Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has defended the military operations in Negros Occidental that left several New People’s Army (NPA) rebels dead, accusing the communist movement of using the encounters to spread propaganda and regain relevance.
In an ambush interview in Bacolod City, Teodoro said he was certain of the legitimacy of the April 19 operation in Toboso town, where 19 alleged NPA rebels were killed. The fatalities included two University of the Philippines students and a community journalist.
“There’s a lot of misinformation coming out. And I’m here to correct that misimpression and misinformation,” Teodoro said. “I am 100 percent sure of the legitimacy, not only the planning, but also the conduct of the operation in Toboso and Cauayan.”
Another clash took place in Cauayan, also in Negros Occidental, on May 16, resulting in the deaths of five more alleged rebels.
Teodoro rejected claims from human rights group Karapatan, which cited findings of an independent fact-finding mission that six of those killed in Toboso were civilians. The group also accused soldiers of committing abuses against civilians, including harassment, intimidation, restricting farm work, firing near homes, illegal detention, and allegedly using a farmer as a human shield.
“They have to prove it,” Teodoro said, referring to groups questioning the operation.
The defense chief said government troops acted in the performance of official duty following complaints from the community. He maintained that soldiers enjoy a presumption of regularity unless credible evidence proves otherwise.
He also questioned the basis of claims that some of the fatalities were civilians.
“Who is their source that they’re civilians? Is the NPA their source? What kind of credibility can you give the statement of a terrorist organization?” Teodoro said.
Teodoro said allegations against troops should not be driven by “innuendo, hearsay and bad publicity,” accusing groups linked to the communist movement of using the deaths to solicit foreign funding.
“They are using the tragic death of these 19 as a propaganda tool for them to gain relevance, power and maybe they seek the status of legitimacy,” he said. “I’m sorry, it’s not going to fly.”
He claimed it was “obvious” that the communist movement receives money from foreign sources, but declined to give details. Teodoro said information on possible funding channels would fall under the Anti-Money Laundering Council and could not be accessed without an anti-money laundering case.
National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict executive director Ernesto Torres Jr. also defended the Toboso operation, saying it marked a major blow to the remaining NPA structure in northern Negros.
Torres said one of those killed was Roger Fabillar, described by security forces as a leader of the NPA’s Special Partisan Unit under the Northern Negros Front and one of the most feared communist figures in the area.
“The operation exposed not merely an armed unit, but the dying remnants of a movement already abandoned and despised by the very people it falsely claimed to represent,” Torres said.
Citing information from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, Torres said local officials, barangay leaders and residents had asked authorities to end the activities of Fabillar’s group, which he accused of intimidation, extortion, executions and coercion.
“The people of Negros were no longer protecting the insurgency. They were helping dismantle it as shown by the Toboso and Cauayan encounters,” Torres said.