The 87th IB continues to sow terrorism in the towns of Samar. Its latest crime is the shooting and killing of a peasant father and son by its butcher soldiers in Santo Ñiño, Paranas, Samar on February 5. As in other cases, they falsely claimed that the two were Red fighters of the New People’s Army to cover up their crime and liability under international humanitarian law.

The father and son Renato and Reymark Gabac were bound for their farm at 8 a.m. to tend to their carabao when they encountered the soldiers. Residents said the soldiers mistook the two for Red fighters following a clash at 4:20 a.m. in a distant part of the boundary of Barangay Santo Niño and Barangay Maylobe.

Renato had just returned to Samar after staying for some time in Manila. He left the island because the 87th IB kept pressuring him to serve as an informant in their barangay against the people’s army.

“They shamelessly brag about their victory despite the fact that the photo they themselves took clearly shows that the father and son were only carrying machetes,” the NPA-Western Samar stated. The soldiers reportedly dressed up and changed the clothes of the two, which barangay residents said were not what they were wearing when they left their home.

The Gabacs’ location was far from the clash site, according to the NPA-Samar. The soldiers deliberately killed the two out of anger due to their successive failures from a series of attacks and encounters with NPA units in the first week of February.

According to the unit’s report, the 82nd Division Reconnaisance Company (DRC) failed to annihilate an NPA team in Barangay Calapi, Motiong on February 1. The NPA-Western Samar said the Red fighters effectively defended themselves killing one DRC officer while the group safely withdrew without casualties.

The NPA-Western Samar unit also safely withdrew from the February 5 encounter site. Exasperated and angry, the military fired 17 mortar rounds in a desperate attempt to hit the NPA unit.

The 87th IB bombarded the towns of Samar several times before. In September 2023, it shelled villages in San Nicolas and Aguingayan in San Jose de Buan for a week, terrorizing villagers. Along with these acts of terrorism, farmers were prohibited from visiting their farms. Schools were also forced to close. Villagers said they fared better when pests and rats attack because at least they are left with something to harvest. But they starve when the 87th IB attacks.

Residents reported another bombing in Sitio San Pedro, Barangay 3, San Jose de Buan, Samar in June 2024. This was the military’s retaliatory attack after an NPA-Western Samar harassment operation killed a soldier. The military’s shelling and prohibitions prevented most farmers from farm their swidden plots. Others were forced to evacuate for fear of being hit by bombs. Besides shelling, soldiers also stole animals and food from the farmers.

The 87th IB’s severe disruption prompted sitio residents to unite to demand the expulsion of the soldiers camped in their area.

The NPA-Western Samar extended condolences to the relatives of the Gabac father and son and other victims of the 87th IB. It vowed that the time will come when the revolutionary movement will make the vicious 87th IB pay for their heinous crimes against the people.