The deadly encounter in Negros Occidental that left 19 alleged communist rebels dead has reignited a dispute between government officials and human rights advocates, with both sides presenting sharply different accounts of what happened and its implications for the decades-long insurgency in the province.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. described the 19 April encounter in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, as a major setback for the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front, saying it reflected the weakening of the insurgency’s remaining presence in Negros.

NTF-ELCAC executive director Ernesto Torres Jr. said the operation, in which 19 alleged members of a communist terrorist group were killed, exposed what he described as the “dying remnants” of a movement that had long relied on intimidation, extortion and fear.

“For decades, Negros became vulnerable to communist agitation because of undeniable social inequities, agrarian tensions and poverty,” Torres said. 

“But history has now delivered its verdict. While Negrenses demanded justice, reform and dignity, they ultimately rejected violence as the path toward change.”

Armed groups

Torres cited statements from military officials that local leaders and residents had sought government intervention against armed groups operating in the area. 

He also said the deaths of several former activists and foreign nationals allegedly linked to the insurgency highlighted what authorities have described as a recruitment pipeline drawing young people into armed struggle.

Teodoro echoed that position during a visit to Negros Occidental on 23 May, where he met with local officials and commended the province’s reintegration and peace-building programs for former rebels.

The defense chief also rejected allegations of irregularities in the Toboso operation and dismissed claims that six of those killed were civilians.

“What is their source that they were civilians? That is hearsay,” Teodoro said, adding that troops on the ground reported that those killed were armed.

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio disputed those assertions, accusing Teodoro of prematurely dismissing evidence gathered by forensic experts, human rights groups and the victims’ families.