By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) ambushed and killed a planter and his driver in Barangay Minapasok, Calatrava, Negros Occidental, yesterday morning.
Police identified the fatalities as 67-year-old Norberto Lumayno and driver Danilo Braga, 45, both residents of the said town.
Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) acting director, Police Senior Superintendent Rodolfo Castil, said, based on initial investigations by Calatrava municipal police, the two victims were travelling along Purok Green Hills when they were ambushed by around 15 heavily-armed men.
Eyewitness testimony also determined the men were armed with assault rifles, with one of the suspects seen carrying an M203 grenade launcher.
Both Lumayno and Braga were killed on the spot.
Members of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) recovered several empty .45 caliber, M203, AK47, M14, and M16 shells.
Following the incident, Philippine Army 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) commander, Major General Jon Aying, said the 62nd Infantry Battalion (62ID) encountered the armed men in the neighboring town of Toboso.
Aying said the firefight lasted for 15 minutes, with several of the rebels believed to be wounded.
The army also recovered one .45 caliber pistol, one grenade, subversive documents, a portable gas stove, medical kits, and two NPA flags.
Castil, meanwhile, said they are also not ruling out land conflict as the cause of the incident as Lumayno was a sugar planter.
Following the incident, the NOPPO chief said they have to further strengthen their police presence in the town./WDJ