Teodoro rejects peace talks even after 'Toboso 19' deaths

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the government is no longer open to peace talks with members of the New People's Army, according to a report on "24 Oras Weekend" on Saturday.

Teodoro made the statement during a meeting with Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and 6th District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.

“Ang aming pwedeng gawin talaga ay masugpo ‘yung armado. Pero over and above that, ang ating mga sundalo ay tinatanggap ang mga returning rebels katulong ng local government,” Teodoro said in a DND press release.

(What we can really do is suppress the armed rebels. But beyond that, our soldiers are welcoming returning rebels in coordination with the local government.)

In April, 19 individuals were killed in what the military described as an encounter with NPA rebels in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental.

However, a rights group claimed the April 19 incident was a massacre rather than an armed encounter, while relatives of several victims said those killed included students, farmers, and a journalist.

In 2023, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to resume peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Both sides signed a joint communiqué aimed at achieving “peace, reconciliation, and unity.”

Earlier, in 2017, the administration of Rodrigo Duterte terminated peace negotiations with communist rebels through a presidential proclamation.

'No irregularities'

During Teodoro’s meeting with local officials in Negros Occidental, he again denied allegations of irregularities in the Toboso military operation, according to the DND press release.

Meanwhile, relatives of three individuals killed in the clash requested the exhumation of the bodies for autopsy, saying they doubted the official account of the deaths, "24 Oras Weekend" reported.

Relatives of researcher Errol Wendel, who was reportedly among those killed in the alleged encounter, said the body flown to Manila for autopsy was not his.

The victims’ families are seeking the assistance of the Commission on Human Rights to investigate the incident.—Lyjah Tiffany Bonzo/MCG, GMA News