Recently, the 11th Infantry Battalion (IB) in a statement alleged about the “voluntary surrender” of four “ranking New People’s Army members” in Negros Oriental. Among them is a certain “Bong” whom it described as remaining squad leader of Southeast Negros Front.

Upon verification, the Rachelle Mae Palang Command (RMPC) have learned that Bong is not an NPA member, more so a squad leader, but an ordinary farmer residing in Sitio Avocado, Barangay Talalac, Sta. Catalina.

Due to his active involvement for years in the legal peasant movement and human right advocacies against military abuses and militarization, he was red-tagged and included in the military’s liquidation list. He was often depicted in printed propaganda materials propagated by the military, as well as in their pulong-pulong, as an NPA cadre and local Party head. He survived several attempts on his life and tokhang-style raids of his residence. Several trumped-up criminal charges were also filed against him by state agents.

Bong went into hiding in 2017 after the cold-blooded assassination of human rights leader Elisa Badayos. He often accompanied Badayos in meetings, fact-finding missions and other activities to pursue his human rights advocacies.

To frame up a civilian in order to project a “winning image” of a losing “counter-insurgency” campaign is the height of brutality and brazen impunity.

RMPC withheld the name and legal identity of Bong to protect his family.###