A poor peasant family of four were massacred by fascist troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines last 15 June. Rolly Fausto, 50; his wife Emilda, 49, and their two children, Ben, 15 and Raben, 11, were killed at their residence in Sitio Kangkiling, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental in central Philippines. The four other Fausto children were not home when the massacre happened.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in a statement said the massacre carried out by the 94th Infantry Battalion constitutes grave war crimes.

Citing local reports, the CPP said fascist soldiers of the 94th IB barged into the hut of the Fausto family and carried out the killings in cold blood.

Emilda and her children were apparently killed in their sleep, while Rolly was dragged to a nearby sugarcane field where he was killed.

Those responsible for this war crime, according to the CPP, are Colonel Van Donald Almonte, commander of the 94th IB, and Col. Orlando Edralin, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, which leads operations of the 94th IB.

The Fausto family were active members of the Baklayan, Bito, Cabagal Farmers Association (BABICAFA), a locally registered organization representing the interests of peasants and farm-workers in the said barangay.

They were accused by soldiers of the 94th IB of being supporters of the New People’s Army.

The NDFP Special Office for the Protection of Children (SOPC), in a statement signed by Coni Ledesma, the heinous massacre, particularly the killing of the two children,  is a blatant violation of the rights of the child and the special protections under international humanitarian law.

Ledesma said, in Negros Island alone where the recent massacre happened, the NDFP has documented at least 22 cases of state violence involving children between the period of 2020 to 2022.

“The killing of the Fausto children and their parents exposes the AFP once more as lawless and mindless child killers. As commander-in-chief of the criminal, corrupt and brutal AFP, Marcos II is directly responsible for its war crimes against the Filipino people,” Ledesma stressed.