Sowing the Seeds of its Own Destruction

Special Report on the US-Marcos Regime’s Attacks Against Youth and Children

Nine-year-old Kyllene Casao was walking with her father on their way home in Barangay Guinhawa, Taysan, Batangas when troops from the 59th Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shot her dead. Kyllene was killed on July 18, 2022, barely a month since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. fraudulently grabbed power in the May 2022 elections.

The killing of Kyllene signaled a slew of brutal state-sponsored assassinations and other forms of attacks against minors exposing the US-Marcos’ regime’s dirty war against children and youth. Going by the numbers, the attacks against children and youth in particular have increased in the past year since Marcos Jr. became the GRP’s fake president.

Table 1. Violations of Children’s Rights under Marcos Jr.
(June 30, 2022 – June 30, 2023)

At least 7 children killed under Marcos Jr.

In the latest count of Ang Bayan, the official publication of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), at least 103 people have been killed between July 2022 to July 2023. Across the provinces, Negros Occidental documented the greatest number of killings amounting to 33 cases since last year. This is followed by Masbate which reported 15 killings, and Samar documenting at least 12 cases.

According to Ang Bayan, the massive military operations conducted in these areas serve to protect the interests of big businesses, bureaucrat capitalists and their foreign collaborators. They use the state’s armed machinery and paid mercenaries to suppress the masses resistance to these destructive projects.

In Negros Occidental for instance, there are widespread exploration activities to search for gold, copper, and silver reserves in the Southern part of the province. Manganese mining is also prevalent in Kabankalan City while sand and gravel quarries are spread across the rest of the province.

Among those killed by state forces, 58 are farmers, 14 are women, one indigenous minority while 7 of the victims are minors. The report also documented a 5-month pregnant woman killed by soldiers of the 62nd Infantry Battalion (IB) in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental together with her 16-year-old daughter.

Below are some of the cases of children and youth killed under the current Marcos Jr administration:

• July 3, 2022. A minor was shot and killed by the 4th Infantry Battalion (IB) and Philippine National Police-Special Armed Force (PNP-SAF) troops when they fired at the house of Mr. Inyab in Sitio Tauga DAka, Brgy. San Vicente, Roxas town on July 3, 2022. The police and soldiers strafed the house outrightly claiming that its occupants, who belonged to the Mangyan-Buhid indigenous minority community, were supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA).
• July 18, 2022. The 59th IB shot and killed 9-year-old Kyllene Casao while she was walking with her father towards their home in Barangay Guinhawa, Taysan, Batangas on July 18, 2022.
• July 26, 2022. Everly Kee Jacolbe, 16, was killed after soldiers of the 62nd IB attacked the hut where she was staying with her mother Cristina who was 5 months pregnant at the time in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on July 26, 2022.
• June 14, 2023. A poor peasant family of four were massacred by fascist troops of the AFP on June 14, 2023. Rolly Fausto (50); his wife Emilda (49), including their two children Ben (15) and Raben (11) were killed in their sleep at their residence in Sitio Kangkiling, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental in central Philippines. The four other Fausto children were not at home when the massacre happened.
• June 16, 2023. Just two days after the Fausto Massacre, elements of the AFP’s 2nd Infantry Battalion killed 17-year-old Rey Almario Belan in Masbate. According to reports, Rey and his friends were hunting for food when soldiers from the 2nd IB open fired at the group followed by the ignition of two bombs. Rey was hit four times, three times in the body and once in the knee.

In attempts to cover up their tracks, the AFP has repeatedly pinned the blame of these child and youth killings to fake encounters with the New People’s Army (NPA). In most of the cases documented, the children and their families were subjected to red tagging by state forces and were accused as being supporters of the NPA.94th IB brutally massacred peasant family in Negros Occidental

The brutality of the Armed Forces of the Philippines once again showed it has no bounds when the members of its 94th IB massacred the Fausto family last June 14 in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental. Murdered were the couple Rolly (52) and Emilda (51) Fausto and their two children Ben (15) and Raben (11).

The AFP tried to weave lies after lies against the Fausto family to hide its crime. It painted the family as victims of “internal cleansing of the NPA” then revised their tale stating that the Fausto couple were spies for the reactionary military to justify another lie that the NPA killed the family.

