Residents of the town of Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar exposed the abuses they suffer from the 19th IB in their community. Stationed in Barangay Geparayan de Turag, this military unit is implicated in cases of human rights violations.

The said detachment stands right beside residents’ homes, and is swarmed with large numbers of stationed soldiers who spill over and mix with civilians, in violation of international humanitarian law. They also conduct destructive combat operations that disrupt the livelihoods of peasants and residents.

The military’s violations include the secret “tracking” of peasants going to and working in their fields. The military orders residents to carry a cellphone without explaining its purpose, threatening them not to touch the phone inside their bag. Soldiers take back the phones when residents return to the village.

In one recorded case, soldiers secretly placed a cellphone in a farmer’s bag, which they later retrieved when he returned to the village. They gave him ₱2,000, which angered him because he did not consent to be part of any espionage plan. This tactic constitutes a violation of residents’ right to free movement and subjects them to surveillance and harassment.

The military also coerces all barangay residents who own cellphones to submit information regarding the presence of the New People’s Army in the area.

Soldiers have also been recorded disturbing the residents by knocking on houses in the middle of the night to “investigate” the presence of the people’s army. The military has also been involved in stealing residents’ vegetable crops. They take jackfruit, banana blossoms, sweet potato tops, and papaya that are meant for consumption and to stave off poor peasants’ hunger. They also instigate anti-social activities such as gambling, cockfighting, drinking sessions, and poisoning and electrocuting fish in streams.

Armed action of the NPA

To deliver justice for the crimes of the 19th IB against the peasant masses, the NPA-Northern Samar (Rodante Urtal Command) carried out a sniper operation against the military detachment in Barangay Geparayan de Turag on May 22 at 7:49 p.m. The people’s army carried out the armed action in close coordination with revolutionary mass organizations.

“As long as the oppression of farmers continues, the NPA will certainly continue to operate and persevere in Silvino Lobos and across Northern Samar,” NPA-Northern Samar spokesperson Ka Amado Pesante said.