A coalition of more than 30 civil society organizations in Negros are calling on the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front to end hostilities and resume peace negotiations.
The civil society groups issued the unified call Saturday, May 2, following the encounters between the 79th Infantry Battalion and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso.
The call was issued despite Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s statement that there would be no resumption of peace talks with communist rebels.
In a joint statement titled "When Lives Are Needlessly Lost, Something Dies in All of Us", the groups expressed profound grief over the April 19 tragedy, which claimed the lives of nine alleged civilians or non-combatants and two minors, aged 15 and 17.
The Army has maintained that all 19 killed were NPA combatants.
Addressing the conflicting narratives surrounding the encounter, the civil society groups demanded a credible and transparent investigation to establish accountability and preserve evidence.
The coalition emphasized that such loss of life inflicts deep wounds on all Negrenses and urged the public to resist dehumanizing the victims while centering the discourse on the pursuit of peace based on truth and meaningful development.
“We call on everyone to uphold our shared humanity—to speak of the lives lost with respect, to resist the urge to malign, label, or dehumanize the victims, or to cast judgment on those involved. Let us instead center our discourse on the deeper goals we share as a society — the pursuit of peace based on truth, justice, and meaningful development for all”, they said.
The groups also said the rules regarding the immersion of civilians in conflict areas should be clarified and that all parties strictly uphold international humanitarian law and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) to protect non-combatants.
They said the tragedy is inseparable from long-standing systemic issues—such as poverty, corruption, and lack of access to land—which have historically fueled unrest and insurgency in the countryside.
The civil society organizations appealed to the provincial government of Negros Occidental and local government units to exercise their mandates through various peace and development councils to address the root causes of conflict.
They said poverty, lack of access to land, livelihoods and opportunities, corruption and misgovernance, environmental destruction, systemic inequality, lack of access to basic services, and marginalization of rural communities continue to plague the countryside.
“These conditions have long provided fertile ground for unrest and violence, and continue to fuel the insurgency up to this day,” they said.
They stressed the need to advance inclusive and equitable development, especially in underserved rural areas, as part of a collective effort to address sources of conflict and build lasting peace.
“We call for renewed focus on inclusive, empowering and equitable development, and an end to the cycle of violence that deepens suffering and delays the attainment of a just and lasting peace,” they said.
“Let Negros be not a land marked by bloodshed but an island of peace, justice, and hope,” they said.
The civil society statement was signed by leaders of the following groups: 1. Paghimud-os Negros Inc. 2. Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE) Inc. 3. Task Force Detainees of the Philippines – Visayas 4. Quidan Kaisahan Negros Occidental Inc. 5. Negrosanon Young Leaders Institute Inc 6. Dakila Bacolod 7. Akbayan! Youth – Bacolod 8. Alliance of Socialist Feminists in Bacolod (SocFem Bacolod) 9. Kaisahan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan Inc (KAISAHAN) 10. Pamatan-on nga Mangunguma sang Negros Alliance (PAMANA) 11. Sowing Legacy Movement Inc. (SLMI) 12. Sipaway Seagrass Guardians 13. Paghiliusa sa Paghidaet Negros (PSPN) 14. Bunyog Pagkakaisa 15. Rev. Fr. Aniceto A. Buenafe Jr. – Parish Priest Our Lady of Lourdes, Brgy. Bata, Bacolod City 16. Rev. Fr. Chris Gonzales – Parish Priest, Triumph of the Holy Cross, Bacolod City 17. Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement – Negros (PRRM – Negros) 18. USLS Alyansa 19. Caritas Bacolod – Social Action Foundation Inc. 20. Lunhaw Integral Ecology Ministry – Diocese of San Carlos 21. Children Optimization for the Revitalization of the Environment (CORE) 22. Food Not Bombs-Bacolod City 23. Bacolod City Hardcore 24. Moxie Art Hive 25. Dead Beats Entertainment 26. Local Anarchist network 27. Philippine Youth Network for Interfaith Dialogue (PYNIFD) 28. Youth Empowering Youth Initiative (YEY!) 29. PeacePond Farmers Association 30. Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM) – Negros 31. Development Advocates for Women Network Inc. (DAWN) 32. Negros Organic Agriculture Movement (NOAM)*
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