Residents expelled 105th IB troops carrying out the counterinsurgency Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) in Sitio Green Valley, Barangay Nalus, Kiamba, Sarangani. The said military unit had been encamped in the barangay for several months.

The masses’ assertion finally forced them out on June 2. Residents banded together and took steps to expel the soldiers. Sitio leaders and some barangay officials joined them in the anti-fascist struggle.

The residents’ actions included collectively leaving the barangay center to live in the lower part of the community. They also defied the soldiers’ orders such as buying supplies, fetching water, and others.

The military’s encampment in the barangay center violates the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). This is an agreement signed by the negotiating panels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines on March 16, 1998 in The Hague, The Netherlands, specifically covering areas with armed conflict.

It violated Part IV (Respect for International Humanitarian Law), Article 12 of CARHRIHL: “Civilian population shall have the right to be protected against the risks and dangers posed by the presence of military camps in urban centers and other populated areas.”

Lt. Col. Erikzen Dacoco serves as commander of the 105th IB, appointed only last February. The battalion has existed for just over three years since it was formed under the 6th ID in February 2023. It is based in Sitio Matinong, Barangay Little Baguio, Surallah, South Cotabato.