PRO-NIR probes Toboso clash evidence

By Glazyl M. Jopson

BACOLOD CITY — The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region said it will focus on forensic evidence gathered from the April 19 armed encounter in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, which left 19 people dead.

“We are doing our best for an impartial investigation. We are focusing on the evidence that we have recovered,” Brig. Gen. Romano Cardiño, PRO-NIR acting regional director, said Thursday during a forum organized by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

Cardiño said all pieces of evidence would be validated through forensic science.

“Hindi natin pwedeng dayain,” he added.

Col. Reynaldo Calaoa, chief of the Regional Forensic Unit-NIR, said 11 of the 19 slain individuals tested positive for gunpowder residue.

However, Calaoa clarified that those who tested negative could still have fired weapons, citing possible false-negative results caused by factors such as immersion in water, muzzle distance, high temperatures, and wind direction.

Calaoa said rifles were used during the encounter, and the distance of the muzzle from the hands, combined with the open environment and wind direction, could have reduced the presence of gunpowder residue.

He said the encounter also took place in a fishpond area, where some of the casualties were immersed in water.

Calaoa declined to identify the 11 individuals who tested positive while the investigation is ongoing.

Asked about allegations of mishandling of bodies, Calaoa said not all victims sustained gunshot wounds in the back, as they could also have been hit in other parts of the body.

He said seven had gunshot wounds at the back portion of their bodies, although he clarified that he was not a medical officer qualified to elaborate further.

Maj. Gen. Michael Samson, commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, said the incident involved a running gun battle, making it difficult to determine exactly how the victims were hit.

He said government forces were allegedly acting in self-defense.

“I don’t want to speculate, but this was a gun battle,” Samson said.

Col. Dennis Wenceslao, director of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, presented the progress report of the Special Investigation Task Group Toboso during the forum.

Wenceslao said authorities documented 56 killings in Negros Occidental from 2023 to the present that were allegedly admitted by the New People’s Army.

He said most of the victims were civilians, including farmers, laborers, barangay officials, barangay watchmen, and former Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit members.

Many victims were allegedly tagged as spies, military informants, government supporters, or anti-communist personalities before they were killed, Wenceslao said.

Based on the timeline of the April 19 encounter, Wenceslao said the first firefight erupted at 3:58 a.m. in Sitio Sinugmawan and Sitio Plaringding in Barangay Salamanca and lasted for about 25 minutes.

He said this was followed by seven more encounters in different areas of Sitio Plaringding involving fleeing armed individuals.

The succeeding firefights reportedly lasted between 10 and 25 minutes.

One soldier from the Army’s 79th Infantry Battalion was wounded, while 19 individuals identified by authorities as NPA rebels — 14 males and five females — were killed.

Police identified the fatalities as Rene Villarin Sr., alias Kumander Pikot, 58, of Barangay Marcelo, Calatrava; Roger Fabillar Tapang, alias Jhong or Arnel, 36, of Barangay Bandila, Toboso; Ruel Sabillo, 19, of Barangay Tabun-ak, Toboso; Sonny Boy Caramihan, 28, of Barangay Bagonbon, San Carlos City; Pedro Bonghanoy, 32, of Barangay Libertad, Escalante City; Arnel Javoc, 32, of Barangay Lalong, Calatrava; Joros Caramihan, 18, of Barangay Bago, Don Salvador Benedicto; and a 17-year-old boy from Barangay Malasibog, Escalante City.

The other fatalities were identified as Maureen Keil Santuyo, 24, of Makati City; Errol Wendel Chen, 24, of Makati City; R.J. Nichole Ledesma, 30, of Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City; Alyssa Alano, 22, of Marikina City; Maria Clarita Blanco, 43, of Borbon, Cebu; Labskie Enustacion, 33, of Barangay Bug-ang, Toboso; Genevive Balora, 28, of Barangay Tomongtong, E.B. Magalona; a 15-year-old girl from Sitio Plaringding, Barangay Salamanca, Toboso; Lyle Prijoles, 40, of Hayward, California, United States; Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, 26, of Tacoma, Washington, United States; and a 17-year-old boy from Barangay Lalong, Calatrava.

