The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) hailed government troops for a major tactical victory in Negros Occidental but stressed the need for sober reflection after a series of encounters left 19 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members dead, including a top rebel leader.
Officials said the operation underscores both the state’s resolve to end armed insurgency and the human cost of a conflict that continues to claim Filipino lives.
The clashes took place in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, where government forces dismantled a key armed unit operating in northern Negros. Among those killed was Arnel Tapang, a long-wanted NPA figure with a Php 1-million bounty. Authorities said the encounter effectively crippled the group’s remaining operational capacity in the area.
Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., executive director of the task force’s national secretariat, commended the troops, saying their “courage, discipline, and professionalism once again demonstrate the firm resolve of the government to protect our people and secure communities long plagued by violence.”
Still, Torres cautioned against treating the outcome as a victory to celebrate.
“This is not a moment for celebration. It is a moment of reflection and reckoning,” he said, emphasizing that those killed were Filipinos drawn into what he described as a destructive cause.
He warned of what the task force calls “terror-grooming,” a process of recruitment and indoctrination targeting vulnerable sectors, particularly the youth.
“Many are treated as cannon fodder—used, deployed, and ultimately sacrificed by a leadership that remains distant from the battlefield,” Torres said, adding that such practices reveal “manipulation, control, and exploitation disguised as ideology.”
The official also pointed to continued violence within communities, citing security reports that at least 45 civilians in Negros have been killed since 2025 after being branded as informants or traitors.
“These are not combatants. These are ordinary Filipino civilians… silenced through fear and executions,” he said.
While the operation dealt a significant blow to the insurgents, Torres acknowledged the deeper toll of the conflict.
“Those who perished were Filipinos—misled, manipulated, and ultimately sacrificed by a collapsing terrorist movement that continues to feed on lies and deception,” he said.
He reiterated the government’s call for remaining fighters to surrender and reintegrate into society, urging them to “lay down your arms… return to your families… choose life, choose peace.”