đź“·Karapatan Masbate
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol (KMB), a regional chapter of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), has condemned the recent killings of two farmers, Roger Clores and Ronnel Abril, by members of the 2nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in Brgy. Simawa, Uson, Masbate. The incident occurred at dawn on September 26, while the victims were tending to their carabaos. According to KMB, the military’s claim that the farmers were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) is unfounded and part of a pattern of baseless accusations used to justify violence against civilians.
Clores and Abril, both respected members of their community, were monitoring their copra when they were encountered and subsequently killed by soldiers. KMB emphasized that this is not an isolated incident. In February 2023, another farmer, Diosdado Arcipe, was found beaten and shot dead after being approached by military personnel in Palanas, Masbate. Despite clear evidence pointing to military involvement, no formal investigations or justice have been pursued in any of these cases.
KMB linked these killings to the ongoing wave of militarization in rural communities, intensified by state policies such as the Anti-Terrorism Law, Memorandum Order 32, and Executive Order 70, which created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). “The violence perpetrated against farmers is a direct result of these oppressive policies,” the group said, accusing the Marcos Jr. administration of escalating the climate of fear and impunity in the countryside.
According to KARAPATAN-Masbate, Clores and Abril are the latest in a series of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) in the province, with 35 farmers killed under the Marcos Jr. administration. Masbate remains a focus of military operations, where human rights violations—such as forced surrenders, illegal arrests, and militarization of civilian spaces—have become common under the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP).
KMB reported that 70% of villages in Masbate have been placed under RCSP, with military forces occupying public facilities, conducting house-to-house operations, and coercing civilians to withdraw support from revolutionary movements. Despite repeated appeals to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), no significant actions have been taken to address the rampant abuses.
Farmers demand action and accountability
In response to these continuing human rights violations, KMB has issued the following demands:
> Justice for Roger Clores, Ronnel Abril, and all farmer victims of state violence.
Immediate accountability for the 2nd Infantry Battalion and other military forces in Bicol.
> Withdrawal of military forces from peasant communities in Bicol.
> The abolition of the NTF-ELCAC and the repeal of oppressive laws such as MO32, EO70, and the Anti-Terrorism Law.
> For CHR to conduct an independent investigation into human rights violations in Bicol and ensure the safety of rural communities.
KMB also called on all Masbatenyos and Filipinos to stand in solidarity with farmers and demand justice from the Duterte and Marcos Jr. regimes.
Peasant human rights network Tanggol Magsasaka will lead a social media protest and candle lighting tonight at 6PM to demand justice for Roger Clores and Ronnel Abril. #
