person.

The operation was carried out by the Murcia town police on Sept. 23 by virtue of an arrest warrant for two counts of murder with no bail recommended, issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 48 in Bacolod City on Sept. 1, 2025.

According to PRO-NIR, the attack allegedly stemmed from a dispute between the landowner and a positioner over who had the right to harvest the sugarcane first, which escalated tensions between the parties.

The regional office said it remains steadfast in its mission to protect the public and emphasized the importance of cooperation between the police and the community in ensuring a safer, more peaceful, and progressive Negros Island.