The Philippine Army has rejected the findings of a fact-finding mission that claimed civilians were among the 19 individuals killed during a military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental, insisting that all fatalities were members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who engaged government troops.
Army spokesperson Colonel Louie Dema-ala described the report released by the National Fact-Finding and Solidarity Mission as a “deliberate attempt to dismiss established facts on the ground,” after the group claimed that at least six of those killed were civilians.
“Available operational records and evidence recovered from the encounter site indicate that the individuals were not merely present as ordinary researchers or media workers,” Dema-ala said.
“They were active combatants who were fighting alongside Roger Fabillar, a notorious communist-terrorist leader facing multiple arrest warrants,” he added.
The clash took place on April 19 in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, where troops encountered Fabillar, whom the military identified as the leader of the NPA’s Northern Negros Front Special Partisan Unit, along with his group.
The operation resulted in the deaths of 19 alleged rebels, including two University of the Philippines students, a community journalist, and two minors.
Human rights group Karapatan earlier said the fact-finding mission found through witness testimonies that six of the fatalities were known civilians. The group also alleged that members of the mission were harassed by unidentified individuals on motorcycles who reportedly tailed and photographed them during the investigation.
Karapatan further claimed that soldiers committed several violations against civilians, including using homes as military encampments, harassment and intimidation, restrictions on farming activities, indiscriminate firing near residences, illegal detention, and the alleged use of a farmer as a human shield.
Dema-ala said the Army respects the right of groups and families to seek clarification regarding the incident, but stressed that any investigation must be based on “complete, verified, and contextualized facts.”
“The Philippine Army emphasizes that the six individuals highlighted in the propaganda material were found in the company of armed CTG members and in an active CTG encampment and position, or were among those who engaged government troops during the encounter,” he said, referring to communist terrorist groups.
He maintained that troops acted in accordance with the law of armed conflict and established rules of engagement, adding that local officials, including Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, had recognized the legitimacy of the operation.
“The Philippine Army stands firm in its mandate of securing communities from CTG remnants and ending the scourge of communist insurgency once and for all,” Dema-ala said.
“While we stand ready to use necessary force to defend innocent civilians from any threat, we continue to call on CTG remnants to abandon their futile armed struggle and choose the path of peace,” he added.