The daughter of one of the three individuals killed in the alleged February 21 encounter in Sitio Mansulao, Brgy. Pinapugasan, Escalante City has come forward to insist her father is not a rebel.
In a radio interview with a local station in Escalante, Charlene Caramihan, 23 and a graduating Education student in Escalante, claimed her father, Jose Caramihan, is a farm worker.
This contradicts the claims made by First Lieutenant Dan Carlos Zamosa of the 79th Infantry “Masaligan” Battalion, who stated that the deceased were all members of the New People’s Army.
“If he is a rebel, how can he send us to a private school?” she said, adding that on the day of the alleged encounter, he was tending to their farm.
Charlyn explained her parents originally hailed from Calatrava, but relocated to Escalante when she was in Grade 3. She attested their neighbors can testify to her father’s innocence.
Jose Caramihan is survived by his wife Susan and seven children, three of whom are still in school.
Susan last saw her husband at 6:20 in the morning as he departed for their farm on the day of the supposed encounter.
Following the bombing and airstrike on February 21, the family initially believed that their father was simply hiding in the surrounding areas. It wasn’t until the 24th when the bodies of those killed were retrieved.
Due to the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies, the family was unable to hold a wake for Caramihan.
In statement released on February 26, Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN) called for an investigation into the matter, alleging a pattern of violence by the AFP targeting unarmed civilians and mislabeling them as NPA combatants.
San Carlos City Catholic Bishop Gerardo Alminaza also criticized the airstrike as a “disproportionate act.”
It was reported yesterday that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Negros Occidental also dispatched an investigator to Barangay Pinapugasan, Escalante City, to conduct an independent probe into the incident.
Vincent Parra, head of the CHR in Negros Occidental, said the probe will focus on the two fatalities, Jose Caramihan and lone female fatality Emaren Pastidio.
Rebels claim other two as “martyrs”
In a statement released on February 24, the Roselyn Jean Pelle Command (RJPC) – Northern Negros Guerilla Front of the New People’s
Emarie Pastidio, or Ka Jandy, 27, hails from Brgy. Jonob Jonob, Escalante City and comes from a family actively involved in the revolutionary movement, according to the statement
She was active in youth organizing through cultural work in San Carlos City as a member of Teatro Obrero, it added.
She was reportedly arrested in 2018 but was eventually released due to pressure from her family and the mass movement. During her capture inside the Battalion’s HQ in Sagay city, she had undergone physical and psychological capture.
After her release, she decided to join the NPA as a full-time fighter.
Last January 13, 2021, as her unit was trying to evade state forces, she had to leave her two-month child “Baby Marx Cairo” to a family in Barangay San Fernando, Talisay City, Negros Occidental. Until now, the child is in the custody of elements from the NTF-ELCAC.
After several days in hiding, she allegedly endured ten days of abduction, torture, and rape at the hands of her captors from the military before seizing an opportunity to escape and was hastily rescued by her NPA comrades.
Meanwhile, Joshua Sultan or “Ka Jorge”, 19 years old, hails from a peasant family in Calatrava, Negros Occidental.
Contrary to the claims of the military, the RJPC denies that Sultan was a “child warrior”. They stated he joined the NPA last year when he was already of legal age and served as an instructor in literacy and numeracy.
Paghimutad 