CHR launches probe into Negros 'clash' that left 19 dead

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has launched an independent investigation into the recent purported clash in Toboso, Negros Occidental, where 19 people were killed, including a local journalist, a student leader, and two Filipino-Americans.

“The CHR, through its office in the Negros Island Region, has initiated an independent investigation. Information from local human rights advocates prompted coordination with civil society organizations, local authorities, and security forces, including working with the families for the retrieval of the remains in Toboso and Escalante,” the CHR said in a statement Sunday.

The fatalities were reported during an alleged encounter with government troops in Barangay Salamanca on April 19.

The CHR also raised concern over reports that the incident displaced more than 100 families.

“The Commission calls on authorities to ensure adequate humanitarian assistance, protection from further displacement, and access to basic services, in line with human rights and humanitarian standards,” it said.

“We urge the public to remain vigilant, discerning, and committed to the pursuit of truth, justice, and accountability,” it added.

In a statement on Saturday, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) identified two Americans among those killed in the incident—Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) called for an independent and impartial investigation into the deaths.

“The en masse killings in Toboso are a wake-up call. They underscore how the ongoing armed conflict has eroded our sense of humanity,” the group said.

PEPP stressed that under international humanitarian law, parties to an armed conflict must avoid engaging in hostilities in the presence of civilians to prevent unnecessary deaths and injuries.

“Peace negotiations must continue, but justice must also be rendered to victims of human rights and international humanitarian law violations,” it added.

The Philippine Army, for its part, questioned claims that some of those killed were civilians, noting that the fatalities were allegedly carrying firearms.

However, the New People’s Army’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command disputed the military’s account, saying only a few of those killed were armed fighters and that some were civilians.

“The rest were civilians documenting a peasant activity, standing alongside farmers who are consistently pushed to the margins by land grabbing and systemic neglect,” it said.

“Among the casualties were local and foreign journalists and human rights advocates who carried only notebooks, cameras, and the grievances of the poor,” it added.—MCG, GMA News