Father of Negros Speaks: Gov. Lacson Demolishes CPP-NPA-NDF Propaganda on Toboso Clash

May 10, 2026

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) welcomes and deeply appreciates the clear, courageous, and principled statement of Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson affirming the legitimacy of the April 19 Toboso encounter between government troops and remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA).

The governor’s declaration carries profound weight because it comes from the highest elected official of Negros Occidental himself — a leader who knows the realities on the ground, understands the sentiments of genuine Negrenses, and has long witnessed the devastating impact of communist terrorism on the province.

Governor Lacson’s statement is the strongest repudiation yet of the propaganda, distortions, and manufactured narratives being aggressively floated by the CPP-NPA-NDF and its front organizations following the encounter in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso.

When the governor himself states that the operation was legitimate, that it was community information that led authorities to the armed group, and that there is no need to question the Philippine Army’s conduct, it completely demolishes the falsehoods being spread to malign our security forces and romanticize armed rebellion.

More importantly, it exposes the immorality of those who continue to lure and radicalize young people into a violent movement that ultimately leads only to death, destruction, and wasted lives.

For decades, the CPP-NPA-NDF exploited the youth, manipulated communities, and terrorized vulnerable areas in Negros under the false promise of “revolution.” They robbed the province of peace, progress, investment, stability, and opportunity.

Countless families suffered from fear, extortion, violence, and ideological deception.

But the people of Negros have spoken.

The governor himself acknowledged that the operation could not have succeeded without the cooperation of the community.

That fact alone is historic. It shows that the people are no longer willing to protect or tolerate armed insurgents in their midst. The Negrense people are now standing firmly with peace, order, and development.

The people themselves led authorities to the armed group because the people themselves have long rejected the presence of communist terrorists in Negros.

This is the most important fact that outside propagandists refuse to accept.

Groups and ideological operators outside Negros are in no position to hijack the sentiments of genuine Negrenses or distort the realities on the ground.

They do not carry the burden of decades of violence inflicted upon communities in the province. They did not endure years of intimidation, extortion, armed encounters, recruitment activities, and killings perpetrated in the name of a failed armed revolution.

Negrenses have finally shut the doors on decades of deceit and violence.

The civilian information-led Toboso encounter itself is proof that communities are now actively rejecting the terrorist movement and cooperating with authorities to secure lasting peace. The message from the people is unmistakable: the CPP-NPA-NDF no longer has any place anywhere in Negros Occidental.

This rejection is not isolated.

Across Negros Occidental, communities and local governments have repeatedly declared the CPP-NPA-NDF as persona non grata over the years, including in Bacolod City, Murcia, Hinigaran, Cauayan, Escalante, Calatrava, and most recently the Municipality of Toboso itself, whose municipal council unanimously declared the terrorist movement unwelcome following the April 19 encounter.

These declarations reflect a growing and undeniable consensus among local communities that insurgency has brought nothing but suffering and underdevelopment to the province.

The Toboso declaration was especially significant because it came alongside public condemnation of the killings of civilians accused by the NPA of being military informants.

At least 48 civilians were killed in the area since last year alone through so-called “spy-tagging” killings perpetrated and arrogantly admitted by the terrorist movement.

These victims are often ordinary farmers, laborers, residents, and community members who are unjustly branded as “assets” or “informants” merely for refusing to support the armed struggle or for cooperating with lawful authorities. These killings reveal the true face of the movement behind all the romanticized propaganda — a movement that terrorizes the very people it claims to represent.

The province is moving forward. The people want peace. They want development. They want their children in schools, not in armed struggle. They want farms, businesses, tourism, livelihoods, and stable communities — not another generation sacrificed to a failed and bankrupt ideology.

We therefore echo Governor Lacson’s appeal to the remaining armed rebels: lay down your arms and return to the fold of the law while there is still time.

The era of violence must end.

And as we move toward lasting peace, we must listen not to extremist propaganda, but to the people of Negros themselves — because they, more than anyone else, have earned the right to define the future of their province.

END