Bagong Alyansang Makabayan condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its intensified operations terrorizing communities and leaving behind a trail of grave human rights abuses. Its focused military operations in Toboso, Negros Occidental, have displaced more than 600 residents from 168 households and killed at least 19 individuals.
Initial reports carried the AFP narrative that the casualties resulted from an armed encounter between their troops and members of the New People’s Army. Later, witnesses came forward to debunk the AFP claim and assert that among those killed were farmers and civilians. After gathering more information about the supposed “encounter” in Toboso, it has become evident that state troops massacred more than a dozen individuals in several barangays and engaged in a malicious cover-up to evade accountability.
Among the massacre victims were journalists, youth activists, and cultural workers who went to Toboso to study the conditions of peasant communities and document the impact of so-called development projects in Negros, such as the expansion of oil palm plantations and GMO crops.
We mourn their deaths; we are outraged over another massacre in Negros, and we vow to honor their legacy by remaining steadfast in the struggle for genuine social change. Bayan will work with other sectors, groups, and institutions to pursue justice for the Toboso massacre victims and to demand the immediate removal of fascist troops in Negros.
We hold the Marcos Jr. government responsible for the dastardly crimes committed by the AFP in Negros. It follows an alarming pattern of tyranny aimed at suppressing dissent under the guise of upholding peace and development. The massacre in Negros, the bombings in Mindoro, and the recent illegal arrests targeting Ilocos, Cordillera, and Panay human rights defenders expose the brutal “peace” blueprint plotted by the notorious redtagger and serial human rights violator National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
The Marcos Jr. government is ramping up its repression amid rising discontent over high prices of oil and basic goods, corruption and impunity, land conversion, and its complicity in escalating tension and endangering the lives of Filipinos by allowing the US to expand its military presence and intervention in the country. In the cities, the police are conducting mass arrests and demolitions in urban poor communities while relying on Martial Law policies to restrict protests. In the provinces, AFP forces are deploying troops, imposing blockades, and using US-supplied drones and bombs to attack barangays and the civilian population resisting militarization and the entry of large-scale extractive projects.
Marcos and his fascist subordinates may think they can weaponize the bureaucracy for their reign of greed and tyranny. But the people’s clamor for justice is more powerful, and we will not waver in our demand for accountability in the same way we demanded the prosecution and arrest of Rodrigo Duterte, who is now facing trial at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
Bayan calls on all Filipinos to unite, defeat the tyranny of Marcos Jr., and fight for justice.
Hustisya para sa mga biktima ng Toboso massacre!
Militar sa kanyunan, palayasin!
Buwagin ang NTF-ELCAC!
Ibasura ang pekeng peace program ng rehimeng US-Marcos Jr!
Makibaka, huwag matakot!