By REYNARD MAGTOTO
Baretang Bikolnon
What the military claim as rebels killed in an encounter in Masbate were actually farmers tending to their carabao by the river.
Relatives of slain farmers Ronel Abril and Roger Clores belie the claim of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army that they killed the two in an encounter at Barangay Simawa, Uson, Masbate. There was supposedly a firefight between the New People’s Army (NPA) early morning of September 26.
The families said that the Abril and Clores were, in fact, taken by armed men wearing fatigues at around 4:30 in the morning.
“I looked out the window and saw two men. They were tall and then they looked like they were in military uniform. It was still dark and they had a bag. Ronel was already at the front and crossed the river. The last one with him said they would take him first. After that, about 10 minutes later, I heard gunshots,” said Lolita, wife of Abril, who narrated the incident to local media in Masbate.
She said the military accused her husband of being an NPA member, which she said was not true.
“They also claim that he has a gun. If they want to go to our house, there are a lot of ‘itak’ because that’s what my husband uses to harvest coconuts. There is no gun,” said Lolita.
Even the residents of Barangay Simawa turned to social media to belie the narrative that Abril and Clores were members of the NPA who were killed in an encounter. They shared with the local media that an encounter did not happen nor were there any guns confiscated by the military.
Human rights group Karapatan-Masbate also said the two were “both farmers in their community tending to their carabaos in the riverside where the incident happened.”
‘Cover-up’
In a statement, NPA-Masbate said the killings were part of the AFP’s effort to conceal the conflict between the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) and the 2nd Infantry Battalion.
On September 25, a day before the killing of Abril and Clores, a CAFGU member reportedly killed the 2nd Infantry Battalion’s former press relations officer in Barangay Dapdap.
“Unable to endure the discrimination and mistreatment he was suffering, an element of CAFGU killed his military officer. The NPA-Masbate has also received some information that some military personnel fueled the CAFGU’s anger against his superior to have him killed,” the NPA-Masbate Jose Rapsing Command’s statement read.
The group further explained that the AFP intensifies its attacks against civilians “to make the counterinsurgency campaign appear to be gaining ground for them.” “The demoralized CAFGU, police and army are being molded into demented animals through brutal training and using illegal drugs to kill without conscience and sow terror.”
Masbate is the second province in the Philippines, next to Negros, with the most victims of political killings under the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Coconut planters Abril and Clores are the 34th and 35th victims of the 2nd Infantry Battalion, according to Karapatan-Masbate.
‘Under attack’
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)-Bicol condemned the rising number of extrajudicial killings in Masbate.
“Two poor families will be plunged into poverty greatly after the death of their breadwinners, which is made worse by injustice. What’s worse, the local government of Uson has taken no action on the incident,” said Jen Nagrampa, the group’s chairperson.
Currently, Masbate is home to various military units including the 2nd Infantry Battalion. “These military deployment results in widespread human rights violations against farmers,” Tanggol Pumuluyo said.
The province is also one of the areas under the Memorandum Order 32 (MO32), a policy signed by former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 and being continued by the Marcos Jr. administration. MO32 is a regional complement to the nationwide implementation of Executive Order 70 (EO70) or the “all-of-nation approach” to counterinsurgency.
“MO32 had been implemented to justify such militarization with a declaration of “lawless violence” in the area. This explained the presence of the 2nd Infantry Battalion, which justified murdering farmers by red-tagging them,” Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) said in a statement.
According to Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol, 70% of the barangays in Masbate are currently under the government’s Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP). “Under the RCSP, martial law seems to rule the peasant communities. An unprecedented campaign of terror, intimidation and killing was inflicted on the farmers,” the group said.
UMA National Chairperson Ariel ‘Ka Ayik’ Casilao said that these policies mainly target farmers who assert their right to land.
Call for justice
Human rights groups in Masbate encouraged the families of the victims of human rights violations not to be swayed by the military’s threats. They pointed out the importance of working together in holding the military accountable for their crimes.
“Let us continue to call for justice for Clores and Abril, as well as for all the victims of EJK in the entire Bicol region,” Nagrampa said.