A farmer’s house in Sitio Mantobaw, Purok 3, Barangay Linaon, Cauayan, Negros Occidental was burned down on the morning of November 28, in what residents claim was an operation by soldiers of the 15th Infantry Battalion led by Lt. Col. Elmar Salvador.
Mariano Tito Mejorada, chairperson of the rights group September 21 Movement–South Negros, said the home of 54-year-old Carmelita Ulgasan was allegedly set ablaze shortly after suspected soldiers were seen beneath the house at around 6 a.m.
Relatives said Carmelita and her nephew encountered men they believed to be soldiers while on their way home that morning, adding that the men briefly questioned them before leaving.
The family said they continued walking home and later found their house already entered, with the gate open and combat boot prints around the area.
They said fear drove them to leave the house and proceed to the village proper, but they returned at around 7:20 a.m. after remembering their carabao tied near their home.
They reported seeing the house consumed by fire and again found combat boot marks surrounding the site of the blaze.
“Tupok na sang kalayo ang ila balay,” the family said.
(“Their house was already engulfed in flames.”)
The family said this was not the first time they experienced harassment, claiming soldiers had repeatedly accused them of supporting the New People’s Army and pressured them to surrender.
Residents recalled that on September 13, 2025, soldiers allegedly questioned Carmelita and her nephew about the NPA, accusing the nephew of being a courier despite their insistence that they were ordinary civilians living quietly, with one family member suffering from a heart condition.
By September 15, the family said soldiers had occupied their home, and after the troops left, five alleged military-linked “surrenderers” forcibly entered the house, with one wearing a bonnet and carrying a weapon and accusing the Ulgasans of being NPA members. They said three of the men repeatedly entered and exited the house while two others went upstairs their home.
The next day September 16, the group returned and ordered the family to leave for two days, warning them not to inform anyone, “bisan ang imo pamilya or si kapitan (not even your family or the barangay captain).”
The family said they informed the barangay captain out of fear, but this allegedly angered the military, who called them arrogant and warned that “may patyon gid sila nga tawo (someone will be killed).”
The September 21 Movement condemned the burning as a violation of human rights and of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
“Untaton na ang militarisasyon kag irespeto ang tawhanon nga kinamatarong,” the group said.
(“End the militarization and respect the people’s human rights.”)
The organization also urged the Cauayan local government and church leaders to address what they described as ongoing abuses in upland communities.
The September 21 Movement–South Negros said it “lubos nga gina-condenar ang padayun nga pagpamintas sang estado (fully condemns the continued atrocities of the state).”
Paghimutad 