SELDA condemns arrest of farmer in Negros Occ
KARAPATAN Public Information
6 May 2026
Reference: Danilo dela Fuente, SELDA Vice-Chairperson
SELDA condemns arrest of farmer in Negros Occ
The Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) condemned the arbitrary arrest of a peasant in Cauayan, Negros Occidental following an alleged clash between soldiers and the New People’s Army (NPA).
Jose Jefford Escamilla was arrested without warrant by troopers from the 47th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in the morning of May 4, 2026 merely because he was allegedly in the vicinity of a pre-dawn firefight, decried SELDA vice chairperson Danilo dela Fuente.
“Not only was it a baseless arrest,” said Dela Fuente, “Escamilla was interrogated for hours without the presence of counsel.”
“Civilians are being increasingly targeted, falsely linked to the NPA, and subjected to further violations of their rights. In 2025,” added Dela Fuente, “six of the 18 documented victims of extrajudicial killing by KARAPATAN were peasants falsely reported by the military to be NPA rebels killed in armed encounters.”
“In 2025, KARAPATAN also documented four NPA rebels who had been rendered hors de combat but were nonetheless killed by the military in violation of their rights under international humanitarian law,” noted Dela Fuente.
Escamilla was released at 8:30 p.m. after the military sheepishly admitted that he had no connection to the NPA, said Dela Fuente. “He is extremely lucky because he was released after more than 12 hours of arbitrary detention and interrogation, and not summarily killed like the others.”
“We demand a stop to similar incidents in Negros and other areas, especially since growing numbers of civilians are being victimized in the military’s escalating attacks on communities,” said Dela Fuente. “Let there not be a repeat of the military’s bloodbath in Toboso, Negros Occidental that claimed the lives of nine civilians and ten NPA hors de combat.”
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. It was established in 1995.