Pro-Military Report From  ‘Fact-Finding Mission’ Denounced by Philippine Communist Party & Rebel Group

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A pro-military peace group’s claim that no journalists or researchers were present during an April 19 military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental, drew immediate pushback from the New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines, which called the findings a “desperate piece of fiction.”

Buklod Kapayapaan released the findings Monday after what it described as a fact-finding mission into the operation, which has become the subject of competing accounts from the military, rights groups and communist rebels.

The April 19 military operation took place in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, where the Armed Forces of the Philippines said troops from the 79th Infantry Battalion, under the 303rd Infantry Brigade, allegedly clashed with NPA fighters at about 3:58 a.m. The military said all 19 killed were armed combatants, adding that 24 firearms were seized.

Rights groups, media advocates and activist organizations have disputed that account, saying journalists, student leaders, researchers and community workers were among those killed. They also alleged that the operation involved indiscriminate strafing, forced evacuations and a media blackout.

The NPA’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command said only a small squad led by Roger “Ka Jhong” Fabillar was involved in the clash, while others killed were civilians documenting peasant conditions. It accused the military of inflating its firearms tally to justify claims that all 19 casualties were armed combatants.

In a separate April 27 statement, the CPP acknowledged that 10 NPA fighters died in Toboso but said nine others were unarmed or noncombatants, including a journalist, a student leader, peasant organizers, foreign human rights workers and local residents.

The party accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines of willful and indiscriminate killing. It also alleged that residents were forcibly evacuated to prevent independent groups and the media from conducting interviews or carrying out an effective investigation.

The CPP described Buklod Kapayapaan’s mission as “military-organized” and said it was designed to support the official version of events. It also said the mission formed part of what it called an effort to cover up abuses committed during the operation.

Buklod Kapayapaan said its inquiry in Negros included interviews with families, residents and local officials. It said relatives accused the NPA of killing civilians in separate incidents across the island.

The pro-military group also claimed the Toboso encounter site was far from homes and that there was no indication civilians were caught in gunfire. It alleged that Bacolod-based journalist R.J. Nichole Ledesma, UP Diliman student councilor Alyssa Alano and Maureen Santuyo of the National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth were inside an NPA camp before the incident.

Buklod Kapayapaan said barangay testimony showed no journalists or researchers were present in the area. Its report was released alongside a peace rally where participants carried placards condemning the CPP-NPA-NDFP.

The AFP has denied wrongdoing, saying the operation followed rules of engagement and prioritized civilian safety.

The competing claims have intensified calls for an independent investigation into one of the deadliest recent military operations in Negros.