| Country: | Philippines |
| Details of Formation: | The Magahat Bagani here created by the military in 2009 as part of the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya 2. |
| Details of Termination: | The military has denied any links with the group. After an attack on September 1, 2015, the military stated that it would go after the Magahat-Bagani. Until 2015 no clear action has been taken to hunt down the suspects. |
| Purpose: | The group’s main purpose and use for the military is to fight NPA rebels (Wikipedia). It is also considered as the law enforcement component of the indigenous people and tasked to protect their ancestral domain rights. |
| Organisation: | The Magahat Bagani are controlled by the military (Human Rights Watch) and function as its civilian auxiliary. The military is funding the group. |
| Weapons and Training: | The Magahat-Bagani are armed and trained by the military. They are equipped with automatic firearms, including Armalite rifles. |
| Size: | Reports from 2015 give estimates of around 20-30 PGM members. |
| Reason for Membership: | A news source from 2009 says that soldiers alongside PGM members tried to forcibly recruit members and threatened those who refused. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | A news source from 2013 reports that the group abducted four adolescents and tortured them. In 2015 the group killed a school director and two Manabo lumad residents, accompanied by soldiers. |
| Other Information: | he PGM is sometimes referred to as Bagani Force or Magahat. The members belong to the Lumad tribe, a group of indigenous people living in the southern Philippines. |
| References: |
Human Rights Watch. 2015. “Philippines: Paramilitaries Attack Tribal Villages, Schools.” https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/09/23/philippines-paramilitaries-attack-tribal-villages-schools Wikipedia. “Lumad”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lumad&oldid=966140015 Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |