FINALLY. The bloody operations of the Oplan Sauron police in Negros Oriental in 2018 and 2019 will be reviewed by the four-member House committee. Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas got the ball rolling during the 10th four-way communications hearing. Thus, the quad comm invites former PNP chief Debold Sinas to the next hearing. Oplan Sauron was the brainchild of Sinas when he was chief of the Central Visayas Regional Police Office.

The first Oplan Sauron was implemented on December 27-28, 2018, while part 2 followed on March 30, 2019. The massive law enforcement operations were morbidly but tellingly named after the evil entity that Frodo, Aragorn and their friends set out to beat her. in “The Lord of the Rings” by Tolkien.

The assassination of Guihulngan City Deputy Police Chief Senior Inspector Porferio Gabuya Jr. on December 19, 2018 became the pretext for Oplan Sauron. General Sinas announced that the New People’s Army was behind the killing of the police officer, which the rebels denied. Over the next two days, a judge in Cebu City issued about 100 search warrants. Most of the targets were residents of Guihulngan.

The terror was unleashed before sunrise on December 27 when hundreds of police and other uniformed personnel descended on the town of Guihulngan. A friend of mine told how his father, an ex-rebel, was arrested for possession of a bullet magazine. The men in uniform who executed the warrant entered the house while the target was still outside, unable to see what was happening. The magazine was later “found” behind a picture frame.

My friend’s father was charged with illegal possession of ammunition and had to post £30,000 bail for his temporary freedom. It is not a small amount for rural people. Most of the accused were assisted by the overworked lawyers of the Public Prosecutor’s Office because they could not afford private lawyers. Apparently, many of the cases have not seen any development for some time. Now that the quad comm is going to investigate Oplan Sauron, we’d better get the Justice Department to check the status of the cases.

Five men were killed in the city of Guihulngan during Oplan Sauron. One of the five was Jesus Isugan. The police proudly announced that they neutralized the man who killed Philippine Air Force Staff Sgt. Mark Herbert Oberes in Cebu on January 31, 2018. But it was Jesus’ brother Tomas who took Oberes’ life. An arrest warrant for Tomas, a known NPA member, was issued by the Talisay City (Cebu) prosecutor. The police killed an innocent man and then lied to the public about it.

Oplan Sauron Part 2 followed on March 30, 2019. Fourteen men were shot and dozens arrested. Eight of the victims were from Canlaon City.

No, it wasn’t really about drugs. Or, as Congressman Brosas pointed out, Oplan Sauron was a mix of anti-drug, illegal firearms, and counter-insurgency operations. A large number, probably the majority, of the people against whom search warrants were issued were suspected of having links to the NPA. Perhaps some even actively supported the NPA. But others were former rebels who had long since abandoned the armed struggle. Just like Melinda Abraham, the barangay captain of the small and remote Barangay Tacpao. Authorities said they recovered a grenade launcher, a .38 caliber handgun, ammunition and other contraband from the home. I’m not sure what happened to Abraham’s case, but she is still the barangay captain of 2024. At the time of her arrest on December 27, 2018, she was praised by her constituents for her good work as barangay president.

The town of Guihulngan was a hotbed of insurgency in the Visayas during Oplan Sauron’s time. Brosas cited 2017 as a year that saw violence escalate. I agree. The NPA strengthened its forces after the withdrawal of army troops in August 2016. On 21 July 2017, the rebels killed six policemen, including the police chief. Several suspected NPA sympathizers were later killed by unidentified vigilantes. It was strange, as it had been even before 2017. Insurgency-related killings continued. The NPA liquidated a number of military informants, local government officials and people the rebels accused of being drug traffickers, rapists and murderers.

Vigilantes retaliated. Guihulngan town obviously had a peace and order problem. But Oplan Sauron’s brutality spawned its own wave of vengeance. At least five of the many people killed by the NPA in the following months and years were accused of direct participation in Oplan Sauron, such as directing law enforcement teams to targets’ homes. Oplan Sauron became further justification for the NPA to commit atrocities against government forces and anyone who was seen as helping the government – another example of how violence begets violence.