Three days before the observance of the 64th International Human Rights Day, a 45-year-old farmer in Sorsogon, Bicol was found dead after being abducted by alleged soliders of the Philippine Army.

In a statement, Karapatan-Bicol said that Samuel Dollesin was abducted in Sitio Palukso, Brgy. Lapinig in the town of Gubat around 6:30 p.m. of December 4. After three days, his lifeless body was found in Brgy. Sugod in the nearby town of Bacon.

According to witnesses, the abductors of Dollesin were members of a special operations team of the Philippine Army. The witnesses have refused to surface out of fear, said Karapatan-Bicol.

“The bitter fate of Samuel is a common occurrence everywhere in the country,” the group said, citing that there have been 215 victims of extra-judicial killings under the Aquino administration’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.

The group slammed the Philippine Army for conducting military operations targeting civilians in the said province, only days before Typhoon Ruby hit last December 6, and while communities were preparing for the storm’s approach.

“The disasters brought on by Oplan Bayanihan is far worse than those brought on by natural calamities. Typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions do not happen everyday, unlike Oplan Bayanihan, which brings misery to the people everyday,” said Karapatan-Bicol.

The group cited harassment of civilians and displacement of communities because of intensified military operations under Oplan Bayanihan.