• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As full blown investigations have been set by the House of Representatives, in connection with the death of 19 individuals in armed encounters in Toboso, Negros Occidental on April 19, an investigation is also being pushed into the killings of about 45 civilians in Negros Island, who were labeled as ‘military spies” by the New People’s Army, which the rebel group itself admitted responsible for.
The Buklod Kapayapaan Federation Inc. (BKFI), a national federation of former rebels and people’s organizations advocating peace and development, reported that from January 2025 to April this year, among the victims of the NPA were civilian farmers, barangay officials, elderly civilians, and former rebels, including 11 farmers, 10 former and active barangay officials. Sixteen of the victims were aged 50 and above, with the oldest being 74-year-old Leonora “Leonor” Anguit, who was killed on February 3 in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
The BKFI and the Center for Collaborative Solutions (CCS), a people’s organization in Escalante City, called on all concerned agencies to conduct a full, impartial, and immediate investigation into the series of killings in Negros, and to provide protection to threatened civilians, former rebels, barangay officials, and vulnerable sectors.
There is a need to strengthen mechanisms for peaceful grievance resolution so communities are not trapped between fear, violence, and impunity, they said.
The CCS in Escalante City expressed grave concern over the continuing climate of fear, anger, and frustration in Negros communities caused by the series of killings and liquidation activities attributed to the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army.
Edito Namion, an official of the CSC, in a statement, said that communities are already fed up with the series of summary killings being carried out under the guise of so-called “revolutionary justice.”
It is in this context that residents reportedly decided to reveal the location of armed personnel of the NPA’s SPARU (Special Partisan Armed Unit) led by Roger Fabillar alias Jong, leader of the Northern Negros Front, which triggered the armed encounters on April 19.
Majority of the killings were perpetrated by Fabillar and his group, who claimed responsibility for it, took place in northern Negros from January 2025 to April this year.
The Communist Party of the Philippines, in a statement, claimed that 10 of its red fighters died in the Toboso gunbattle. Among them were Fabillar and members of his group, as reported by the Philippine Army.
CCS continues to support the call for accountability and protection for affected communities, Namion said, stressing that no individual or armed group has the right to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
Branding civilians as spies or informants, then killing them without trial, is a gross violation of human rights, he added.
On the other hand, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) welcomed the conduct of a congressional inquiry into the April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, stressing that it should anchored on evidence, objectivity, and the commitment to truth.
At the same time, it is also important to approach these legislative exercises with clarity of context, it said.
Negros Occidental 3rd district Representative Javier Miguel Benitez and the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives separately filed resolutions to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation.
In House Resolution Number 968, Benitez noted conflicting and opposing public narratives have emerged, with varying assertions attributing responsibility for the incident to both deceased individuals and members of the Philippine Army, necessitating an impartial investigation to establish an accurate account of the facts.
Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., NTF-ELCAC executive director, said that any inquiry into the Toboso encounter must therefore be careful not to obscure this fundamental reality, stressing also that the pursuit of “balanced narratives” should not lead to false equivalence between state forces operating under the Constitution and armed groups that function outside the rule of law.
We also caution against turning such inquiries into venues for political theater or narrative manipulation. The loss of life in Toboso is a serious matter. It should not be reduced to competing soundbites or used to advance positions that disregard the realities on the ground, Torres said in a statement.
The Filipino people deserve a clear and honest accounting that is rooted in facts, respects institutions, and upholds the rule of law, he stressed.*
