What is the Philippine military protecting in Batangas?

From 2021, the Armed Forces of the Philippines' 59th Infantry Battalion has been the center of multiple incidents involving civilian deaths. But what exactly is the 'Protector' Battalion protecting?

July 18 was a hot morning when Kyllene Casao joined her brother and her father, Benie, in taking care of the family goats. The Casaos lived in Barangay (village) Guinhawa, one of the hillier parts near the far-end of the municipality of Taysan, Batangas. The day was shaping up to be another mundane one, save for an ongoing kasalang bayan (mass wedding) near the town center, when they came across four soldiers coming from the elementary school.

The next moments were a blur. The soldiers cocked their rifles and accused them of being members of the New People’s Army. Benie raised his hands and denied the charge. “Hindi po kami NPA, (we are not [New People’s Army])” he managed to eke out while telling his children to flee. But by then it was too late.

Kyllene wouldn’t go far before a bullet ripped through the back of her head. In a panic, Benie placed her body inside a cardboard box meant for gin and rushed her to the Batangas Medical Center in Batangas City. Kyllene was declared dead on arrival.

She was nine years old.

Stories like Kyllene Casao’s are rapidly becoming less and less common in Batangas. Rights groups are linking the sudden rise of rights violations to the presence of the Philippine Army’s 59th Infantry Battalion, led by Acting Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Ernesto Teneza, Jr. and Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Edward Canlas.

Trail of blood

According to human rights alliance Tanggol Batangan, “Wherever the 59th IBPA goes, they bring a string of rights violations with them,” pointing to specific cases in both Batangas and nearby Quezon province. According to them, soldiers and officers of the 59th IBPA have been involved in “sowing terror and enforcing de-facto Martial Law” since at least November 2021.

On November 17, 2021, soldiers of the 59th IBPA killed two farmers in Brgy. Taquico, Sampaloc, Quezon. Jorge Coronacion, 64, and Arnold Buri, 43, were accused of being members of the NPA and shot dead shortly after. The 59th IBPA claimed that they were killed in an armed encounter between soldiers and the NPA.

Months later, on April 10, 2022, Pvt. First Class Melvin Añonuevo was drunk when he shot and killed Jayr Lasquites in Brgy. Polo, Mauban, Quezon. Añonuevo was drinking with two fellow soldiers at a bar owned by Lasquites’ family when Lasquites greeted them. He was brought to the hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.

A similar trend is emerging in Batangas. After the killing of Kyllene Casao, soldiers of the 59th IBPA were involved in another shooting incident in Brgy. Cahil, Calaca, Batangas, when they killed Maximino Digno, a coconut farmer, on July 26.

Digno, or Tatay Mino to those who knew him, lived in Brgy. Cahil his entire life. Neighbors described him as having a mental disability; often found talking to himself and carrying a toy pistol when making his rounds. Some years before, his house was burned down, and the trauma caused the symptoms to appear. His sister Dolores said that he had been taking medicine before but had to stop sometime during the pandemic because of the sheer cost of medicine. Tatay Mino was afraid of the military – he once ran away after soldiers confronted him and accused him of being a member of the NPA.

That day, Tatay Mino was harvesting coconut to sell at the nearby market in Brgy. Cahil. He was last seen 2 PM. His family members found him the next day, covered by a banana leaf. He was dead. Tatay Mino was 52.

Misguided counter-insurgency

The 59th IBPA’s activities fall under the broader scope of counter-insurgency against the New People’s Army. Since December 2018, the Philippine government has empowered military units through Executive Order No. 70, calling for a “whole-of-nation” approach in dealing with the decades-old communist revolution.

Since then, military units all over the country have been increasingly involved in civilian government; the 59th IBPA is no exception in its activities in Batangas.

According to Tanggol Batangan, the 59th IBPA has repeatedly “coerced, threatened, and strong-armed” local governments into “cooperating in its so-called ‘counter-insurgency’ plots,” citing resolutions by multiple barangays in Taysan, Lobo, Calaca, and San Juan condemning the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. The group contends that these resolutions are meant to justify military presence in the area.

Not all residents are in favor of military encampment, such as in the case of residents in Brgy. Malapad na Parang, Lobo. According to Tanggol Batangan, the 59th IBPA has “repeatedly threatened residents that they will be charged with [violations against] the Anti-Terror Law should they sympathize with the CPP-NPA-NDFP.” To justify this, the 59th IBPA filed a blotter report against the barangay captain for “negligence” and “allowing the NPA to enter the community.”

Last July 25, during Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address, the 59th IBPA engaged in indiscriminate firing in Brgy. Malapad na Parang, emptying multiple rounds at no target in particular. The 59th IBPA reported this as an encounter between them and the NPA.

In Taysan, Lobo, and Calaca, the 59th IBPA has claimed “armed encounter” to disguise its record of gross violation of human rights and international humanitarian law. The 59th IBPA has since claimed that Maximino Digno was a member of the NPA, while it is adamant that Kyllene Casao was killed by an NPA bullet.

The presence of the 59th IBPA has also led to an increase in fake NPA surrenderees. In Quezon, the 59th IBPA has managed to coerce hundreds of “NPA fighters” to surrender under the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP). In all of these instances, the ‘surrenderees’ were actually coconut farmers and members of Coco Levy Fund Ibalik sa Amin (CLAIM), an organization of coconut farmers lobbying for the return of the controversial Coco Levy Fund.

The same is true in Batangas. On June 9, elements of the 59th IBPA raided the house of Mario de Torres in Brgy. Sampirong Bata, San Juan. De Torres was given a firearm and coerced to pose as a surrenderee under E-CLIP.

E-CLIP has come under fire since 2019 for its possible use in corruption within the military. Each “NPA surrenderee” is supposedly given approximately PHP 65,000 to ease their “return to the fold.” But if the surrenderees do not exist, then where does the money go?

Protecting who?

Also known as the ‘Protector’ Battalion, it must be asked: what is the 59th Infantry Battalion protecting exactly? Whose interests do they serve?

Batangas is at the center of rapid infrastructure and energy development. Taysan, Lobo, Calaca, and San Juan are all the sites of major projects funded by large corporations and foreign aid.

The San Juan Project is a 26,730-hectare geothermal plant project that encompasses 42 barangays and six municipalities, including Taysan, Lobo, and San Juan. It is spearheaded by Red Core Investments Corp., an investment corporation founded by Albert Altura, former president of Atlantic Gulf & Pacific.

Meanwhile, SEM-Calaca Power has the rights to the Calaca Power Plant, a 600-megawatt facility in Calaca. SEM-Calaca Power is a joint venture between DMCI Holdings and the Seminara Mining & Power Corporation.

Batangas is also home to large-scale quarrying projects, with the largest in Taysan and Calatagan. In Taysan, quarrying operations can be found in 6 of its 20 barangays. A large share of the extracted materials go to the cement factory owned by Republic Cement & Materials, Inc. – a CRH-Aboitiz owned company.

In Calatagan, meanwhile, Ramon Ang, through Asturias Chemical Industries, is keen on opening a 2,336 ha. limestone quarry in the area at the expense of displacing hundreds of families. Another company, Landtech Mining Resources, Inc., also plans on opening a limestone quarry in the area. Hundreds have already been displaced from Brgys. Baha and Talibayog and have been relocated to the nearby municipality of Balayan.

It must be questioned why the 59th IBPA’s area of operations coincide with big money projects owned by large corporations. It must also be questioned why the victims of the 59th IBPA’s so-called ‘protection’ always seem to be the farmers and fisherfolk who are actively against these big money projects.

Despite the United Nations’ praise of Marcos Jr.’s “commitment to the human rights agenda,” the 59th IBPA’s actions on the ground indicate that this commitment leaves much to be desired. So far, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has proven itself to committed to its old creed – serving the ruling class and protecting big business.