The September 21 Movement condemned what it described as “relentless harassment” by soldiers of the 94th Infantry Battalion against a farmer’s family in Sitio Manuki, Barangay Carabalan, Himamaylan City.
According to data from Human Rights Advocates in Negros (HRAN), the harassment began on the evening of October 7, 2025, when four armed men in civilian clothes arrived at the home of farmers Melan and Diana Bolhano around 6:30 p.m.
The men asked for directions to a nearby church, and when Melan and his sons accompanied them, they found more armed individuals surrounding their house upon returning—some in military uniform bearing Philippine flag patches.
The soldiers entered the Bolhano home, asked for water and rice, and borrowed shirts which they did not return. They then interrogated Diana about alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and accused the family of hiding firearms.
Their companions searched sacks of corn and dug around the family’s cooking area and foundry shop until around 9 p.m. During the incident, the Bolhanos’ 17-year-old daughter, Myrene, suffered a nervous breakdown, prompting the soldiers to leave.
Three days later, on October 10, soldiers again entered the Bolhano home without a warrant, telling the family, “I am the permission, don’t be scared.” They continued questioning Diana about firearms and alleged rebels.
Two other soldiers searched the nearby home of the Bolhanos’ daughter, Maricar Bolhano Dio, and her husband, also without a warrant. Maricar said the soldiers accused them of hiding weapons and demanded they surrender the supposed firearms and “two old persons.”
When asked who reported them, a soldier allegedly said they were “called by someone,” later identified by Maricar as a landlord from Tugas named “Dinggoy.”
On October 11, three soldiers returned and allegedly threatened the family, telling 17-year-old Myrene that they were the ones who killed a man named “Jimply,” and warning Melan that “once you become intelligent, we will kill you.”
The soldiers stayed overnight at the Bolhano residence, according to Diana.
Video footage obtained by human rights advocates shows soldiers inside the Bolhano home during one of the operations.
On October 16, soldiers again visited the Bolhano household, this time allegedly attempting to persuade Diana to “cooperate” and surrender to the military.
“Even after what they did, they came back and tried to convince Bolhano to surrender. He is just a farmer living peacefully with his family,” said S21 chairperson Mariano Tito Mejorada.
Mejorada said the repeated harassment mirrors past abuses by the 94th IB, including the killings of the Fausto family in Himamaylan, Crispin Tingal in Kabankalan, and Jose Gonzalez in Himamaylan.
The September 21 Movement called for an end to militarization in farmlands and urged local officials and church leaders to take action.
“We call for an end to militarization in the countryside and urge the Himamaylan local government, church people, and residents to unite and resist the brutality of the US-Marcos regime,” Mejorada said.
Paghimutad 