Local Resident Taken By State Agents After Military-NPA Encounter

UPDATE as of May 4, 2026, 8:30 p.m.: The farmer has just been released according to reports from local media Bacolod KFive Station, after military reportedly found no links between him and the NPA

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A woman in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, appealed for the return of her husband after he was taken by armed men believed to be soldiers shortly after a predawn clash Monday between government troops and New People’s Army rebels.

Manilyn Escamilla said her husband, 35-year old farmer Jose Jefford Escamilla, was brought away after troops interviewed residents in Sitio Pulo, Barangay Masaling, following locally reported gunfire at about 5:25 a.m.

Human Rights Advocates Negros Island (HRAN) reported that Jose was not just taken, but arrested at aroud 6:00 a.m., and is a resident of Barangay Masaling, Cauayan. The human rights group says that the farmer is already in the alleged custody of the 47th Infantry “Karapatan” Battalion.

“Civilians at all times must not be the subject of attack and human rights must be respected,” the human rights group said in a statement.

“After some time, they spoke to my husband, and then someone called on their radio telling them to bring him,” Escamilla said in an interview with K5 News FM Kabankalan 102.9. She said no visible force was used, but her husband had not returned home.

Lt. Col. Dennis Martinez, commander of the Philippine Army’s 47th Infantry Battalion, said he would validate reports that troops had taken Escamilla after the encounter. He described the temporary holding and questioning of people near an encounter site as a normal procedure done for safety.

“It is a normal procedure. We have no violation there. Once we validate that he was held by the troops, immediately, if there are no more questions, we will send him home,” Martinez said, assuring that Jose would be returned to his spouse after questioning. 

However, HRAN said that arresting a farmer and subjecting such person to interrogation without a presence of counsel is a violation of the Philippine 1987 Constitution.

The reported arrest came after the 47th IB said it engaged suspected members of the NPA’s South-Western Front in Barangay Masaling. Martinez said troops launched a focused military operation after receiving reports from residents about armed individuals in the area.

A representative of the Romeo Nanta Command-NPA-South Central Negros Guerrilla Front separately confirmed to Paghimutad that an encounter took place and said the armed rebel group would issue a statement soon. The representative denied the military’s claim of possible rebel casualties, saying no NPA fighters were killed or wounded.

The firefight lasted about five minutes, according to the military. No government soldiers were reported injured. Hot pursuit operations were continuing in the area, the military said.

Human rights advocates in the island are urging the Commission on Human Rights to visit the arrested farmer and independently verify if he is in the custody of the military. They also call on the local officials and residents of Cauayan to condemn the illegal arrest.