The 15th IB soldiers burned down a peasant family’s house in Sityo Mantobaw, Purok 3, Barangay Linaon, Cauayan, Negros Occidental on November 28. The soldiers reportedly targeted the 54-year-old Carmelita Ulgasan’s home because of a long-standing accusation that her family supports the New People’s Army (NPA).

The human rights group September 21 Movement-South Negros condemned the soldiers for the arson. The family informed the group that Ulgasan and her niece discovered around 7:20 a.m. that the house had been burned down. They also reportedly found traces of combat boots around the burned house.

Earlier, around 6 a.m. while on their way home, the aunt and niece encountered several men they suspected to be soldiers, who questioned them before walking away.

Reaching their home, the open gate and the combat boot imprints in the area horrified them, prompting them to immediately leave and go to the barangay center.

They decided to return to the house several hours later to tend to their carabao, but found the house already burned down.

According to the September 21 Movement-South Negros, soldiers had repeatedly threatened the Ulgasan family and forced them to “surrender” to the government even before this violence. On September 13, the soldiers questioned Carmelita and her niece about the activities of the NPA. They accused Ulgasan’s niece of being a courier for the people’s army.

The soldiers encamped at Ulgasan’s house two days later. After they left, “surrenderers” turned military agents forcibly entered the house. One of them wore a bonnet, carried a weapon, and accused the Ulgasans of being NPA members.

On September 16, the same group returned and drove the family out of their house for two days. They also threatened the family not to report the incident to the barangay captain or to relatives. Afraid, the family still reported what happened to the barangay captain, which angered the soldiers. The military again threatened to kill someone.

Meanwhile, 15th IB soldiers attempted to forcibly enter the house of Margie Campos in Sityo Lunoy, Barangay Yao-yao in Cauayan on the evening of December 1. Campos and her two minor children were inside the house when the military attempted to break in. The incident terrified the family, especially the children.

In light of these cases of the 15th IB’s human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law, the September 21 Movement-South Negros called for the expulsion of military troops from the peasant communities. The group urged the Cauayan local government to address the oppression and abuse being suffered by its residents.