Army unit urges NPA to release Fil-Am after deadly Negros clash

The Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division has raised concern over the safety of Filipino-American Cristina Pasion and urged the CPP-NPA to allow her to return home, following reports of foreign nationals killed in a recent encounter in Negros Occidental.

The appeal came after two American nationals, Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, were confirmed killed in a clash in Toboso on April 19, with authorities saying both had joined armed hostilities alongside NPA members. Pasion, identified as a member of Migrante International, has reportedly remained with the armed group since encounters in Occidental Mindoro in March and has yet to return to her family.

“These developments highlight a troubling pattern where foreign nationals are drawn into armed conflict, exposing them to immediate danger and irreversible consequences,” said Col. Michael Aquino, chief of the division’s public affairs office. He urged the NPA to release Pasion if she wishes to leave, adding: “We urge the CPP-NPA to release Cristina Pasion and allow her to return safely to her family. No cause should come at the cost of a person’s life.”