• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental authorities are investigating two separate incidents, after a man was found dead with a gunshot wound in Toboso town, and human skeletal remains were discovered in a sugarcane field in Murcia on May 30.
In Toboso, the lifeless body of a 35-year-old man, identified only by his alias “Roel,” was found along a roadside in Sitio Hayangon, Barangay Magticol. Police said the victim sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
Personnel from the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office transported the body to the Toboso Primary Health Care Facility for post-mortem examination. The victim was reportedly a resident of Sitio Winaswasan, Barangay Bandila, Toboso.
The discovery came just days after another fatal shooting in the municipality. On May 27, a 37-year-old businessman was ambushed and killed by four unidentified armed men in Sitio Bebang, Barangay General Luna.
Police investigation showed that the victim was waylaid and shot multiple times by the suspects, an attack that was witnessed by his 10-year-old daughter. The assailants reportedly fled toward the mountainous portion of the barangay after the incident.
Authorities are currently investigating whether the two shooting incidents are related.
The Toboso Police Station is coordinating with the Philippine Army to determine if members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were involved in the attacks.*
