ASEAN rights group condemns the killing of 19 in Negros Occidental, including alleged civilians, as rights groups call for an independent probe into the military operation. (Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights)
Nineteen people were killed in a military operation this month in the central Philippines, prompting sharp condemnation from a regional lawmakers’ group, ASEAN Parliamentarian for Human Rights. The incident raised fresh questions about civilian protection in the country’s long-running insurgency.
The group said the April 19 operation in Toboso, a town in Negros Occidental, resulted in the deaths of at least nine civilians, including a journalist, students and minors.
The Philippine military, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said all 19 were members of the communist rebel group New People’s Army, citing the recovery of firearms at the scene.
But the circumstances of the killings remain disputed.
“An operation that cannot distinguish between armed combatants and community workers is an indiscriminate attack that violates international humanitarian law,” said Mercy Chriesty Barends, the chairwoman of the rights group. She called for accountability from the military.
Among those identified by civil society groups as civilians was RJ Nichole Ledesma, 30, a regional coordinator for Altermidya, a network of independent media organizations. The group said he was not at the site of the initial clash, but pursuing forces killed him later in a nearby village.
University students and community advocates worked with farmers in the area, and authorities have withheld the identities of two minors.
The Commission on Human Rights has opened an independent investigation, citing what it described as inconsistencies in official accounts. CHR stressed, “presume persons to be civilians in case of doubt.”
The agency also reported that the incident has displaced at least 167 families, or more than 600 people.
The killings come amid longstanding concerns over the conduct of counterinsurgency operations in the Philippines, where authorities frequently accused activists and journalists of links to insurgent groups — a practice widely known as red-tagging.
Rights advocates say such accusations can place individuals at risk.
The country has been one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility has recorded over 150 journalist killings since 1986. Reporters Without Borders ranked the Philippines 116th out of 180 countries in its 2025 press freedom index.
“The government does not operate in a vacuum,” said Wong Chen, a member of Parliament in Malaysia and a board member of the rights group. “These killings happen because the system allows them to.”
Philippine authorities have not indicated whether an internal military review is underway. The military has consistently defended its operations as lawful engagements against armed rebels.
The international humanitarian law considers the deliberate killing of civilians to be a grave breach. Rights groups are calling for investigations free from military influence, an end to operations that endanger noncombatants, and assistance for displaced communities.
The Philippines, which holds the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, has faced growing scrutiny over whether it can uphold regional commitments to human rights while confronting its internal conflicts.
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