Two Civilians Murdered by Lt Col Andrew Costelo’s 2nd IB

LEGAZPI CITY_Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Costelo’s minions are on a killing rampage. Less than two weeks into his command, and in a span of just two days, Costelo’s 2nd Infantry Battalion has already murdered two civilians. After mauling and shooting to death a farmer in Pio Duran town on February 11, soldiers of the 2nd IB in Brgy Tobgon, Oas matched the crime with another civilian murder in the person of Dalmacio dela Punta.

News reports as well as communications from people’s organizations in the area confirmed that a firefight ensued between government troopers and alleged NPA rebels on February 12, with the 2nd IB suffering casualties.  The victim’s family and other witnesses said that after the firefight, the soldiers arrested dela Punta at a nearby sityo, mauled and dragged him from his house, and peppered him with bullets on the way to the barrio center. He was then declared a New People’s Army rebel killed in the encounter.

The new 2nd IB commander is bloating with lies in his attempt to cover up his soldiers’ crimes - for  the plain truth that dela Punta is a civilian. He was killed in disgust of 2nd IB’s losses in the said encounter. 

It is indignant that such is Costelo’s civil-military operations after all – to systematically kill civilians in order to keep the populace terrorized and subdued, and fabricate lies to hide the atrocity.  And such is the evil of Oplan Bayanihan. The terror and impunity of the failed Oplan Bantay Laya escalates in this next counter-insurgency campaign, along with crooked psywar designs to attempt to blind the people of the AFP’s murderous nature.

Karapatan vows to exact justice for the loathsome murder of Dalmacio dela Punta. A Truth Mission is set to be organized to further expose the brutality carried out by Costelo's men. The 2nd IB's commander can expect no less than a murder case slapped against him and his soldiers.

Powerless as they are, poor peasants can only seek strength from fellow oppressed and exploited people. We call on the just and well-meaning people of Albay to aid in condemning Lt. Col. Andrew Costelo’s unsparing attack against civilians, and the impunity that envelops his counter-insurgency campaign.#