Inquiry must ensure no more child, youth, or foreigner is drawn into armed insurgency

April 30, 2026

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) takes note of the filing of House Resolution No. 968 seeking a congressional inquiry into the April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental.

The task force recognizes that legislative inquiries, when conducted in good faith, are an important part of democratic governance. Our legislators’ efforts to establish facts, clarify circumstances, and determine whether policy or measures are needed are important exercises of oversight. We therefore welcome any lawful process anchored on evidence, objectivity, and the commitment to truth.

At the same time, it is also important to approach these legislative exercises with clarity of context.

The task force stands by our government troops that the incident in Toboso was an armed encounter between government forces and the New People’s Army’s North Negros Front, and a result of the vigilance of the residents of the communities. Reports indicate that the operation was triggered by civilian information, and subsequent intelligence confirmed the presence of an armed formation, the recovery of weapons, and the neutralization of individuals engaged in hostilities.

These are the conditions of an active conflict environment. Even the Communist Party of the Philippines itself admitted that a “tactical defeat” occurred in an armed encounter. You cannot claim a “tactical defeat” and, in the same breath, insist that those involved were merely unarmed civilians. That contradiction raises serious questions and risks distorting the facts surrounding what was clearly a combat situation.

Any inquiry on the Toboso encounter must therefore be careful not to obscure this fundamental reality. The pursuit of “balanced narratives” should not lead to false equivalence between state forces operating under the Constitution and armed groups that function outside the rule of law.

We also emphasize that mechanisms for accountability are already in place. The Armed Forces of the Philippines operates under established rules of engagement, international humanitarian law, and a chain of command subject to civilian authority. These are not ad hoc systems, but structured mechanisms designed to uphold discipline, legality, and the protection of civilians.

This is precisely what distinguishes lawful operations from actions carried out outside the legal framework, such as the NPA’s killings of civilians in Negros, which they justified by spy-tagging. Community reports now indicate at least 46 cases of such summary killings across the island.

If the objective of the inquiry is to prevent similar incidents in the future, then the discussion must go beyond the encounter itself. It must confront the conditions that allow armed elements to operate within communities, recruit individuals, including children, the youth and even outside the country, and sustain activities that inevitably lead to violent confrontation.

Addressing these conditions requires more than hearings. It requires sustained governance, development, and community engagement that the whole-of-nation approach continues to pursue.

We also caution against turning such inquiries into venues for political theater or narrative manipulation. The loss of life in Toboso is a serious matter. It should not be reduced to competing soundbites or used to advance positions that disregard the realities on the ground.

The Filipino people deserve a clear and honest accounting that is rooted in facts, respects institutions, and upholds the rule of law.

In the end, the measure of any inquiry is not how many narratives are presented, but whether it leads to better protection for communities, greater accountability, and a clearer path toward lasting peace.

Undersecretary Ernesto C. Torres Jr.

Executive Director

NTF‑ELCAC