The Communist Party of the Philippines claimed that only 10 of the fatalities were armed combatants, while the remaining nine were unarmed civilians and not members of the armed group involved in the encounter.

The CPP claim contradicted assertions by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Army that the fatalities were combatants.

The CPP identified the slain fighters as Tapang; the two Caramihans; Villarin, a squad leader; Javoc; Bonghanoy, a medical officer; the 15-year-old girl; Blanco, a political instructor; Balora, a district party cadre; and Enustacion.

Authorities said the cadavers underwent post-mortem examination around 3 p.m. April 20.

All bodies have been claimed by their families, including the remains of the two foreign nationals.

Samson maintained that the military encountered armed individuals, citing information from former rebels about the identities of those killed.

“How we wish, na wala sila doon, sana. Siguro hindi nila na-realize ang danger until the event of an encounter,” Samson said.

Samson said authorities received reports from concerned residents about the presence of around 20 armed men in the village from April 15 to 17, prompting security forces to conduct monitoring operations.

“May pagtitipon. We don’t know kung baka nagme-meeting sila. Mas madaling makakapagbigay ng information kapag may consolidation and sightings,” he added.

The Philippine Army maintained that the 19 fatalities were combatants and NPA rebels led by Tapang, whom the Army identified as a notorious hitman and leader of the dismantled Northern Negros Front.

The Army linked Tapang to 23 liquidation incidents in northern Negros, particularly in Calatrava, Toboso, and Escalante City, since 2022.

Authorities said Tapang had four arrest warrants, while Villarin was reportedly involved in 11 incidents and had three arrest warrants.

Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson also backed the military’s position, describing the incident as a legitimate encounter.

Police reported recovering 25 firearms, six explosives, 450 cartridges, 34 magazines, four magazine clips, and 204 fired cartridge cases from the encounter site.

All recovered firearms had undergone ballistic examination.

Meanwhile, the five alleged NPA rebels arrested by police in Talisay City on April 22 during an operation against a wanted person have been charged with various offenses.

Wenceslao said alias Glem, the No. 2 regional most wanted person and alleged secretary of the Northern Negros Front, had 33 arrest warrants for murder, attempted murder, multiple murder, frustrated murder, robbery, and theft.

Police identified alias Judy, the brother of Sonny Boy Caramihan and uncle of Joros Caramihan, as an alleged member of the Northern Negros Front.

Police said alias Julie Ann is the sister of Balora.

Police said alias Danny Boy, who has an arrest warrant for seven counts of frustrated murder, is the nephew of Jomary De Baguio, an alleged squad leader of Central Negros 2.

Glem, Judy, Julie Ann, and Danny Boy were charged with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and illegal possession of explosives in connection with their arrest and the recovery of weapons and grenades in Talisay City.

Wenceslao said alias Jerome, who reportedly served as their driver, was charged with obstruction of apprehension and prosecution of criminal offenders.

Samson said the Philippine Army and the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Negros will continue to intensify military operations to protect communities from intimidation and threats from the armed group.

“It’s our job and mandate, so we will do so,” he added.

Samson said that because of the hacienda system in Negros, the NPA would use the plight of farmers to entice them to join the armed struggle.

He said the bottom line is to end the insurgency problem, which has claimed lives and destroyed property.

“I think we have learned over the past 50 years. Hindi kami nagkulang sa panawagan to the remaining members to go back to the fold of the law and avail the government programs,” he added.

Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., NTF-ELCAC executive director, reiterated the government’s call for remaining rebels to surrender.

The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, has waged one of Asia’s longest-running communist insurgencies, and the Philippine and U.S. governments have separately designated it as a terrorist organization.