Active case
Negros killings
Documents violence · crimes against children · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.
The Negros killings refer to a series of targeted assassinations carried out by unidentified gunmen in the Philippine provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental. Many victims were suspected communists, sympathizers, farmers, or land reform activists. According to the Defend Negros Movement, the first recorded extrajudicial killing on Negros Island was Alexander Ceballos on January 20, 2017, and the group alleges at least 84 people have been killed since then. Human Rights Watch has linked violence in the region to conflicts over landlessness and land reform.
On October 20, 2018, gunmen killed nine sugarcane farmers, including four women and two children, members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers, while they ate dinner in a makeshift tent in Sagay, Negros Occidental. On December 27, 2018, three armed men killed a member of the Isugan family in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, reportedly due to the family's involvement in a peasant organization; their house was later burned down. Following escalating violence, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea signed Memorandum Order No. 32 on November 23, 2018, under President Rodrigo Duterte, deploying additional troops to Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Samar, and the Bicol Region, but killings continued afterward.
In 2019, violence intensified further. On March 30, simultaneous police operations in three Negros Oriental municipalities left 14 people dead and 12 arrested; police and the CIDG said the dead were members of the New People's Army who resisted arrest, while Karapatan and farmers' groups Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura and the National Federation of Sugar Farmers said the victims were farmers and habal-habal drivers. The provincial police director and three officers were relieved from duty, and multiple human rights bodies and officials called for investigations. In July 2019, a wave of killings occurred, including an ambush that killed four police officers in Ayungon, the killing of lawyer Anthony Trinidad in Guihulngan, and the killings of school principal Arthur Bayawa, his sister Ardale Bayawa, barangay chairman Romeo Alipan, Canlaon City Councilor Ramon Jalandoni, former mayor Edsel Enardecido, his cousin Leo Enardecido, and barangay chair Ernesto Posadas, among others. Killings continued in 2020, including of NFSW member Jose "Jerry" Catalogo, church worker and paralegal Zara Alvarez, and Mary Rose Sancelan and her husband. In November 2022, poet and peace consultant Ericson Acosta and peasant organizer Joseph Jimenez were killed in Kabankalan City; Karapatan stated they were captured alive before being reported by the military as casualties of an armed encounter, prompting a Commission on Human Rights probe.
Responses to the killings have been sharply divided. PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde deployed Special Action Force commandos and suggested the CPP-NPA could be responsible for propaganda purposes, while the CPP accused military, police, and paramilitary forces of orchestrating the attacks. The Commission on Human Rights and human rights group Karapatan called for investigations and linked the killings to government operations including Memorandum Order 32. Senators, bishops, and other officials have publicly condemned the violence, and no comprehensive resolution or accountability has been publicly documented across the case as a whole.
Key facts
- Victims
- Mary Rose Sancelan, Ernesto Posadas, Zara Alvarez, Edsel Enardecido, Raul Fat, Fedirico Sabejon, Ericson Acosta, Alexander Ceballos, Joseph Jimenez, Leo Enardecido, Ardale Bayawa, Anaciancino Rosalita, Arthur Bayawa, Cristal Faith Jastiva, Fernando Toreno, Anthony Trinidad, Ramon Jalandoni, Bernardino "Toto" Patigas, Jose "Jerry" Catalogo, Joshua Partosa, Romeo Alipan
- Date
- 1969
- Location
- Negros Island (Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental), Philippines
- Case status
- unsolved
Case timeline
2017-01-20
Alexander Ceballos killed; described by the Defend Negros Movement as the first recorded extrajudicial killing on Negros Island.
2018-10-20
Nine sugarcane farmers, including four women and two children, killed by gunmen in Sagay, Negros Occidental.
2018-11-23
Memorandum Order No. 32 signed, deploying additional troops to Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Samar, and Bicol Region.
2018-12-27
Armed men kill a member of the Isugan family in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental; their house is later burned down.
2019-03-30
Simultaneous police operations in three Negros Oriental municipalities leave 14 dead and 12 arrested.
2019-04-22
Escalante councilor and massacre survivor Bernardino 'Toto' Patigas killed by a motorcycle gunman.
2019-07-18
Four police officers killed in an ambush in Barangay Mabato, Ayungon.
2019-07-24
Lawyer Anthony Trinidad killed and his wife injured by motorcycle gunmen in Guihulngan.
2019-07-25
Arthur Bayawa, his sister Ardale Bayawa, and barangay chairman Romeo Alipan killed in separate incidents in Guihulngan.
2019-07-26
Fedirico Sabejon killed by gunmen on a motorcycle in Siaton.
2019-07-27
Ernesto Posadas, Ramon Jalandoni, Edsel Enardecido, and Leo Enardecido killed in separate incidents in Canlaon.
2019-07-28
Anaciancino Rosalita gunned down in broad daylight in Canlaon.
2019-08-15
Grade 11 student Joshua Partosa killed in Sibulan; barangay officials Raul Fat and Fernando Toreno killed in Negros Occidental.
2019-08-18
Cristal Faith Jastiva shot by motorcycle assailants in Bago, Negros Occidental.
2020-06-23
NFSW member Jose 'Jerry' Catalogo assassinated in Escalante.
2020-08-17
Church worker and paralegal Zara Alvarez killed in Bacolod.
2020-12-15
Mary Rose Sancelan and her husband killed by a gunman in Guihulngan.
2022-11-30
Ericson Acosta and Joseph Jimenez killed in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Mary Rose Sancelan
VICTIMKilled by a gunman on a motorcycle outside a subdivision in Guihulngan on December 15, 2020, along with her husband.
citation on file
Ernesto Posadas
VICTIMBarangay chair of Panubigan, Canlaon, killed inside his home on July 27, 2019.
citation on file
Zara Alvarez
VICTIMChurch worker and paralegal gunned down in Bacolod on August 17, 2020.
citation on file
Edsel Enardecido
VICTIMFormer mayor killed in his home in Canlaon on July 27, 2019.
citation on file
Raul Tacaca
LAW ENFORCEMENTProvincial police chief of Negros Oriental relieved from post following the April 2019 killings, reinstated, then relieved again in July 2019.
citation on file
Raul Fat
VICTIMBarangay councilor gunned down in Negros Occidental around August 15, 2019.
citation on file
Fedirico Sabejon
VICTIMKilled by gunmen on a motorcycle in Siaton on July 26, 2019.
citation on file
Ericson Acosta
VICTIMPoet and peace consultant killed in Kabankalan City on November 30, 2022; Karapatan says he was captured alive before being reported as killed in an alleged armed encounter.
citation on file
Alexander Ceballos
VICTIMKilled January 20, 2017; described as the first recorded extrajudicial killing on Negros Island.
citation on file
Joseph Jimenez
VICTIMPeasant organizer killed alongside Ericson Acosta in Kabankalan City on November 30, 2022.
citation on file
Leo Enardecido
VICTIMCousin of Edsel Enardecido, killed in Canlaon on July 27, 2019.
citation on file
Ardale Bayawa
VICTIMKilled alongside her brother Arthur Bayawa inside their home on July 25, 2019.
citation on file
Anaciancino Rosalita
VICTIMResident of Barangay Bucalan, Canlaon, gunned down in broad daylight on July 28, 2019.
citation on file
Arthur Bayawa
VICTIMGuihulngan Science High School principal killed inside his home on July 25, 2019.
citation on file
Cristal Faith Jastiva
VICTIM24-year-old woman shot by two motorcycle assailants in Bago on August 18, 2019.
citation on file
Fernando Toreno
VICTIMFormer barangay councilor gunned down in Negros Occidental around August 15, 2019.
citation on file
Anthony Trinidad
VICTIMLawyer killed by motorcycle gunmen in Guihulngan on July 24, 2019; his wife was injured.
citation on file
Ramon Jalandoni
VICTIMCanlaon City Councilor killed in his home on July 27, 2019.
citation on file
Bernardino "Toto" Patigas
VICTIMEscalante councilor and Escalante Massacre survivor, killed by a motorcycle gunman on April 22, 2019.
citation on file
Jose "Jerry" Catalogo
VICTIMNational Federation of Sugar Workers member assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Escalante on June 23, 2020.
citation on file
Joshua Partosa
VICTIMGrade 11 student gunned down and stabbed by four assailants in Sibulan on August 15, 2019.
citation on file
Romeo Alipan
VICTIMBarangay chairman killed in his home in Guihulngan on July 25, 2019.
citation on file
Oscar Albayalde
LAW ENFORCEMENTPNP Chief who deployed Special Action Force commandos to Negros Island and stated the March 2019 operation was not a massacre.
citation on file
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- A series of targeted assassinations by unidentified gunmen in Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental, Philippines, beginning in the late 2010s and continuing into the 2020s, killed farmers, activists, local officials, police, and others, with responsibility disputed between state forces, paramilitaries, and communist rebels.
- Where did the killings happen?
- Negros Island (Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental), Philippines.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: unsolved.
Sources
- Negros killingswikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Duterte orders more military, police troops to Samar, Bicol, Negros Islandnews · rappler.com · 2026-07-07
- 13 killings in 5 days stoke martial law talk in Negrosnews · newsinfo.inquirer.net · 2026-07-07