At least 10 alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were killed in encounters with government forces in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso town in Negros Occidental.

One soldier was wounded and is now recuperating at a hospital in Bacolod City.

According to the military, more bodies of NPA members may be found as clearing and retrieval operations continue, as of this writing.

“Ang na-process ng SOCO is five. Very challenging ang pag-process kasi ‘yung iba nandito sa tubigan. Hopefully, kapag natapos na ito, we have a definitive figure kung ilan talaga. More than 10 bodies. Hinahanap pa namin ang iba, including mga firearms,” said Brig. General Ted Dumosmog, Commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.

Dumosmog said among those killed were Roger Fabillar alias ‘Jhong’ and Arnel Tapang. They allegedly led the NPA in extortion activities and have allegedly killed many people.

Fabillar has been wanted for several years and reportedly had a P1 million bounty for his capture.

At least eight encounters reportedly took place within an hour on April 19, 2026. The exchange of fire reportedly started around 4 p.m. and lasted until dawn the following day.

“By the record, sila na rin umamin sa mga account nila. Starting 2022, there are 36 (killed) including last year, ‘yung Police Master Sgt. Aguilar sa Barangay Lalong, Calatrava,” Dumosmog said.

The encounters forced up to 500 residents to move to safer ground. They were made to undergo debriefing and psychological first aid.

“Tumutulong kami sa evacuees. Nagpo-provide kami ng pagkain. At sa Philippine Army, full rin ang suporta ng local government unit ng Toboso,” said Engr. Jun Carbajosa, head of the Toboso Municipal Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO).