At least 24 troops of the 62nd IB stormed and fired at the house of the dela Peña family in Sityo Inangaw, Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental on early May 21. After that, the soldiers illegally arrested Richard dela Peña, took him away from his house and extrajudicially killed him.

In line with their usual practice, the 62nd IB falsely claimed that the victim was killed in an armed encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA). The NPA-Central Negros (Leonardo Panaligan Command) denied this by saying that they did not encounter any government troops on that day and place.

Ka JB Regalado, spokesperson of the NPA-Central Negros said “to cover up their desperation, the military butchers planted ‘recycled’ evidences of M16, bandolier and documents with the victim.”

The spokesperson further emphasized that the victim was not armed and was not a member. “Our weapons are all accounted for…which we use to advance revolutionary work in Central Negros,” he said.

3rd ID troops have staged at least 11 fake encounters in Negros for the first quarter of the year. Multiple human rights violations have been recorded in these incidents.