WHENEVER students die during clashes between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the New People’s Army (NPA), they get praised and the military gets ridiculed. The “innocent civilians” who died were branded as “martyrs,” “victims” and “human rights advocates” while soldiers were called “berdugo” (executioner), “murderer” or “violators of human rights.” Sweeping judgments without careful examination of the circumstances of the deaths.
On April 19, 2026, another tragic incident happened in Toboso, Negros Occidental. Nineteen NPA members lay dead after eight armed skirmishes with soldiers from the 79th Infantry Battalion. Twenty-four firearms were seized in that 11-hour gun battle. Reports say that among the identified fatalities were Maureen Keil Santuyo and Alyssa Alano, reportedly a faculty member and student, respectively, at University of the Philippines; Ma. Clarita Branzuel Blanco, a teacher in Tabugon, Cebu; and RJ Nichole Ledesma, a Kabataan party-list nominee in the 2022 elections. Sixteen bodies were already claimed by relatives, said Lt. Gen. Fernando Reyeg, who leads the AFP Visayas Command. Among government troops, Army Cpl. Jony Gallano sustained gunshot wounds to both arms.
The fatalities were armed when neutralized, fighting with NPA members led by commander Roger Fabillar, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said.
Scene-of-the-crime operatives — or SOCOs — from the Philippine National Police, accompanied by follow-on soldiers, immediately proceeded to the encounter sites, conducted an investigation, secured and preserved pieces of evidence, and did a “verification of the circumstances surrounding the series of clashes.”
Meanwhile, social media was swamped with posts demonizing the military over the deaths of “mere researchers, journalists, student leaders and peasant organizers and cultural workers.” Calls to investigate the clash mounted, especially because not one soldier involved died.
A NPA spokesman called the military’s report of the skirmish “a study in calculated exaggeration” and attributed to the AFP a “well-documented history of planted evidence and fabricated encounters.”
But there is a question that remains inadequately answered: why were they bearing arms; and why were they in the exact time and places of the armed confrontation? This is not the first time such an incident happened. There were many instances in the past when those who died fighting alongside NPA combatants were claimed as “innocent civilians” or “mere students engaged in an immersion program.”
This cycle of violence and exploitation by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NPA must stop!
Yes, there are social ills.
Poverty, inequality and government neglect are more felt in the countryside. Corruption is widespread.
These, too, must end.
But not by inciting the poor and marginalized to pursue change through the barrel of a gun. That is not only against the law, it also yields tragic consequences, like what happened in Negros Occidental. The state has the right to defend itself, and the military is obliged to protect its citizens.
Dialogue and discourse
Change advocates should pursue the resolution of these many, deeply rooted issues through peaceful dialogue and healthy discourse with the government to end local communist armed conflict. This is because the issues are valid but diverse, complex but intertwined, old but undying. There is no quick-fix solution, no silver bullet, no one-size-fits-all answers.
But with a whole-of-government method in addressing these so-called drivers of insurgency already in place, we could gradually but surely address the issues over time. The process may be slow, but we have to trust the process. Make it work, rather than defeat it.
The recruitment of young and idealistic students, out-of-school youths, and even faculty members to the NPA is masked as advocacies. A journey to social activism that begins with insidious speeches, literatures, and symposia that “expose” the ills of society. This is followed by training select recruits with the potential to lead. For these “advocates” to see for themselves and better understand the masses, they are immersed in some distant and depressed village. To do research or a study and come back with a wealth of data to process for meaningful findings and workable recommendation. But they rarely return home.
Once overcome by hatred, engulfed by a burning desire to fight for change, and emboldened by automatic rifles, they are transformed into “mandirigma,” or warriors willing and ready to die for a cause, take up arms and engage security forces to overthrow the government. That has been the CPP-NPA leaders’ playbook for the past 57 years: preying on other people’s children or siblings, never their own, to die in the mountains for a lost cause.
There were parties who insinuate foul play. They justify the presence of the students, teachers and social workers in the community — and ultimately at the clash sites — as researchers engaged in lawful pursuits. But it should be asked: was their presence in these villages coordinated by higher educational institutions (HEIs) with local government units (LGUs)? Or with the military and police in the area?
The rules of engagement are clear. Researchers or study groups are noncombatants, as long as they do not participate in actual combat. Provided they do not stay in NPA camps.
The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has published CHEd Memorandum Order (CMO) 63, s. 2017, that provides policies and guidelines in the conduct of “off-campus” activities that HEIs are supposed to design, approve and noted by the commission. The memo specifically directs HEIs to coordinate with the appropriate LGUs and nongovernment organizations. The CHEd also gives unto the HEIs the “duty to observe due diligence in the conduct of off-campus activity” that includes noncurricular ones, e.g., “community outreach and immersion.” Failing to do so entails the CHEd to impose sanctions “without prejudice to other liabilities under applicable laws.”
Could those off-campus activities that eventually led to last week’s tragic deaths had the CHEd’s permission? Were these activities, as designed and approved by the HEIs concerned, held with “paramount consideration given to the safety and welfare of student participants,” as mandated by the CHEd?
There should be a thorough review of the implementation of and compliance with CMO 63. The CPP-NPA’s recruitment activities in schools must be stopped.
While the death of the NPA commander and subcommander was a heavy blow to the terrorist group in Negros, it came with a heavy toll: the lives of those who died for a losing cause.
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