Karapatan-Bicol condemned the Armed Forces of the Philippines soldiers for shooting two farmers in Barangay del Rosario, in Jovellar, Albay and for the arrest and harassment of two others on April 25.

The group said the soldiers illegally arrested and prostrated uncle-and-nephew Ernesto Lumangaya and Arlan Lumangaya, at 2 in the morning. During this time, Ace Diano and Francis Leteral who were onboard a motorcycle passed by on their way from the feast in Barangay Libtong de Vera which is under the jurisdiction of Donsol, Sorsogon.

The soldiers shouted at the two motorcyclists to stop and shot them when the riders did not comply due to fear. Leteral was hit in both legs and Diano in the arm.

“Because they shot mere civilians, the military fled leaving their victims without first aid or taking to the nearest hospital,” according to Karapatan-Bicol. In haste, the soldiers also left the pair they intended to arrest. The latter were even the ones who sought their fellow villagers’ help to take the two wounded farmers to the hospital.

According to the group’s information, this incident came after successive cases of harassment and illegal house searches in the barangays of del Rosario, Jovellar, Albay and in de Vera, Donsol, Sorsogon. “Residents call for the cessation of militarization in their areas because of trauma and other concerns,” according to the group.

On April 26, to cover up their heinous crimes and heaping human rights violations, the 31st IB and local agencies schemed a “Community Peace Dialogue and Service Caravan” in Barangay del Rosario. The 31st ordered health agencies and other local government agencies for their hypocritical service delivery.

Under the guise of medical services, food distribution and free haircuts, the butchers launched a recruitment campaign in the reactionary army and disseminated lies favoring the anti-people and bogus Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program or E-CLIP.