Gunman shoots couple

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Two farmers who are reportedly members of a peasant group in Bukidnon were shot by a masked gunman in Barangay Halapitan, San Fernando town, Friday evening.

Human rights watchdog Karapatan identified

the victims as Guillermo Casas, 42, and Jocelyn Casas, 45.

It was not immediately known how the Casas are related, as a separate police report gave Jocelyn’s surname as Laurete.

Karapatan said the victims belonged to KasamaBukidnon, a local farmers’ organization affiliated with the leftist Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

Karapatan said Guillermo succumbed to two gunshot wounds, causing his immediate death, while Jocelyn was hit in the leg and is being treated at a hospital.

In an interview on Saturday, Lt. Colonel Mardy Hortillosa, Police Regional Office-10 spokesperson, said the victims were inside a store when a gunman approached and shot them at close range.

The gunman, Hortillosa said, used a caliber .45 pistol and was with “four companions who were wearing bonnets.” The suspects then fled on motorcycles, he added.

Karapatan said another member of the KasamaBukidnon, Nonoy Palma, was killed in the same barangay on June 16 by motorcycle-riding assassins.