Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an investigation into the killing of nine farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental.
The attack on the farmers, which happened last Saturday, October 20, drew condemnation from Malacañang and various sectors of society.
“I have directed the NBI to do its own investigation of the Sagay massacre,” Guevarra said in a message to reporters.
He said he required the NBI to submit a progress report to the Department of Justice and file the appropriate complaint as evidence might warrant against the perpetrators of the crime.
The NBI is the primary investigating agency of the DOJ for such crimes.
The farmer, including four women and minors, were resting at their makeshift shelter inside Hacienda Nene in Bulanon, Sagay city when unidentified armed men opened fire on them before fleeing.
The slain farmers were all members of the National Federation of Sugar Workers.
The local governments of Negros Occidental and Sagay City has already offered a P500,000 reward for any information that might lead to the identification and arrest of the perpetrators of the killings.
Aside from the Philippine National Police, the Department of Agrarian Reform and other agencies tasked with implementing the ComprehensiveAgrarian Reform Program have also created a task force to investigate the killing.