April 29, 2026

The International Actin Center condemns the massacre of 19 Red fighters and unarmed New Peoples Army members by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on April 19, 2026, in Toboso town, Negros Occidental. Of the 19 people murdered, two were U.S.-based activists, Lyle Prijoles of San Francisco and Kai Sorem of Seattle.

The following are statements issued from groups in the Philippines:

Statement by Marco Valbuena, Chief Information Officer, Communist Party of the Philippines, April 27, 2026:

We condemn in the strongest terms possible the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly the 79th Infantry Battalion, for the indiscriminate and inordinate killing of 19 people, both Red fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA) and unarmed individuals in Barangay Salamanca in Toboso town, Negros Occidental last April 19.

We honor the squad of ten Red fighters of the NPA who fought the fascists to their last breath. They are:

1. Roger Fabillar (Ka Tapang), who served as NPA commander of the Northern Negros Front
2. Sonny Boy Caramihan, 28, from Barangay Bagonbon, San Carlos City
3. Rene Villarin Sr, 57, Barangay Marcelo, Calatrava, squad leader
4. Pedro Bonghanoy, medical officer, Barangay Libertad, Escalante City
5. Arnel Javoc, 32, from Barangay Lalong, Calatrava
6. Joros Caramihan y Ramos, 18, from Don Salvador Benedicto
7. Maria Clarita Branzuel Blanco (Ka Sanim/Pat), Political Instructor
8. Genevieve Balora (Ka Raia), from Bacolod City, district Party cadre
9. Labskie Purisimia Enustacion, 33, of Sitio Tinibawan, Barangay Bug-ang, Toboso
10. Jocel Gimang, 18, of Sitio Bautista, Barangay Malasibog, Escalante City

We commiserate with the loved ones and comrades of the fallen Red fighters of the NPA. Their deaths weigh heavily on our hearts. As revolutionary warriors, they all selflessly served the Filipino people, especially the oppressed and exploited peasants and farmworkers of Negros. They were deeply loved by the masses. Defying the military clampdown on their communities, people of Toboso and Calatrava lined up in long convoys to bring their beloved Red fighters to their final resting place, by way of expressing their high respects and deep gratitude.

The New People’s Army suffered a tactical defeat that fateful day, but remains clear-sighted and determined to advance along the revolutionary path towards strategic victory. The valiant stand and heroism of its Red fighters in Toboso inspire the oppressed masses to rise and resist through armed revolution. The blood spilt by the fallen warriors during their final battle nurtures the ground for the people’s war, from which will spring forth even more Red fighters of the New People’s Army.

We also extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of:

1. Roel Sabillo, 19, resident of Barangay Tabun-ac, Toboso
2. R.J. Nichole Ledesma, 30, community journalist from Bacolod City
3. Alyssa Alano, councilor, UP Diliman Student Council
4. Maureen Keil Santuyo, 24, member, National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA-Youth)
5. Errol Wendel, 24, member, Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura
6. Jemina Gumadlas, 15, resident of Sitio Plarending, Barangay Salamanca, Toboso
7. Lyle Prijoles, 40, of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, from San Francisco, California
8. Kai Sorem, 26, from Seattle, Washington
9. Dexter Patajo, 17, Sitio Buklog, Barangay Lalong, Calatrava, Negros Occidental

Based on the initial information we have gathered, they were killed despite the fact that they were unarmed or non-combatants. Among them are a journalist, a student leader, peasant organizers, overseas human rights workers and local residents. Two of the victims were children.

Communist Party honors the victims

We pay tribute to the victims of the Toboso Massacre, both the Red fighters and all those who selflessly chose to offer their strength, knowledge and abilities to serve the interests of the oppressed and exploited masses. Let us follow the path they took for the salvation of the nation.

The officers and operating troops of the AFP are culpable for willful and indiscriminate killing. They must be made to account for and be punished for their gross crimes under international humanitarian law.

Video footage from the AFP’s own drone cameras has also surfaced on social media showing Ka Tapang was alive, and apparently in no position to give battle. This indicates that he was summarily killed by the fascists, instead of being taken in as a prisoner of war. We urge other conscionable elements of the AFP who possess other drone footage to smuggle these out and step forward to reveal real accounts of how the brutal crimes were carried out, against the stories being weaved by their superiors.

The AFP is desperately trying to cover up their crimes, concocting twisted facts to prop up its lies. The AFP’s initial claim that seven firearms were recovered from the site was later “updated” to 20 (later 24), to make it appear that all those killed were armed combatants.

The AFP forcibly evacuated local residents, then cordoned them off to impose an information blackout and prevent the media and independent groups from conducting interviews and an effective investigation into the massacre. Days later, a military-organized group was allowed to conduct its own “fact-finding mission,” a sham designed to fabricate an AFP-certified story that aligns with their official fiction of a “legitimate operation.”

