• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) yesterday called on the public to refrain from drawing premature conclusions regarding the April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, stressing that a full forensic and operational investigation is still ongoing.
NTF-ELCAC executive director Ernesto Torres Jr. disclosed that the preliminary observations of forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun should be treated with respect but viewed within the broader context of a comprehensive investigation into the incident, which left 19 alleged New People’s Army (NPA) combatants dead.
In a statement, Torres emphasized that mass-casualty investigations require extensive procedures, including crime-scene processing, cadaver recovery, autopsy examinations, ballistic analysis, witness interviews, and chain-of-custody verification before any definitive conclusions can be reached.
He added that the findings reportedly involving five bodies do not, by themselves, establish that a massacre occurred. Instead, it said the observations raise questions that should be addressed through the official report expected to be released by authorities.
The task force also defended the handling of evidence at the encounter site, saying government troops and police personnel conducted recovery operations under hazardous conditions.
According to the statement, the area remained dangerous due to the possible presence of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), booby traps, and armed stragglers following the firefights.
Torres further said that the later recovery of a firearm by an independent fact-finding group indicated that the area had not yet been fully secured after the clashes.
On the issue of the reported mistaken turnover of one body to relatives, the task force said the incident should not be interpreted as evidence of bad faith or an attempt to conceal information. It maintained that the error arose from the identification and claiming process conducted by relatives.
Authorities reiterated that the Toboso incident involved “running firefights throughout the day,” during which armed rebels allegedly attempted to evade pursuing government forces. Twenty four firearms were reported by the 79th Infantry Battalion to have been recovered from the encounter site.
Citing international humanitarian law, NTF-ELCAC said individuals directly participating in hostilities may be considered lawful targets unless they surrender, are captured, or are otherwise rendered hors de combat.
“Deaths in armed conflict are always unfortunate. But unfortunate does not automatically mean unlawful,” the statement read.
The task force also claimed that one of four alleged NPA combatants who escaped the encounter but was later arrested told authorities that their commander had ordered them to continue fighting rather than surrender.
NTF-ELCAC maintained that the available evidence supports the government’s position that the Toboso incident was a legitimate armed encounter involving armed combatants.
Torres urged the public to await the release of the official scientific and operational findings before making final judgments on the incident.*
