Teachers preparing for opening of classes driven away by AFP strafing
School teachers preparing for the upcoming opening of classes in Barangay Oma-oma, Ligao City in Albay were driven away by elements of the 49th IB last September 25. About 30 troopers indiscriminately fired shots and strafed the grounds near the school for 20 minutes when purportedly an encounter with the New People’s Army ensued.
In a press release, the 49th IB claimed that two of its soldiers were wounded in the supposed firefight.
Spokesperson of the NPA-Albay (Santos Binamera Command), Florante Orobia immediately refuted the claims of the 49th IB. “This is the military’s dirty tactic to legitimize their presence and place communities under the so-called Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) operation,” Orobia said.
He likened the incident to that in adjacent town of Guinobatan whose communities are infested with the repressive RSCP operations since August. Soldiers of the 49th IB are also the prime suspects in the murder of two barangay officials in Barangay Batbat of the same town last September 21.
Dubbed as the “Good Samaritan” battalion, the 49th IB has also exposed the peasant masses and residents of Jovellar and Pioduran to possible Covid-19 infection. They have spearheaded cockfights and mass gatherings in the said towns.
The 49th IB just recently retured to Bicol region last August.