Incredulously, various personalities and sectors have called for an independent investigation. The Commission on Human Rights has announced it will conduct one, although it had made similar empty pronouncements in the past. Recall how it promised to investigate the 2023 Fausto family massacre in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, involving the AFP’s 94th Infantry Battalion, but has failed to come up with anything substantive almost three years since.

Filipino people experience worsening oppression

The broad masses of the Filipino people suffer worsening forms of oppression and exploitation in the face of the deepening crisis under the [President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr.] puppet and fascist regime. Marcos has ordered his armed minions in the AFP and the National Task Force-Elcac to escalate their attacks on the people in the guise of “peace and development.” Like his dictator father, Marcos Jr. employs terror tactics to subject people to political repression, particularly in the countryside, where martial law reigns.

State terrorism has never succeeded in crushing the will of the people. The attacks of the Marcos regime will fail to stop the people from fighting back. On the contrary, its fascist brutality only sharpens the people’s resolve, making undeniable the justness and necessity of waging armed revolution.

The New People’s Army stands unwavering in its determination to deliver revolutionary justice to all victims of the Toboso massacre.

The flames of the people’s war will rage on and spread across the country, as the Filipino people’s aspiration for national freedom and genuine democracy burn strongly in their hearts.

Statement from the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, April 22, 2026:

Military operations in Negros constitute grave international humanitarian law (IHL) violations

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) strongly condemns the military operations conducted by the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) of the Philippine Army in Brgy, Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, in Central Philippines, last April 19.

According to local reports, the successive military operations killed 19 individuals and forcibly displaced more than 653 residents from 168 households in peasant communities in Barangays Salamanca and San Jose.

The military claims that it was a military encounter with the NPA. But the sheer number of casualties, who are alleged by the AFP to be NPA members, and the nature of the operations strongly point to possible widespread IHL violations.

Locals also refute the military’s claims. Roel Sobillo, a relative of one of the victims, asserts that [the victim Roel] Sobillo was only a farmer who worked under his uncle’s business in the area. Other victims include RJ Nichole Ledesma, a journalist and cultural worker, and Alyssa Alano, a student leader and peasant organizer. As of now, the surviving families and human rights groups are still verifying details of the incident and the identities of the victims.

Ledesma was a writer and editor of local alternative media outfit Paghimutad-Negros and the regional coordinator in Negros Island of Altermidya, a Filipino network of independent and progressive media outfits. Meanwhile, Alyssa Alano was a student leader at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and an incumbent councilor on its student council. Both were reported to have been conducting community work and immersion with communities in the area to research the conditions of the local peasants at the time of their killings.

ICHRP strongly supports the call to launch an immediate and impartial investigation into the killings and the forced evacuation of hundreds of families. Given the nature of the AFP’s military operations and their long track record of violating the rights of civilians and combatants alike, ICHRP is vigilant and will constantly monitor the situation for possible human rights and IHL violations. We call on the international community to amplify the calls for justice for all victims in Negros Occidental.

Statement from Anakbayan USA, April 26, 2026

Group reveals 2nd Fil-Am victim in Toboso carnage

A 26-year old woman from Steilacom, Washington, was the second Filipino-American casualty in the Toboso, Negros Occidental, incident that killed 19 people, Anakbayan-USA revealed.

Kai Sorem, a musician and activist, was among those killed in what human rights and church organizations described as a “prolonged and indiscriminate firing” by the 79th Infantry Battalion – Philippine Army troopers that also displaced more than 800 residents.

On Friday, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) – USA revealed that 40-year-old Californian Lyle Prijoles was killed in what the military claimed was a 12-hour running gunbattle.

Killed with Sorem and Prijoles were a journalist, a student leader and two farmers’ organizers who various church and rights groups disclosed were civilians for various community activities when the military clashed with a small group of NPA fighters in a nearby but separate activity.

The NPA earlier said the military encountered a small band of Red guerrillas, denying the other victims were their members.

“We denounce and decry the massacre of our beloved youth activist, Kai Sorem, and the Negros 19,” Anakbayan-USA said in its announcement on Saturday.

The group described Sorem as a “loving, kind, patient and attentive” person.

“With a shining smile, she was incredibly gentle and kind, driven by her great love for the masses. She was curious to learn about others and help in any way she could,” the group added.

Anakbayan said it was while a Central Washington University student that Sorem witnessed George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, as well as [getting] reports of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s violent war on drugs [that she] became an activist.

She later helped launch Anakbayan South Seattle (ABSS), serving as the chapter’s founding Solidarity Officer, “immersing herself deeply in the lives of migrant Filipino families, beloved by many in the community.”

In her first immersion trip to the Philippines, Sorem travelled to farmers’ communities in Cebu province, vowing to eventually return “to serve the most oppressed and exploited.”

Anakbayan said it demands an immediate and independent investigation into the April 19 and 20 attacks it describes as a “massacre.”

The U.S. Embassy – Manila’s website has yet to issue a statement on the death of its two citizens.

The U.S. government has reorganized, funded and trained the Philippine Army since 1901. The AFP and the U.S. military are currently engaged in both country’s biggest war games in history.