Congress urged to probe Negros massacre

By Dolly Yasa

Bacolod City – Convenors of a National Solidarity Mission (NSM) on Friday called on Congress to investigate the massacre of a family in an upland barangay of Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.

NSM held a press conference at the Negros Press Club (NPC) here to report on their visit to Barangay Buenavista in Himamaylan City on June 22, following the massacre of the Fausto family on June 14.

The incident killed Roly and Emilda Fausto and their two minor sons.

Police recovered 53 empty ammunition shells from the scene of the incident.

The NSM is composed of representatives from the Philippine Congress, and various organizations including church people, farmers, women, Indigenous Peoples, environmental rights defenders, children’s rights defenders, among others.

Present at the press conference were Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel, Gabriela Secretary General Clarice Palce, Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) Bacolod Bishop Virgilio Amihan, Sister Maureen Catabian PCPR, Prof. Sarah Raymundo of BAYAN, Union ng Manggagawa sa Agrkilutura (UMA) Chairperson Ariel Casilao, Tiben Wahing of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC).

In a statement, the NSM said their major findings include “a similar pattern in the killings of the Fausto family and the Crispin Tingal murder, which involved the frustrated killing of his family in their home in Sitio Dangalon, Brgy. Hilamonan.”

Tingal was a farmer killed in the armed conflict between the government troops and the rebels last May 3, 2023 in southern Negros Occidental.

“It is a culmination of a series of harassment, destruction of properties, violation of domicile, illegal search and red tagging that was similarly inflicted on the Tingal family who barely escaped a pattern of attacks, from red tagging to massacre,” the statement read.

Manuel said he together with Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT and Asst. Minority Leader Arlene Brosas of Gabriela filed on June 19 House Resolution 1091 calling on the Committee on Human Rights ng Kamara to investigate the massacre of the Fausto family.

Manuel noted this is not the first resolution filed by Makabayan bloc related to civilian killings in Negros, saying, “Buot silingon, sa idalom sang administrasyon ni Marcos Jr, nagapadayon ang paglapas sa kinamatarong sang mga ordinaryo nga pumuluyo ilabi na gid sa mga militarized area.”

“Kahit na walang pormal na deklarasyon ng Martial Law, parang Martial Law na rin ang araw-araw na buhay ng mga nakatira sa mga lugar sa Negros at iba pang bahagi ng bansa na okupado ng maraming bilang ng militar,” Manuel added.

“We hope the PNP’s investigation of the Fausto massacre was genuinely impartial—only then would their supposed breakthrough have credibility,” he pointed out.

“The problem is, reports on the ground say otherwise,” he claimed.

He further said that stories of coercion, in which witnesses are forced to testify and follow a script provided by the PNP to paint the NPA as perpetrators, have been shared with us.

The NSM called for an end to “the relentless attacks on farming communities not only in Himamaylan and Kabankalan but in the whole Negros Island.”

They also urged the Commission on Human Rights, the Philippine Congress and the Philippine Senate to conduct an impartial investigation of these cases in Negros.

“Families experience loss of livelihood, severe trauma, especially among children, and a grave violation of their freedom of association. Farmers who cultivate the land and feed the nation deserve peace, justice and the right to enjoy the fruits of their labor,” the statement concluded.