Nineteen people, including both New People’s Army (NPA) fighters and unarmed civilians, were killed on April 19, 2026, during a military operation in Barangay Salamanca in the province Negros Occidental, sparking national and international outrage and demands for an impartial investigation. The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and officially designated as a terrorist group.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed a decisive victory over communist insurgents, asserting that all those killed were armed rebels. However, this narrative has been strongly disputed by human rights groups, local activists, and the families of the victims, who insist that at least nine of the dead were civilians; this was confirmed by the CPP. Two of the civilians killed were minors, and two citizens from the United States.
Human rights organizations emphasize that several of these individuals had no known links to the NPA and were in the area for community work, research or reporting, including: Community journalist R.J. Ledesma (Altermidya), student councilor Alyssa Alano, youth rights activist Maureen Keil Santuyo (National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates/NNARA-Youth), peasants rights activist Errol Wendel (Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura), and human rights activist Lyle Prijoles (International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines California) and his companion Kai Sorem from the USA.
Eyewitness reports and forensic findings have raised serious questions about the conduct of the military operation. Forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun reported gunshot wounds to the back and potential mishandling of bodies. According to Fortun, Errol Wendel’s body was misidentified; Wendel’s body remains missing.
The military maintains that all fatalities were combatants. The CPP, however, confirmed only ten were NPA fighters and identified the rest as civilians. The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announced an investigation, echoing calls from civil society groups for full transparency.
The Toboso killings highlighted a persistent cycle of violence in the Philippines linked to the armed conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and NPA fighters.
Photo © Karapatan