The military reportedly killed three civilians presented as NPA combatants in a fake encounter last week in Visayas. They are the most recent among those summarily killed in the brutal pursuit for “strategic victory” over the NPA.

In Samar, families call for justice for the killing of chainsaw helpers Joel Balading Recare and Oscar Alastoy by the police in Sitio Ibaliw, Barangay Sangay, Palapag, Northern Samar on May 5. Both were not members of the NPA, the families assert. They were residents of Barangay Capacujan and were only there for employment. Even the barangay captain and other barangay officals corroborated this. Their loved ones’ anguish was further aggravated because it took the police more than 24 hours to bring their bodies to the funeral parlor.

In Bohol, activist and organizer Arthur Lucenario was held by the 47th IB for one month before he was presented killed in an “encounter” on May 12 in Barangay Tabuan, Antequera. He was abducted on April 14 in San Miguel City. His remains bear marks of severe torture.

Meanwhile, the revolutionary forces in Bohol reported the killing of Manuel Tinio (Ka Dodie), peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Tinio was shot seven times on the night of April 14 while he was driving a motorcycle along the boundary between San Miguel and Ubay. The military planted a caliber .45 and claimed “firing back” to conceal the heinous act.

Illegal arrests. The 94th IB captured and forcibly disappeared farmer Allan Ramos in Sityo Dingalon, Hilamonan, Kabankalan City in the afternoon of May 11. The military claims Ramos was arrested after an alledged encounter with the NPA. In fact, soldiers strafed the family’s home before they abducted Ramos.

Meanwhile, the team searching for two forcibly disappeared IP advocates Dexter Capuyan and Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus determined recently that the two were forcefully boarded in two different vehicles by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detetection Group. They were last seen on April 28 in Taytay, Rizal.

Bombings. Two consecutive bombings and strafing operations were launched by the 203rd IBde in Oriental Mindoro on April 29 and May 8. The military first bombarded the mountains in the boundary between Roxas and Mansalay on April 29. The bombings were part of their “test firing” in the said area. The bombing caused distress to the 10,870 residents in the area.

On May 8, bombing and strafing harassed the residents of Barangay Tawas, Bongabong and Barangay Malo, Bansud. It targeted the residents’ huts and banana fields.