Rights group denounces recent rights violations in Negros

KARAPATAN condemned the series of rights violations perpetrated by elements of the 62nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental since May.

According to reports from the September 21st Movement, soldiers arrived at the house of peasant Alan Garde in Sitio Kapudlusan, Barangay Sandayao on May 15, 2025, interrogated him and were forcing Garde to admit to being a supporter of the New People’s Army.

On the same day, soldiers also barged into the house of Rocky Fat in Barangay Sandayao, ransacked the place and allegedly found firearms. The 62nd IBPA tried to arrest Fat on the basis of the firearms allegedly seized, but his family staunchly refused to allow the soldiers to take him. The military threatened Fat’s family that they would face charges if they report the incident to barangay officials and the police.

Meanwhile, siblings Bibiano Gemodo, a maker of household tools, and Helaria Bardok, a daycare worker, were slapped with a trumped-up case of violating the Anti-Terrorism Law. Gemodo and Bartok, both residents of Barangay Binobuhan, have reportedly been issued warrants of arrest.

KARAPATAN supports moves by the aggrieved residents to call on the Commission on Human Rights and the local government of Guihulngan City to investigate the cases of human rights violations perpetrated against them. KARAPATAN moreover expressed solidarity with the residents’ renewed demands to expel the military from their communities.

“The militarization of Negros communities has intensified under Marcos Jr., especially since Rodrigo Duterte issued Memorandum Order No. 32 intensifying troop deployment to Negros, Samar and Bicol,” said Karapatan deputy secretary general Maria Sol Taule. “Negros has borne the brunt of militarization, with the most number of extrajudicial killings and political prisoners. The cycle of human rights violations in Negros must stop,” concluded Taule.