A human rights alliance condemned the killing of 55-year-old farmer-leader Warlita Jimenez and called for an independent investigation into the incident, which occurred late on December 23 in Sitio Makilo, Barangay Camansi, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
In a statement, Karapatan said Jimenez was shot dead inside her home at around 11pm. Citing the victim’s family, the group said two armed men wearing bonnets forcibly entered the house, barged into her bedroom, and shot her multiple times, killing her on the spot.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay condemned the killing, linking it to what the group described as a continuing pattern of human rights violations in Negros.
Rights groups September 21 Movement–South Negros and Human Rights Advocates in Negros (HRAN) also denounced the incident and joined the Jimenez family in calling for justice.
Jimenez was a local leader of a farmers’ organization in the same village.
Karapatan said she was the wife of Joseph Jimenez, a farmer-leader who died in 2022 in what the military described as an armed encounter alongside National Democratic Front (NDF) consultant Ericson Acosta—an account disputed by rights groups.
The alliance further alleged that after her husband’s death, Jimenez faced harassment and was repeatedly urged to “surrender” as an alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA), accusations the group denied.
Army denies allegations
Meanwhile, 15th Infantry Battalion commander lieutenant colonel Elmar Salvador earlier denied HRAN’s claims linking their army unit into the killing, stressing that the military does not target innocent civilians.
Salvador blamed the NPA for the incident, saying violence and the spreading of fear are tactics used by the rebel group.
He also stressed that “the military should not be blamed for the incident.”
He added that the Army’s presence in affected communities focuses on “healing and reconciliation,” not violence.
Salvador also said the NPA, weakened by the loss of its mass bases, is resorting to acts of terror to reassert its presence, noting that fear among residents is often used to facilitate the collection of so-called “revolutionary taxes.”
Karapatan cited previous killings in Negros, including the 2023 slay of members of the Fausto family in Himamaylan City, which it said followed repeated red-tagging.
The group criticized what it described as heightened militarization on the island and renewed its call for an independent and impartial investigation into Jimenez’s killing and other alleged extrajudicial killings.
Call for ceasefire
Church leaders appealed for calm and a Christmas ceasefire in the city following a series of killings linked to the decades-long government–communist armed conflict.
In a joint Christmas prayer and statement titled “May CALM descend on Kabankalan,” sent to Brigada News FM on Friday, December 26, three prelates said families are mourning lives lost on all sides and urged both the government and the communist movement to help prevent further bloodshed.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.