BACOLOD CITY – A 39-year-old man was gunned down while sleeping with his live-in partner in a sugarcane field in Barangay Palampas, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on Monday, November 6.
Police identified the victim as Ronald Santillan, 39.

A 39-year-old man was shot dead while sleeping in a sugarcane field in Barangay Palampas, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on Monday, November 6. (Photo courtesy of San Carlos City Police Station)
Police Staff Sgt. Epifanio Mercado Jr., case investigator, said that an unidentified person arrived and shot the victim.
The suspect, reported to be a drug personality, fled, leaving the victim’s live-in partner unharmed.
Police recovered from the crime scene an empty shell and a slug of a .45 caliber pistol.
Mercado said the couple recently left their rented house and decided to stay in the sugarcane field to hide after Santillan was wounded in a shooting incident a few weeks ago.
Santillan was shot after he confronted a man who allegedly slapped his live-in partner due to a misunderstanding, Mercado said.
Mercado said they are investigating if this is related to the killing and if the same suspect was behind the two incidents.