Armed troopers of the Charlie Company of the 24th and 69th IB stole a resident’s cow in Barangay Guinguinabang, Lacub, Abra, late last month. The New People’s Army (NPA)-Abra disclosed in a report on Sunday that the soldiers butchered and ate the cow in Barangay Buneg, in Mt. Bumarayon.

Before the incident, the soldiers ransacked the quarters of small-scale miners in the same village and stole their personal belongings. The soldiers also burned their mining equipment. Similarly, the troopers razed a large portion of the forest between the towns of Lacub and Malicbong, damaging even the reactionary government’s National Greening Program nursery.

Meanwhile, farmers and minorities of at least seven villages in Malibcong have complained over nightly patrols of the Bravo Company of the said military units, which keep them awake. The military has been conducting counterinsurgency operations in barangays Lat-ey, Buanao, Umnap, Mataragan, Gacab, Duldulao and Poblacion since the first week of March.

Under the guise of containing Covid-19, the military has been operating in the towns of Lacub, Malicbong, Tubo, Pilar Villaviciosa and Luba, covering at least 13 villages and nearby forests. Residents are restricted from going to their farms, resulting in the loss of livelihoods.