Seven ARBs hurt in Cadiz land dispute shooting

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — Seven agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs), recipients of the government’s land redistribution program, were wounded after they were allegedly shot by a group of security guards in a sugarcane field in Hacienda Escolastica, Barangay Mabini, Cadiz City, Negros Occidental on Tuesday.

A report from Police Regional Office–Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) indicated that the farmers were harvesting sugarcane that morning when seven security guards hired by the owner of the crops suddenly arrived aboard a white pickup truck to stop the victims.

A heated argument ensued, during which the suspects allegedly drew their issued service firearms and fired several shots into the ground as warning shots.

The victims were hit in the lower parts of their bodies.

The victims were brought to a hospital, while the suspects were later brought to the Cadiz City Police Station for custody and further investigation.

The PRO-NIR strongly condemned the violent act that endangered members of the community.

Police Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, the PRO-NIR director, said in a statement the police will never tolerate the unlawful use of firearms to intimidate or harm others.

Appropriate charges are being pursued, and the regional office ensures that the perpetrators are held fully accountable under the law.

The guards have undergone paraffin tests, and their issued firearms have been turned over to the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) Provincial Forensic Unit for ballistic examination and gunpowder residue testing.

In addition, a formal request for license verification of the security agency was submitted to the Regional Civil Security Unit 6, followed by a second request for a comprehensive records check to determine the legality of the agency’s posting and deployment.