THE United States Embassy in Manila has issued a security alert to American citizens in the Philippines following intensified military operations against communist rebels in several parts of the country.
In an advisory posted on its website, the embassy said recent offensives by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the New People’s Army (NPA) have led to violent encounters, including an April 19 clash that resulted in the deaths of two US citizens.
“US citizens have been present during recent military actions against the NPA,” the embassy said.
The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by both the US and Philippine governments.
The embassy identified rural and mountainous areas in Leyte, Mindoro, Negros and Samar as areas of heightened concern, citing recent fatal clashes between government troops and insurgents.
It advised Americans to avoid any association with insurgent or terrorist groups and to immediately leave areas where armed individuals not affiliated with police or military are present.
It also cautioned that some nongovernmental organizations may have links to insurgent groups. US citizens planning to do humanitarian or volunteer work were urged to partner only with organizations registered with the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency and to coordinate with local government units for security guidance.
“Foreign terrorist organizations actively recruit Americans to participate directly in terrorist activities and/or provide financial support,” the embassy said.
On Friday, a ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said the US Embassy security alert warning is a recognition that Americans are drawn into violence by organizations linked to the communist insurgents.
“This is perhaps the first direct and explicit recognition by the United States government that its own citizens are being drawn into violence by organizations linked to the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front),” NTF-Elcac Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said in a statement.
Torres said the warning highlights a “critical reality” that has long been denied or downplayed, which is “foreign terrorist organizations actively recruit Americans to participate directly in terrorist activities and/or provide financial support.”
“This acknowledgment affirms what Philippine authorities have consistently exposed — that the insurgency is not merely a domestic security concern but part of a broader transnational network of recruitment, radicalization and terrorism,” he said.
Torres expressed the NTF-Elcac’s appreciation to the National Federation of Filipino American Associations for its statement on the loss of lives, including of US citizens Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem.
“This development strengthens the shared commitment of the Philippines and the United States to combat terrorism in all its forms. It also sends a powerful signal to those who continue to enable, justify or obscure the activities of the CPP-NPA-NDF: the international community is taking notice, and the truth is becoming undeniable,” he added.
Former members of the government’s exploratory and negotiating teams in past peace talks with communist rebels called for an independent investigation into the intense fighting in Toboso, Negros Occidental, which left 19 people — including the two Americans — dead.
In a joint statement on Friday, former Transportation secretary Hernani Braganza, lawyer Efren Moncupa, economist Jaime Aristotle Alip, academic Francisco Lara Jr. and Roberto Ador said the clash highlighted the urgency of resolving the decadeslong communist insurgency.
The signatories, who were involved in back channel and formal negotiations from 2014 to 2020 under the administrations of former presidents Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte, said a “functioning and serious peace process” had made significant progress.
They said negotiations at the time were close to securing a truce and an interim peace agreement, including the possible return from exile of CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, who died in 2022.
“The Toboso tragedy compelled us to break our silence,” the group said.
The military said the encounter dealt a major blow to the Northern Negros Front. However, the former negotiators said the killings could deepen the cycle of violence, particularly as public reaction — especially among younger Filipinos — has been marked by grief and heightened concern.
They called for the creation of a fact-finding commission by Congress, with participation from executive agencies and independent civil society groups, to investigate what they described as the deadliest incident involving civilians in recent years.
The group said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s statement that he would not obstruct an investigation by the Commission on Human Rights was a positive development.
“Accountability and justice... is not optional, it is imperative,” they said, stressing that addressing human rights violations must go hand in hand with tackling the root causes of armed conflict, including landlessness, poverty and lack of access to basic rights.
The group also urged the administration to resume peace talks with the communists “without precondition,” saying a comprehensive and final peace agreement remains achievable.
“We know, from our own experience at the table, that a lasting settlement is possible,” they said.
