Contrary to claims that the 19 New People’s Army (NPA) members were massacred during the April 19 clash in Toboso, Negros Occidental, a ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said the communist insurgents were given every opportunity to surrender, but they refused.
“Government forces continuously called on members of the armed group to surrender because no one wanted these encounters to happen,” NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres, Jr. told the Philippine News Agency yesterday.
“Tragically, opportunities for peace were repeatedly ignored and rejected even during the lull in combat.”
He noted that all 19 individuals who figured in that incident were combatants killed in the course of a legitimate armed engagement with government forces.
“Attempts to portray some of the fatalities as just civilians, farmers or researchers have collapsed under the weight of physical evidence, forensic findings, crime scene investigation reports, and even admissions coming from the CPP [Communist Party of the Philippines] – NPA itself,” he said.
Quoting 3rd Infantry Division commander Major General Michael Samson, Torres said that during the April 19 clash, government troops encountered armed individuals and had every reason to treat them as combatants.
He added that Samson clarified an important point regarding such personalities as Alysa Alano and RJ Ledesma.
“Regardless of prior identity, profession or affiliation, individuals found armed and actively participating during an encounter are combatants in that operational context,” Torres said.
Among the strongest evidence presented were the forensic findings discussed by Police Colonel Reynaldo Calaoa of the Regional Forensic Unit – Negros Island Region. Out of the 19 fatalities, 11 tested positive for gunpowder residue.
“This finding becomes even more significant when viewed in light of the conditions surrounding body recovery. Several of the fatalities remained exposed to seawater and recurring high tide for almost 24 hours before recovery and examination,” Torres said.
He added that surface gunshot residue is highly vulnerable to environmental degradation. Even ordinary washing can substantially reduce detectable residue.
In this case, Torres said, government troops were dealing with prolonged saltwater immersion, wave action, abrasion from sand and debris, and movement during recovery operations.
“Yet despite these extraordinary conditions, a majority still tested positive. That is not a small detail. That is powerful forensic evidence supporting the reality of an active firefight. Therefore, arguing that the eight who tested negative automatically did not fire weapons are not supported by forensic science. Such claim would be scientifically weak. A negative paraffin result is not proof that a person never fired a gun. It may simply indicate that by the time testing occurred, detectable surface residue was no longer present,” he said.
He also added that the mixed findings themselves — 11 positive and eight negative — are not unusual under uneven environmental conditions.
Varying levels of submersion, body positions, clothing protection, tidal movement, and exposure can produce different outcomes.
“The danger of simplistic conclusions becomes obvious in the case of Roger Fabillar, alias ‘Jong,’ identified as commander of the Northern Negros Front and publicly acknowledged by the NPA itself as one of its slain members. He was among those who tested negative. If anyone would insist that a negative paraffin finding automatically means non-participation in combat, then that argument immediately runs into serious difficulty,” he added.
On Thursday, May 21, Police Brigadier General Dennis Wenceslao presented scene of the crime operatives (SOCO) findings confirming that investigators recovered more than 20 long and short firearms besides ammunition, expended cartridges, communication equipment, backpacks, hammocks, medical supplies, and war materials from the encounter site, all entirely consistent with active guerrilla field operations.
At least 10 of the 19 fatalities have also been publicly identified and claimed by the NPA itself as members of their organization, Torres said.
“Among these were Fabillar and Josel Guimang, whom the NPA initially portrayed as an 18-year-old fighter, but was in fact only 17 years old. Three child combatants in total were recovered from the encounter site, once again raising serious concerns about the armed movement’s continued use and recruitment of children in combat, a clear violation of local as well as international humanitarian laws,” he said.
He also took note of the observations of forensic pathologist Dr. Racqel Fortun, indicating no signs of close-range firing among the fatalities.
Such findings, Torres said, support the conclusion that these deaths resulted from a legitimate armed encounter.
“Equally revealing are the shifting narratives coming from the CPP-NPA itself, first acknowledging 10 members, then 13, and later attempting to recast several as civilians. But changing numbers do not change facts,” he added.
Torres also noted how communist front organizations are calling for “justice for all 19,” including Fabillar, and other individuals publicly identified by authorities and acknowledged by the NPA itself as members of the armed movement.
“The totality of evidence now speaks clearly: physical evidence, forensic examination, scene investigation, recovered war materiel, and admissions from the armed movement itself all point in one direction. The Toboso incident was not a massacre. It was a legitimate armed engagement. Facts matter. Evidence matters. Forensics matter,” he said. (PNA)