Who is Alyssa Alano, the UP student leader killed in Negros clash?

Alyssa Alano was a student leader from the University of the Philippines Diliman who was among those killed in a military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental on April 19, 2026.

Alano served as a councilor of the UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) under the Education and Research committee. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the UP Diliman USC said Alano, the USC’s Education and Research councilor, was among those who died when the 79th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division allegedly fired on a community in Barangay Salamanca in Toboso. 

Alano was among 19 fatalities in what the military described as an encounter with alleged New People’s Army (NPA) members in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso. 

The UP Diliman USC, however, gave a different account of the incident and said Alano was killed when troops allegedly “fired on a community” in the area, forcing residents to evacuate. 

The council also described her as an “innocent civilian” and a student leader who worked closely with farmers to understand their conditions. 

The UP Office of the Student Regent also expressed condolences over her death.

But the Philippine Army rejected claims that civilians were killed in the operation, maintaining that troops acted professionally and in accordance with international humanitarian law. 

“Ano ang ginagawa ng mga sinasabi nilang journalist, social workers, faculty members, spokesperson ng mga progresibong grupo sa loob ng encounter site na may mga bitbit na baril at nakikipagbarilan sa ating mga sundalo?” Philippine Army spokesperson Colonel Louie Dema-ala told GMA News Online in a message.

(What were the people they're saying were a journalist, social workers, faculty members, spokesperson of a progressive group doing in the encounter site bearing firearms and shooting it out with government troops?)

“Yan ang tanong ko sa kanila,” he added.

(That's my question to them.)

Various student organizations from universities under the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), along with the UP Diliman USC, called for justice for Alano.

The statement described her as a student leader, researcher, and organizer who worked with farming communities in Negros, and linked her death to what it called “militarization” and human rights violations in rural areas.

The groups also condemned what they alleged as “indiscriminate killing” and “strafing” by state forces, and urged accountability. — RSJ, GMA News