On 22nd February 2018, Ronald Manlapat was killed by an unknown assailant in Sagay City, in Negros Occidental.

Ronald Manlapat was the leader of National Federation of Sugar Workers (NSFW), an organisation that works in defence of peasants rights. On 22nd February 2018 at around 5am, Ronald Manlapat was shot in the back of his head by unknown man while he was working in his farm.

Previously, Manlapat had been receiving threats for being actively involved  in organising labourers and farmers in their village. The island is widely known to be plagued by persistent issues of landlessness, landgrabbing, underpayment of wages of agricultural sugar workers, poverty and labour right violations, with the continuing dominance of big sugar barons and landlords in the province.