Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. said no civilians were killed in the encounter with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Toboso, Negros Occidental, and that no peace talks will take place.
Teodoro said he is 100 percent sure of the legitimacy of the Army’s conduct during its encounters with the NPA in Toboso and Cauayan, Negros Occidental, amid deliberate efforts by communist groups to distort the truth.
“There is a lot of misinformation coming out and I’m here to correct that,” said Teodoro, who met with Negros Occidental officials led by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson at the Capitol in Bacolod City, and visited the 79th and 15th Infantry Battalion troops at their headquarters on Saturday.
The Army’s 79th IB encounters with the NPA in Toboso on April 19 resulted in 19 deaths, while the 15th IB’s encounters with the communist rebels in Cauayan on May 16 left five red fighters dead and the capture of a wounded rebel.
Teodoro maintained that all 19 people killed in Toboso were combatants and that none of them were civilians.
The claims that six were civilians are hearsay. “Our soldiers’ accounts show that they were armed,” he said.
“What is their source for the claim that six were civilians—the NPA? What kind of credibility can you give the statement of a terrorist organization?” he asked.
Paraffin tests showing that only 11 of the 19 killed tested positive for gunpowder burns are secondary. “It cannot substitute the testimony of an actual participant, which gives direct evidence rather than hearsay,” he said.
He added that it is up to groups claiming human rights violations to prove their allegations, rather than relying merely on “innuendos, hearsay, and bad publicity or propaganda just so they can collect from their sponsors abroad.”
“They are using the tragic death of these 19 as a propaganda tool for them to gain relevance, power, and the status of legitimacy. I’m sorry, it’s not going to fly,” he said.
He also noted that the NPA has killed 49 civilians in Negros.
Teodoro said he was in Negros Occidental to thank Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and provincial officials for their support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“It is a partnership and cooperation between the Army and the local government,” he said.
Teodoro also met with soldiers of the 79th Infantry Battalion and the 15th Infantry Battalion in Cauayan to extend his gratitude and support.
He assured them that he is prepared to stand by them, especially amid what he described as “deliberate efforts by communist groups to distort the truth and undermine the military’s credibility.”
Teodoro slammed the propaganda tactics of rebel groups, saying they repeatedly attempt to portray slain combatants as innocent civilians in a desperate effort to destroy the credibility of the military.
According to him, these narratives are being pushed because local communities have already rejected and isolated the armed movement after years of violence, intimidation, and senseless killings committed against innocent civilians.
Teodoro called on the remaining rebels to surrender and return to the fold of the law while there is still time.
Brig. Gen. Jason Jumawan, 302nd Infantry Brigade commander, said Teodoro informed them that there will be no peace talks and that they should focus on military operations in the area.*
[sibwp_form id=1]