The fact is the Fausto couple were active members of a farmers’ association, the Baklayan, Bito, Cabagal Farmers Association (BABICAFA). The BABICAFA is a legally registered organization that supports peasants and farmworkers in their fight for land, better price for their produce, and for strengthening cooperation among the peasants and farmworkers. Because of their active participation in the organization the Faustos were consistently subjected to interrogation and accusation of being supporters of the NPA and red tagging by soldiers of the 94th IB.

In fact, last May the soldiers of the 94th IB attacked the Fausto family in their own home and subjected it to violent interrogation in their vain attempt to force them to admit to being NPA supporters. They demanded that the Faustos spy for the 94th IB. The Fausto family refused.
Their murder by the soldiers of the 94th IB under Colonel Van Donald Almonte, commander of the 94th IB and Col. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade that leads the operations of the 94th IB was meant to send a chilling message to the masses to cooperate with the reactionary AFP or suffer arrest, torture, imprisonment, and death.

Weaponization of the Anti-Terror Act

A clear indication of the worsening situation of human rights in the Philippines has been the weaponization of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (ATA). The ATA gives the GRP the authority to arbitrarily brand individuals as enemies of the state and subject them to criminal prosecution including the freezing of their assets and property as well as restrictions on liberty such as the right to travel. According to Ang Bayan, at least 67 individuals have been designated by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) as ‘terrorists’, 7 of which were added during the time of Marcos Jr.

On June 26, 2023, Karapatan Southern Tagalog received a copy of a subpoena summoning Anakbayan Southern Tagalog Regional Coordinator Ken Rementilla and Jasmin Rubia, secretary-general of Mothers and Children for the Protection of Human Rights (MCPHR). The two youth activists were accused of violating Section 12 of the ATA or providing material support to ‘terrorists.’

The charges stemmed from a fact-finding mission in July 2022 which saw the participation of Rubia and Rementilla. Led by MCPHR, an alliance of church workers, women activists and human rights advocates, the mission aimed to investigate the killing of 9-year-old Kyllene Casao in Taysan, Batangas by elements of the 59th IB.

Threats, Harassments, and Intimidation

In January 2023, suspected state agents breached the Manila office of Anakbayan, a progressive youth-led activist organization. A CCTV footage showed a man attempting to break into the property. After the said incident, members of Anakbayan said their office was disorganized, their cellphones were not where they left, tables were moved, windows were open, and doors showed clear signs of forced entry. The next day, the group reported the unusual presence of multiple police mobiles stationed near their office including incidents of unidentified men tailing and photographing them after protest actions around Metro Manila.

Between January 18 and February 9, 2023, up to 11 policemen and members of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) in Region 2 repeatedly visited the house of Rona Bugtong in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya. Bugtong is a volunteer teacher of Arapaap, a youth organization providing free tutorials and alternative classes to community children amid the pandemic.

94th IB brutally massacred peasant family in Negros Occidental

The brutality of the Armed Forces of the Philippines once again showed it has no bounds when the members of its 94th IB massacred the Fausto family last June 14 in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental. Murdered were the couple Rolly (52) and Emilda (51) Fausto and their two children Ben (15) and Raben (11). 

The AFP tried to weave lies after lies against the Fausto family to hide its crime.  It painted the family as victims of “internal cleansing of the NPA” then revised their tale stating that the Fausto couple were spies for the reactionary military to justify another lie that the NPA killed the family.

The fact is the Fausto couple were active members of a farmers’ association, the Baklayan, Bito, Cabagal Farmers Association (BABICAFA). The BABICAFA is a legally registered organization that supports peasants and farmworkers in their fight for land, better price for their produce, and for strengthening cooperation among the peasants and farmworkers. Because of their active participation in the organization the Faustos were consistently subjected to interrogation and accusation of being supporters of the NPA and red tagging by soldiers of the 94th IB.

In fact, last May the soldiers of the 94th IB attacked the Fausto family in their own home and subjected it to violent interrogation in their vain attempt to force them to admit to being NPA supporters. They demanded that the Faustos spy for the 94th IB. The Fausto family refused. 

Their murder by the soldiers of the 94th IB under Colonel Van Donald Almonte, commander of the 94th IB and Col. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade that leads the operations of the 94th IB was meant to send a chilling message to the masses to cooperate with the reactionary AFP or suffer arrest, torture, imprisonment, and death. 

