By CESAR JOLITO III
The recent surge of civilian killings in the Negros Island Region (NIR) has drawn strong condemnation from both the government and former rebel groups, highlighting growing security concerns.
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and Buklod Kapayapaan Federation Inc. (BKFI), a national federation of former rebels, have urged swift action following reports that at least 28 civilians have been slain since March 2025, allegedly by the New People’s Army (NPA), according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 3rd Infantry Division.
NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres, Jr. called the killings “deeply alarming and morally indefensible.”
“When two civilians are being murdered every month on one island alone, we are no longer speaking of isolated incidents — we are confronting a sustained campaign of terror,” Torres said.
The latest victim, 74-year-old Leonora Anguit of Barangay Tapi in Negros Occidental’s Kabankalan City, was reportedly shot inside her home after being accused by the NPA of serving as a government informant — a practice commonly referred to as “spy-tagging.”
Torres stressed that such accusations endanger civilians without due process, describing the killings as “vigilante executions masquerading as ideology” and a gross violation of the right to life.
BKFI also condemned the attacks, calling them “cold-blooded and heartless crimes” that instill fear and insecurity among local communities.
“Defenseless civilians should never be treated as targets in any armed struggle,” the group said, emphasizing that these incidents constitute grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian norms.
In response, the Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (JRTF-ELCAC) of NIR convened its Technical Working Group-Cluster Heads and Operations Center meeting in Talisay City.
The meeting, led by NTF-ELCAC National Secretariat representative Arnulfo Ferdinand Bajarin and JRTF-ELCAC Secretariat Head Nina Connie Dood, involved key national government agencies and focused on updating the task force directory, consolidating cluster accomplishment reports, and preparing for a full organizational meeting./CJ, WDJ