KARAPATAN: Under Marcos Jr., virtual martial law prevails in Negros, Masbate

KARAPATAN deplored the existence of virtual martial law in many villages targeted by counter-insurgency operations which have spawned multiple human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law.

“Most of the reported incidents occurred in Negros and Bicol, the regions most battered by human rights violations, with Karapatan monitoring at least 22 incidents in January 2025 in Negros alone,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay. “This is no doubt the result of the Duterte-era Executive Order No. 32, which ordered heightened military operations in Negros, Bicol and Samar, and which Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has continued to implement with impunity.”

The latest reported incident was the wounding of 61-year-old Marcial Detalo, a resident of Sitio Balunos, Barangay Rizal, Dimasalang, Masbate. Detalo was shot in the back on January 19, 2025 when elements of the 2nd Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Philippine Army fired their weapons indiscriminately. To cover up their crime, they concocted a story that Detalo was hit by a stray bullet during a five-minute skirmish with the New People’s Army (NPA).

The soldiers brought Detalo to hospital but warned the villagers not to report the incident, and sent additional troops to the area to intimidate the residents. The irate residents, however, took to social media to report it.

On January 16, 2025, operating soldiers of the 62nd IBPA hit 16-year-old Jumong Dayono with a sickle when he could not answer their questions on where the NPA was. It was the second time Dayono, a resident of Sitio Punong, Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, was tortured by the 62nd IB. On November 5, 2024, he sustained bruises on his abdomen when he was struck by a soldier while he and his grandfather were held at gunpoint and interrogated by soldiers.

On January 14, 2025, Dado Sanchez, a charcoal maker from Sitio Palosais, Barangay Mahalang, Himamaylan who was forced by elements of the 94th IB to guide them in their military operation, remains missing to date.

The day after, in Sitio Nahulop of the same barangay, couple Aira and Joseph Gonzales, fellow villager Alfred Hilado and another companion were beaten up and forcibly arrested by the military. Hilado and Joseph Gonzales, who was suffering from internal bleeding, remain missing.

The soldiers planted firearms, explosives and alleged revolutionary documents on the victims. They also confiscated the cellphones of Sitio Nahulop residents, accusing them of supporting the New People’s Army.

On January 10, 2025, Rodney “Ka Wanny” Lumanog, 54, an NPA guerrilla captured alive after an armed encounter in Sitio Cambogui-ot, Barangay Camindangan, Sipalay, Negros Occidental, was tortured and summarily executed by elements of the 15th IBPA. Rendered hors de combat, Lumanog was killed in violation of international humanitarian law and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

“These atrocities are being perpetrated against civilians and hors de combat by soldiers who lord it over villagers, often undermining civilian authority,” said Palabay. “We demand a stop to the intensifying militarization of vast areas of the countryside and the rights violations they continue to engender.”