The people of Barangay San Isidro, Las Navas, Northern Samar currently suffer from the 8th ID’s aerial bombing and several days of hamlet operations in their community since July 31. This military terrorist measure is being projected as a response to encounters with New People’s Army units in the province, but the National Democratic Front (NDF)-Eastern Visayas assert that the attacks primarily target civilians.

At 2:30 a.m. on July 31, the 8th ID dropped aerial bombs against the supposed New People’s Army camp in Barangay San Isidro. This roused the surrounding civilian communities from sleep.

The 8th ID’s unbridled attacks has targetted Barangay San Isidro for years. The barangay repeatedly faces shelling, disorder, and permanent fascist troop encampments. Since 2020, the 8th ID has fired cannon rounds at the forests around the village at least once a year. Batallions of fascist troops often conduct deranged operations here.

The forest surrounding the barangay provide food and livelihood for the residents. It provides vegetables, wildlife, fish, and rattan products not only for residents of San Isidro but of other nearby barangays. Many also farm and reside in this forest.

Aside from bombing, the 8th ID implements strict hamlet operations for nearly one week in the barangay as well as in nearby communities such as Barangay Imelda. Fascist troops prohibit residents from leaving their barangay, even to tend their farm, sell farm products, or visit neighboring villages.

In past hamlets, the local government of Las Navas merely distributed a meager 61 sacks of rice, or about five kilograms per family for 536 families in Barangay San Isidro, as consolation aid for residents unable to earn a livelihood due to the bans.

According to NDF-Eastern Visayas, this handout lasts only up to two days for every five-person family. The aid is woefully insufficient, especially since the hamlet operations last from several days to several months in an area.

“The 8th ID’s actions show that their suppression targets not only the New People’s Army but especially the peasant masses. In their insane effort to crush the people’s armed struggle, entire communities suffer from their hamlet operations and militarization,” the group said.

NDF-EV calls on the public, especially human rights defenders and those concerned for farmers, to help expose the effects of the 8th ID’s full-scale war. “Let us amplify the farmers’ call for true and lasting peace, not the Marcos regime’s illusioned false peace,” it said.

The revolutionary group urged the people of Las Navas to unite, bravely expose their plight, and resist the oppressive fascist military. “They must rely on their own strength to assert their rights,” it added.