Home 
FARMERS and militant groups yesterday decried the alleged harassment committed by the military in certain areas of Central Visayas in relation to the government's anti-insurgency campaign.
In a press conference, groups like Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Central Visayas (KMP) and Karapatan claimed that the 69th Infantry Battalion had been pressuring farmers not to join them lest they be tagged as supporters of the New People's Army (NPA).
Raffy Dugay, secretary general of a farmers group called Kaugmaon in Negros Oriental, alleged that more than 100 residents in different barangays in Sta. Catalina town were evacuated after a bombing done by the military last Sept. 10.
Dugay claimed that the bombing was meant to harass farmers as part of the military's “Oplan Bantay Laya” program and the jatropha plantation program of the national government.
KMP-7 Secretary General Nador Malicay said jatropha will be planted in Negros Oriental, Bohol and Cebu.
For its part, Karapatan said it sent teams to Sta. Catalina to look into reports that 52 families were forced to evacuate due to abuses allegedly committed by the military.
Karapatan spokesperson Vimarie Arcilla said they already filed charges against troops accused of abuses by these families.
She said they are also calling on the military to stop harassing them. /Correspondent Chris Ligan
