Since the start of August, progressive groups have reported Tagkawayan, Quezon as a hotspot of intensified military operations, including bombings, strafing, and clashes. The local government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, however, dismissed these reports as “fake news.”
Human rights group Tanggol Quezon on Aug. 3 reported cases of bombing and strafing in Brgy. Maguibuay that happened the day before, which put the lives of farmers and residents in danger. A similar case happened March 2024, where three copra farmers from the same barangay almost died because of these bombings, the group added.
That very same day, the 201st Infantry Brigade called Tanggol Quezon’s accounts as fake news in a statement riddled with conflicting phrasing: “Ang mga pekeng balita ay hindi lamang nagdudulot ng kalituhan, kundi naglalayon ding pagtakpan ang maling ideolohiya.”
Meanwhile, in the span of five days, the Facebook pages of Tagkawayan mayor Carlo Eleazar and the Tagkawayan Public Information Office were quick to release statements echoing that everything remained normal. Inspections by the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office and the mayor’s office reportedly found that the area was peaceful.
No rebuttals were made that directly answer the bombing and strafing accusations. Rather, the military confirmed that an encounter did happen on Aug. 2 which resulted in the death of one accused member of the New People’s Army, but that the encounter happened far from the residents.
Instead of confirming the bombings, they doubled down with their attacks against progressive groups. “...Tanggol Quezon na nagsasabing sila ay nagsasagawa lamang umano ng isang ‘humanitarian mission’ sa aming bayan. Sa halip naglalabas ng mga maling impormasyon ang grupo ukol sa tunay na kalagayan sa ating bayan,” Eleazar said.
Amid these claims, the Sangguniang Barangay of Maguibuay, Tagkawayan released a memorandum which declared several progressive partylists and organizations in Southern Tagalog as persona non grata. This included Tanggol Quezon, Karapatan Quezon, KASAMA TK, ACT Teachers Partylist, Kabataan Partylist, Gabriela, Anakpawis, and Bayan Muna.
According to Jeverlyn Seguin, deputy secretary general of KASAMA TK, the memorandum linking groups to the rebel organizations was signed July 27, six days before the state-sponsored attacks. Seguin also reported that barangay officials were confused with the whole ordeal, citing that they were just notified of the said memorandum during the day the humanitarian team went to Maguibuay.
As a result, the humanitarian team launched by groups from Southern Tagalog underwent grave danger. Tanggol Quezon recounted multiple incidents of spying, trailing, and flattening of tires by suspected state agents.
Despite these accusations, progressive groups remained firm in their account. “Batay mismo sa nakalap na impormasyon ng humanitarian team mula sa mga residente ng Mapulot, Mansilay, Tunton, Maguibay at kahit sa Payapa; ramdam at dinig nila ang naganap na pagsabog noong Agosto 2. Sa katunayan, hindi nga lang ito ang unang beses,” Tanggol Quezon said in a statement.
Tanggol Quezon said that officials discredit the group by misrepresenting their mission’s findings. An example is when the military claimed that the group’s pamphlets said that 33 battalions were deployed in Tagkawayan, when the pamphlet clearly stated that this referred to the entire Southern Tagalog region.
Horrors, however, are hard to measure in official statements and press releases. In a Facebook post by Tanggol Quezon spokesperson Paul Tagle, he recounted how an interviewee said: “Ramdam pa rin namin ang pagyanig ng lupa, ang lagabog ng bomba, at ang kaba sa dibdib habang naririnig ang tunog ng mga putok at pagsabog … Wala kaming ibang hangad kundi makapagsaka, makakopra, at mamuhay nang payapa.” ●
