Toboso, Negros Occidental — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will investigate a security force encounter that killed 19 people in Negros Occidental, signaling a shift in approach to armed confrontations under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. compared to the previous administration's tolerance of extrajudicial violence.
The clash occurred in Toboso municipality when government forces engaged suspected New People's Army (NPA) guerrillas. Official reports describe an armed encounter, but the high casualty count and circumstances surrounding the operation have raised questions about proportional use of force.
CHR's intervention represents a notable departure from the Rodrigo Duterte era, when the commission faced political attacks and budget cuts for investigating security force killings. Under Duterte, similar encounters typically drew official praise rather than scrutiny.
"The CHR investigation signals that questions about use of force are legitimate again," said Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch. "For six years, asking those questions could get you labeled a communist sympathizer."
The Negros region has long been a flashpoint for armed conflict. The island's sugar plantations created stark wealth inequality, providing fertile recruiting ground for communist insurgents. Military operations against the NPA have frequently resulted in high civilian casualties and allegations of summary executions.
During the Duterte administration, Negros saw particularly deadly encounters. A 2019 operation in Guihulngan City killed 14 people described as NPA members, though relatives and activists disputed the government's account. Similar incidents in Canlaon City and elsewhere followed patterns that human rights groups characterized as extrajudicial killings disguised as armed encounters.
What distinguishes the current case is official willingness to investigate rather than dismiss concerns out of hand. CHR has indicated it will examine whether the 19 fatalities resulted from legitimate combat or excessive force, whether those killed were indeed armed combatants, and whether proper rules of engagement were followed.