On February 6, 2023, men who introduced themselves as part of military intelligence showed Annaliza Loren a video of her daughter Chaela Loren speaking at a gathering. Annaliza manages a store at Purok 5, Barangay Lugam, Malolos City while her daughter, a journalism student at Bulacan State Universty, chairs the Student Alliance for National Democracy (STAND), a student party at the school. The men intimidated Annaliza and told her to convince her daughter to “come back to the government fold.” Chaela Loren continues to experience surveillance after the incident, while her monther continues to receive phone calls from military personnel asking for the whereabouts of Chaela.

On January 13, 2023, operatives of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) red-tagged various organizations including youth groups Kabataan Partylist, League of Filipino Students (LFS), Anakbayan, College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP), National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) in a school assembly attended by 200 students of Benguet State University in La Trinidad. The presenters from NICA mocked the said youth organizations and branded them as ‘terrorists.’

In similar fashion, NICA operatives from Region 1 together with forces from the 17th IB, 202nd Maneuver Company Regional Mobile Force Battalion 2 held a “Campus Peace Symposium” in Cagayan State University on March 3, 2023 speaking to around 1,400 students. In the said symposium, the state fascist forces prohibited students from joining progressive youth organizations such as LFS, Kabataan Partylist, CEGP, SCMP and NUSP.

On March 4, 2023, elements from the PNP in Estancia, Panay along with members of the NTF-Elcac spoke before the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) cadets at the main campus of the Northern Iloilo State University once again branding progressive youth progressive organizations as ‘terrorist fronts.’

And on March 11, 2023, NICA intelligence agents together with the 205th Maneuver Company 2 conducted a forum for the sudents of the National Service Training Program (NSTP) of the University of La Salette in Santiago City, Isabela. The students were made to swear an oath not to join the aforementioned youth organizations.

Enforced Disappearances and Abduction

No one is spared in the US-Marcos regime’s dirty counterrevolutionary war, even pregnant women. In addition to the killing of 5-month pregnant Cristina Jacolbe, fascist armed elements of the state have abducted at least 5 pregnant women and have kept them in unidentified locations. They are either accused as being Red fighters or are being used as hostage to force the surrender of their spouses and relatives who are allegedly members of the NPA.

This includes the case of Cherylin Rebita who was abducted by military agents last August 26, 2022, in Surigao City. Rebita was accompanied by Roselle Polinar and Jackilyn Egtob. They were abducted by troops of the 402nd IB and were kept in a safehouse in Ata-atahon, Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. Both Rebita and Egtob were “released” by the AFP, but took Rebita’s child, Baby Rhea as hostage. Baby Rhea was only two months old at the time.

In addition, AFP forces also abducted then pregnant Aurily Havana (Ka Lyza) and Jennifer Binungkasan (Ka Laile) in Barangay Libertad, Butuan City last November 3, 2022.

A 27-year-old former student leader from the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) – Gene Roz Jamil “Bazoo” de Jesus was abducted in Taytay, Rizal together with companion Dexter Capuyan, a Cordillera-based activist. De Jesus hails from Bulacan and worked as information and networking officer of the Philippine Task Force on Defending the Rights of Indigenous People. De Jesus served as the chair of the Council of Leaders at UP Baguio and regional convenor of the National Union of Students of the Philippines. He finished Bachelor of Arts Communication major in Journalism in 2016 as a cum laude.
De Jesus and Capuyan went missing on the night of April 28 in Taytay, Rizal. Days before the two activists went missing, unidentified individuals suspected as state agents were observed in the vicinity of the area where they were abducted. Last July 10, the Court of Appeals granted the families’ plea for habeas corpus and ordered the AFP, PNP, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) to surface the two activists. As of writing, De Jesus and Capuyan remain missing.

Conclusion

In its desperate attempt to silence the dissenting voices of the youth and use children in its dirty counter-revolutionary tactics, the Marcos administration fails to recognize that it is sowing the seeds of its own demise. History has shown how repression breeds further resistance. Recall that the best recruiter of the NPA was the fascist dictator Marcos Sr. himself when he declared martial law in 1972 leading to the radicalization of the Filipino people and the youth. His fascist dictates and all-out war against all democratic forces and the revolutionary movement eventually led to his own demise: and the same fate awaits his son, Marcos Jr.

A government that suppresses its own youth and resorts to violence to maintain power is treading on a path of self-destruction. The US-Marcos regime will ultimately be held accountable for the lives of children and youth it has extinguished.