Negros clash spurs call to revive talks with Reds
Former government peace negotiators called for a resumption of peace talks with communist rebels following the killing of 19 people in a recent military operation in Negros Occidental, saying the two sides once came close to reaching an interim peace agreement to end the nearly six-decades-old insurgency.
“The nineteen (19) deaths in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, on 19 April 2026 underscore the urgent need to finally settle this long-standing armed conflict,” they said in a statement on Thursday.
The statement was signed by Hernani Braganza, a former agrarian reform secretary; Efren Moncupa, a human rights lawyer and former member of the government peace panel; Jaime Aristotle Alip, founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development-Mutually Reinforcing Institutions; Francisco J. Lara Jr., a peace and conflict studies expert; and Roberto Ador, a former political detainee with a master’s degree in international public health from the University of Washington.
They were members of the government “exploratory team” involved in backchannel talks with the rebels while serving the government panel negotiating with the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing, the New People’s Army, and its political umbrella, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP), from 2014 to 2020 during the Aquino and Duterte administrations.
“There was, in those years, a functioning and serious peace process, one that came closer to securing lasting gains than most people know,” they said.
They said the discussions had included possible arrangements for the return of the late CPP founder Jose Maria Sison before his death in 2022.
Formal peace talks must be resumed “without precondition,” they said.
They warned that the aftermath of the killings in Toboso had fueled grief and anger online, particularly among young Filipinos, and could further strain the fragile peace efforts.
The group joined calls for a “genuinely independent, third-party investigation” of the killings, which they described as among the most serious incidents that ended in the alleged killing of civilians in recent years.
Conflicting accounts
They urged Congress to create a joint fact-finding commission with executive agencies and civil society participation. Malacañang earlier said that President Marcos would not obstruct any investigation by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
The CHR has cited conflicting accounts from both sides and would seek to determine whether international humanitarian law was observed during the military operation.
The former negotiators said accountability efforts must be paired with long-term solutions addressing poverty, landlessness, and other root causes of the insurgency.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines defended the actions of the soldiers, saying their April 19 operation was “intelligence-driven” and that all those killed were armed and had engaged government forces in combat. It said the operation was a significant blow against the Northern Negros Front of the NPA and that there were no casualties among government troops.
The CPP said only 10 of those killed were members of the NPA and the nine others were all civilians. The civilians included Alyssa Alano, 22, a University of the Philippines (UP) student leader, Maureen Keil Santuyo, 24, of the UP Open University, community journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma, 30, two Filipino Americans and two minors.
Ernesto Torres, executive director of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), identified the two American citizens as Lyle Prijoles, 40, from San Francisco, California, and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, 26, of Steilacoom, Washington.
Anakbayan-USA said Sorem was a founding officer of Anakbayan South Seattle and one of many Filipino-American youths “who [sought] to understand their roots and the society that forces many Filipinos to migrate” and who chose to “contribute to change.”
US Embassy security alert
Bayan USA said Prijoles was a human rights advocate and a “well-loved member of the Filipino community.” It said he was killed while “immersing with communities in Negros to learn firsthand their daily hardships as farmers and their struggle for land and justice.”
On Friday, the US Embassy in Manila raised a security alert, warning American citizens of heightened risks in parts of the Philippines following the recent military operation on Negros Island, specifically the April 19 clash.
The embassy advised Americans in the Philippines and around the world to “abide by local laws and to avoid situations with elevated security risk.”
It identified rural and mountainous areas in Leyte, Mindoro, Negros and Samar as “areas of heightened concern,” noting that these provinces have seen recent deadly encounters between government troops and insurgents.
“The NPA is a designated foreign terrorist organization by the governments of the United States and the Philippines. Anyone in proximity of NPA elements is at grave risk of arrest, injury, or death,” the embassy said.
The embassy warned US citizens to avoid any contact or association with armed groups and to immediately leave areas where unidentified armed individuals are present.
Check aid groups
It also advised Americans engaging in humanitarian or volunteer work to coordinate only with properly registered organizations and to secure appropriate visas, noting that some groups may have links to violent actors.
It encouraged US citizens to list up in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive emergency alerts and assistance.
The NTF-Elcac welcomed the US Embassy’s advisory, calling it a “clear recognition” of the dangers posed by communist insurgent groups.
It said the embassy alert supported its long-standing position that the NPA is a terrorist organization and that its international networks had been used for recruitment and financial support.
The NTF-Elcac said the embassy’s warning that some nongovernmental organizations may have links to armed groups, underscoring concerns over alleged infiltration of legitimate civilian platforms.
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