The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Friday rejected claims that the April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental was a massacre, insisting that New People’s Army (NPA) members were repeatedly urged to surrender but refused. In a statement, NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. said all 19 individuals killed in the incident were combatants who died during a legitimate armed engagement with government forces. “Attempts to portray some of the fatalities as civilians, farmers, or researchers have collapsed under the weight of physical evidence, forensic findings, crime scene investigation reports, and even admissions from the CPP-NPA itself,” Torres said. Citing 3rd Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Michael Samson, Torres said government troops encountered armed individuals during the April 19 clash and had reason to treat them as combatants. “Government forces continuously called on members of the armed group to surrender because no one wanted these encounters to happen,” Torres said. “Tragically, opportunities for peace were repeatedly ignored and rejected even during the lull in combat,” he added. Torres also addressed the cases of Alysa Alano and RJ Ledesma, saying that regardless of prior identity, profession, or affiliation, individuals found armed and actively participating in an encounter are considered combatants in that operational context. Among the evidence cited by Torres were findings from Police Col. Reynaldo Calaoa of the Regional Forensic Unit–Negros Island Region, showing that 11 of the 19 fatalities tested positive for gunpowder residue. Torres noted that the findings were significant given that several bodies were exposed to seawater and high tide for nearly 24 hours before recovery. “Surface gunshot residue is highly vulnerable to environmental degradation. Even ordinary washing can substantially reduce detectable residue,” he said. He added that despite prolonged saltwater immersion, wave action, sand abrasion, and movement during recovery operations, a majority still tested positive for residue. “That is powerful forensic evidence supporting the reality of an active firefight,” Torres said. He stressed that negative paraffin test results do not prove an individual never fired a weapon, explaining that residue may no longer have been detectable by the time tests were conducted. Torres said the mixed findings—11 positive and eight negative—were not unusual under uneven environmental conditions, including varying levels of submersion, clothing protection, and tidal movement. He pointed to the case of Roger Fabillar, alias “Jong,” identified as commander of the Northern Negros Front and acknowledged by the NPA as one of its slain members, who tested negative for gunpowder residue. “If anyone would insist that a negative paraffin finding automatically means non-participation in combat, then that argument immediately runs into serious difficulty,” Torres said. On Thursday, Police Brig. Gen. Dennis Wenceslao presented Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) findings showing investigators recovered more than 20 long and short firearms, ammunition, expended cartridges, communication equipment, backpacks, hammocks, medical supplies, and other war materiel from the encounter site. Torres said at least 10 of the 19 fatalities had also been publicly identified and claimed by the NPA as members of the organization. Among them were Fabillar and Josel Guimang, initially presented by the NPA as an 18-year-old fighter but later found to be only 17 years old. Torres said three child combatants were recovered from the site, raising concerns over the NPA’s alleged recruitment and use of minors in combat, which he said violated local and international humanitarian laws. He also cited observations from forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun indicating no signs of close-range firing among the fatalities, which he said supported the conclusion that the deaths resulted from a legitimate armed encounter. Torres further criticized what he described as shifting narratives from the CPP-NPA, which initially acknowledged 10 members killed, then 13, before later attempting to portray some as civilians. “But changing numbers do not change facts,” he said. He also questioned calls by communist front organizations seeking “justice for all 19,” including individuals already identified by authorities and acknowledged by the NPA as members of the armed movement. “Justice must rest on facts and truth, not on selective narratives,” Torres said. “The totality of evidence now speaks clearly: physical evidence, forensic examination, scene investigation, recovered war materiel, and admissions from the armed movement itself all point in one direction. The Toboso incident was not a massacre. It was a legitimate armed engagement,” he added. .
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