Sagay shooting survivors deny they had guns while in hacienda

Three survivors on Monday said their group did not have guns at Hacienda Nene, where nine of their fellow farmers were murdered Saturday in Barangay Bulanon in Sagay, Negros Occidental.

In a press conference, Bobstil Sumikad, Rogelio Arguillo, Rene Manlangit, three out of the 16 survivors, said that their organization, the Negros Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), did not bring guns at the hacienda, according to a report by Chino Gaston on GMA News TV's Balitanghali.

They also denied that the NFSW is a front of the rebel group New People’s Army.

The three survivors said they left their camp to charge phones and use the restroom when the massacre took place Saturday night.

They heard auto-fire shots of guns, followed by consecutive single shots. The shooting happened in a span of almost 30 minutes.

Survivors of the farmer-killings in Sagay, Negros Occidental say they heard automatic gunfire followed by intermittent single shots. Some of bodies were covered with cloth and burned. pic.twitter.com/ziYDQYbZBx

— Chino Gaston (@chinogaston) October 22, 2018

When they returned to their camp, nine people were already dead. They said there was also an attempt to burn some of the bodies.

Before the shooting incident, someone called to alert the farmers that there were men wearing bonnets seen roaming around the hacienda aboard three to four motorcycles, survivors said.

The survivors could not tell who were behind the massacre.

They mentioned that they have the permission of the person who leased the land to plant in the hacienda after the harvest of sugarcane.

In a separate phone interview on Balitanghali on Monday, NFSW secretary general Butch Lozande believes that the land owner's personnel were the perpetrators of the crime, adding that the military may also have a hand on the incident.

"Unang-una po na major na suspect namin 'yung mga tauhan ng mga panginoong may lupa, 'yung haciendero... 'yung land owner po kasi po marami silang security guards at mga civilian na mga goons sa hacienda," Lozande said.

"May pagduda rin kami na ang mga taong ito ay former miyembro din ng mga RPA (Revolutionary Proletarian Army) noon at may mga koneksyon sa military especially sa Philippine Army sa area na 'yun," he added.

Since 2001, the awarding of the land to the beneficiaries has been obstructed by a deed of donation.

According to the survivors, there is conflict as to who the real owner of the land is.

The NFSW admitted that they decided to occupy the land so the Department of Agrarian Reform would be forced to expedite the distribution process of the land to the beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, according to authorities, victims as well as witnesses underwent paraffin test to determine if they had also fired gunshots at the suspects.

"Bale itong mga biktima and witnesses ay kinuhanan ng paraffin test para malaman natin kung nagkaroon ng putukan doon sa mga biktima at suspects," said Senior Inspector Irene Cordua of the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office in a separate Balitanghali interview.

"As of now, wala pang resulta sa paraffin test dahil pinadala pa natin ito sa Iloilo for laboratory and may nakuha doon sa biktima na caliber .38 and mga bala ng shotgun," Cordua added. —Joviland Rita and Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA News