MILITANT human rights advocate Karapatan has sought the Commission on Human Rights’ (CHR) help on the death of two farmers almost three months ago.

CHR special investigator Jesus Cañete told Sun.Star that Karapatan Central Visayas Vimarie Arcilla, together with the families of farmers Ronel Raguing and Julito Quirante, informed him that they will visit his office Tuesday morning to file charges against the suspected killers.

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Forensic experts of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Central Visayas exhumed the two bodies of the farmers buried in Sitio Junob, Barangay Nagbinlod, Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental on March 11, 2009, more than two months after they were reportedly missing.

Raguing, 25, and Quirante, 48, were reported missing since January 31 and February 1, respectively, according to Joseph Lagorra, provincial coordinator of the Promotion of Church Peoples' Response (PCPR).

PCPR and Karapatan are the ones responsible for requesting NBI personnel to exhume those bodies.

"Although in a state of decomposition, the families were able to identify the bodies as their missing kin through their garments and the sako bag buried with them," said Lagorra in an interview with Sun.Star.

He said Raguing and Quirante were hog-tied and suffered from injuries that caused their death.

Lagorra said they have witnesses who can testify that the two farmers were arrested by Army troopers based in Nagbinlod, Sta. Catalina on February 2 and were brought to the forest.

Upon their return from a combat operation, he said Raguing and Julito were no longer with them.

The victims' families earlier reported to and sought help from Philippine National Police (PNP) in Sta. Catalina town, but no concrete action was made.

Quirante's wife also told Sun.Star that his husband was brought by soldiers belonging to the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army Camp on January 15, 2009 because they were accused as members of the New People's Army (NPA).

She, however, said they were not harmed by the soldiers. Instead, they were escorted to the police station in Sta. Catalina for investigation.

For his part, Lieutenant Colonel Erwin Bernard Neri, commanding officer of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippines Army based in Siaton, Negros Oriental, strongly denied the accusation.

He said Quirante was not arrested. Instead, he sought the Army's help because they were threatened by the NPA rebels.

Neri also said that Quirante's wife voluntarily accompanied her husband. He added that every time there's a farmer murdered, the militant group easily accused the Army without basis.

"We cannot do it," he said in Tagalog.

He then challenged the group to prove their allegations in a proper forum instead of doing it through a public trial.