For two years, now 2-year-old Baby Marx Cairo Salino has been separated from his family. On January 13, 2021, the 79th IB took him during a raid on the house of the Madin family in Hacienda Ambulong, Barangay San Fernando, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.

Since then, the military has been holding the baby hostage and has refused to return him to the custody of his relatives. Baby Marx is the son of Ka Peeta and Ka Jandy, both fighters of the New People’s Army in Negros.

The military is using Baby Marx as a hostage to force his parents to surrender. The DSWD refused to turn him over to his grandparents because the military still needed to be “consulted”.

Baby Marx’s grandfather and grandmother have been repeatedly subjected to pressure, intimidation and surveillance. In the first quarter of 2022, soldiers raided their temporary home. Because of this, they were forced to hide.