“It cannot simply be that the military’s account is accepted at face value when there are witnesses and evidence pointing to a different truth. What happened in Toboso must be investigated clearly and impartially."

MANILA – The killings of 19 individuals prompted progressive lawmakers to file House Resolution No. 962 on April 27, 2026, directing the House Committee on Human Rights to immediately investigate the massacre.

Signed by ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Atty.  Renee Louise Co, the resolution seeks to establish the facts behind the deaths of at least 19 individuals and the forced evacuation of more than 650 families.

“It cannot simply be that the military’s account is accepted at face value when there are witnesses and evidence pointing to a different truth. What happened in Toboso must be investigated clearly and impartially,” Makabayan bloc lawmakers said in a joint statement.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has maintained that all the individuals killed were combatants. Human rights groups, lawyers groups, and the New People’s Army said otherwise.

In a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) identified 10 individuals killed as armed revolutionaries of the New People’s Army (NPA), while the other nine were civilians — including two minors.

“The New People’s Army (NPA) suffered a tactical defeat that fateful day, but remains clear-sighted and determined to advance along the revolutionary path towards strategic victory,” the CPP said in a statement sent to the media.

Read: Lawyers urge public to reject unverified claims on Toboso 19 killings
Read: ‘Why did the military kill a journalist?’

The resolution also expressed support for the independent investigation that the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is conducting. Its office in Negros Island Region has initiated a probe and noted several inconsistencies in the identities of the dead as reported by the military.

“Determination of status, circumstances of engagement, and proportionality must be based on verifiable facts and due process. In case of doubt, persons shall be presumed civilians,” the CHR central office said in a statement.

Among those killed were a student leader, a journalist, a researcher, and community organizers– all of whom are supposed to be protected by the international humanitarian law under the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution. “They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity,” the international law stated.

The Philippine government has ratified the Geneva Conventions, and signed the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). It also enacted its 2009 domestic law Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity.

However, despite all these commitments, IHL violations have persisted.

Moreover, the resolution also demands the immediate and formal termination of Duterte-era directive Memorandum Order No. 32 which justifices additional deployment of police and military in the whole Negros, Samar, and Bicol regions.

“MO 32 must be put to an end. Instead of being a solution, it has only brought added suffering, militarization, and human rights violations in rural communities,” the progressive lawmakers said in Filipino. (RTS, RVO)

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