NTF-ELCAC confirms Fil-Am fatality in Toboso clash

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) confirmed that a 40-year-old individual from California, USA, was among the 19 persons killed in the recent armed encounters between suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members and military forces in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental.

“We expressed our highest concern and deepest condolences to the family of the reported American citizen of Filipino descent,” the NTF-ELCAC said in a statement released Friday, five days after the deadly skirmish on April 19.

While full identification and circumstances remain subject to proper verification, the anti-insurgency task force recognized the profound grief that accompanies such loss — especially under circumstances of armed conflict.

“Let us be clear: we do not celebrate the loss of Filipino lives — nor of any life. Every death is a tragedy. But we must also confront the difficult truth that this incident lays bare,” said NTF-ELCAC Undersecretary and Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr.

The NTF-ELCAC cited initial information that the slain Filipino-American was reportedly linked to Anakbayan-USA, which the task force said needs proper verification.

The NTF-ELCAC stressed that the reported presence of a foreign national raises a deeper concern that can no longer be ignored.

“If confirmed, this raises serious questions about the pathways through which individuals — particularly those in the Filipino diaspora — are drawn into situations of armed confrontation,” the task force said.

The task force noted the reach of recruitment, ideological influence, and what it described as terror grooming — processes that cross borders and prey on vulnerability.

“This is not solidarity — it is exploitation,” the task force said, adding that it is the dangerous packaging of violence as a cause, of armed struggle as purpose, and of death as sacrifice for a promised victory that has remained elusive for nearly six decades.

“When individuals — whether Filipino or foreign-born — are drawn into armed struggle, the outcome is almost always the same: violence, loss, and shattered futures,” it said.

The task force cited a similar pattern in the case of Filipino-American Chantal Anicoche, who was reportedly sent by organizations to join the NPA and was found alive and reunited with her family in the USA after an encounter in Occidental Mindoro.

“This is a fortunate outcome that underscores the importance of timely intervention,” it said.

The task force said the case compels it to express particular concern and alarm over deceptive recruitment tactics attributed to certain organizations operating abroad, which risk placing members of the Filipino-American community in harm’s way.

“The promise of purpose, identity, or struggle is too often used to obscure the harsh reality on the ground — where the endpoint is not empowerment, but exposure to armed violence,” it added.

“These are not the conditions of a civilian gathering — they point to the presence of an organized armed formation operating within a community, placing lives at risk,” the task force said.

“This is why the government continues to emphasize not only law enforcement, but prevention — ensuring that no Filipino, and no individual connected to our nation, is drawn into armed conflict under false promises,” the task force said.

The task force said the tragedy in Toboso is not just in the number of lives lost but in how those lives were led into that moment.

The facts surrounding the Toboso encounter are telling, the task force said.

Young people, students, professionals, and even those raised overseas are gradually drawn into narratives that glorify rebellion while concealing its consequences, it added.

They are led to believe in inevitability, in a future that justifies present violence, the task force said.

“But the truth is stark: there is no inevitable victory in armed insurgency — only cycles of loss,” it said.

Government forces responded to civilian information about armed elements, resulting in a clash in which alleged notorious hitman Roger Fabillar Tapan, who had a PHP 1 million bounty, was neutralized, along with the recovery of firearms, grenades, and explosives.

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has waged one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies.

The NTF-ELCAC, created under Executive Order No. 70 in 2018, leads the government’s whole-of-nation approach against the communist insurgency.

The task force called on all sectors to exercise responsibility in how the incident is discussed.

“Let us allow facts, forensic processes, and lawful investigation to guide our understanding. Let us avoid narratives that romanticize or simplify what is, in reality, a complex and dangerous situation involving armed elements in civilian areas,” it said.

“The loss of life in Toboso is a solemn reminder: armed struggle does not liberate — it consumes. And no cause is worth the life of a son or daughter taken too soon,” Torres said.

The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region has formed Special Investigation Task Group “Toboso” to identify the recovered bodies and investigate the April 19 encounters in Sitio Sinugmawan, Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental.