MANILA, Philippines— The government’s decision to order the deportation of Filipino-American activist Chantal Anicoche was grounded on her own admission of being with the New People’s Army (NPA) during an armed encounter in Occidental Mindoro, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said Sunday.
Anicoche also admitted her involvement with foreign organizations linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) international support network, the task force said.
“The decision was not arbitrary, nor was it a political act. It was based on information that emerged during lawful processing, including Ms. Anicoche’s own disclosures regarding her activities and affiliations,” Ernesto C. Torres Jr., NTF-Elcac executive director, said in a statement.
The official stressed that the government’s actions were “lawful, evidence-based, and driven by security and immigration considerations, not politics.”
Anicoche was found hiding in a hole near the site of an armed encounter between government forces and the New People’s Army in Abra de Ilog on New Year’s day.
The incident left one young student dead and another reported missing. Two soldiers were wounded.
In a debriefing, Anicoche admitted that she had traveled to the Philippines to link up with the NPA and that she was staying in a camp run by insurgents at the time of the encounter, Torres said.
She likewise acknowledged her role in the recruitment, fundraising, and ideological propagation for the armed movement abroad.
“These circumstances, taken together, are clear security and immigration concerns that warranted decisive administrative action,” Torres said.
He said that the Order to Leave issued by the Bureau of Immigration is an administrative measure grounded in law that does not constitute a declaration of innocence nor validate claims portraying Anicoche as a victim of political persecution.
He warned that Anicoche’s case highlights a persistent and dangerous pattern: young people, including foreign nationals, being drawn into conflict zones through pathways described as advocacy, immersion, or international solidarity, which in reality intersect with recruitment, radicalization, and direct exposure to armed violence.
“No political narrative is worth a life, and no ideology justifies placing young people in harm’s way,” he said.
The NTF-Elcac reaffirmed its commitment to expose recruitment and grooming networks linked to armed groups, protecting communities, and advancing peace through accountability and development. It warned the public against attempts to distort the outcome of the case into claims of vindication or government wrongdoing.