Two civilians were wounded in Purok 7, Barangay 13, Catbalogan City, Samar, after a drunk soldier from the 43rd Infantry Battalion’s Alpha Company opened fire on the evening of July 21. The victims were identified as alias Reymond, 19, who suffered a graze wound to his forehead, and Dulfo, 58, who was shot in the foot.
A witness stated that the shooting began after the soldier lost his temper when he was told to park his vehicle properly. The barangay captain also reported that the soldier involved was new to the area.
The National Democratic Front (NDF)-Eastern Visayas condemned the military violence. Ka Celine Manlimbasog, the group’s spokesperson, said the shooting was not an isolated incident but rather part of a pattern of abusive and fascist behavior among soldiers.
In a similar incident on March 2, another drunk soldier assigned to the 8th ID headquarters in Barangay Dalakit, Catarman, Northern Samar, opened fire. That shooting left one civilian dead and another wounded.
“These incidents show not only the abusive character of the 8th ID elements, but also the arrogance and habitual impunity of the reactionary army,” Manlimbasog said.
She added that in areas where units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) are deployed, peasant masses experience daily the arrogance and impunity of the reactionary army in its crimes. The soldiers, she said, promoted anti-social activities such as gambling, drug use, electrocuting streams and rivers, and the exploitation of women.
According to NDF-Eastern Visayas records, at least 100 cases of killing and attempted killing involving 8th ID soldiers were recorded from 2018 to 2025, affecting 151 civilians. The victims included minors, barangay officials, and women.
“Violence, abuse, and impunity reflect the 8th ID’s fascist character,” Manlimbasog emphasized. She added that this culture runs deep through most of its elements and, as an apparatus and organization serving the exploiting ruling class now represented by the Marcos regime.
