The killings of nine farm workers in Sagay, Negros Occidental over the weekend were part of a plot of the New People鈥檚 Army to oust President Rodrigo Duterte, the military said Wednesday.
In a press briefing, Armed Forces chief Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. said the workers were recruited and allegedly deceived by the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), a front organization of the communist rebels.
Galvez claimed the workers paid the NFSW an amount of P500 for one hectare of land, less than two days before the incident.
The nine farmers were killed聽on Saturday night, after a small group of gunmen fired at them while they were eating dinner at their tents at Hacienda Nene in Brgy. Bulanon.
Based on accounts given by residents and authorities in the area, Galvez said the victims were neither workers nor claimants of the land and were recruited by the NFSW only in the morning on the day of the incident.
The Department of Agrarian Reform said the victims were also not entitled beneficiaries.
鈥淭hey were brought there by their recruiters from the NFSW who left just before the shooting happened,鈥� the AFP chief said.
鈥淚n all aspects, if you encamp at others鈥� land, you are inviting trouble. I have been working with land disputes for most of my career鈥�.If you step on others鈥� land without permission, this means war or trouble,鈥� he said.
An investigation is ongoing to determine the suspects behind the shooting. Authorities are looking at the involvement of other claimants, the landowners鈥� private army, and the communist rebels.
Part of 鈥楻ed October鈥�
Galvez added that the incident was part of their feared scenario from the 鈥淩ed October鈥� plot by communist rebels to remove the President from office.
Military officials earlier said the plot has lost steam, but said it remained a rolling plan of the communist rebels to destabilize the government.
鈥淎s we have been stressing in the past weeks, the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) has been hatching plans to oust the Duterte administration and this incident is part of their plan to rouse civil unrest and discredit the government,鈥� Galvez said.
He explained that this was part of 鈥淥plan Bungkalan,鈥� a campaign by the communists to take advantage of farmers鈥� causes for agrarian reform and use them as bait.
鈥淏y manipulating, deceiving and exploiting the needs of these farmers, the NSFW has put the lives of these farmers in grave danger by pitting them against the landowner and other claimants in the area, with the ends of jumpstarting an orchestrated nationwide protest by leftist groups,鈥� he said.
The AFP chief said it was also incredible that there were protests less than a day after the incident.
鈥淲ala pang isang araw after ng nangyari, nakita natin na nagkaroon ng rally sa DAR [Department of Agriculture], sa Davao, Surigao, Baguio, yung mga progresibong grupo. Parang masyadong napakabilis ng orchestration,鈥� he said.
鈥淗alatang it鈥檚 a sinister plot. There is orchestration somewhere. Nakikita namin may nagkukumpas, nakalatag na,鈥� he added.聽 /muf