The US Embassy issued a security alert on Friday, May 1, warning Americans traveling in Negros to avoid any affiliation with terrorist or insurgent groups.
Areas of heightened concern include rural, mountainous regions of Negros, Leyte, Mindoro, and Samar, all of which have seen recent fatal clashes between the News People’s Army (NPA) and Philippine forces, it said.
“U.S. citizens have been present during recent military actions against the NPA. An April 19 armed clash (in Toboso, Negros Occidental) resulted in the deaths of two Americans,” it said.
Encounters between the 79th Infantry Battalion and the NPA in Toboso on April 19 resulted in the deaths of 19 people, including Americans Lyle Prijoles and Kai Sorem.
Prijoles, 40, of San Francisco, was a country council member of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, and Sorem, 26, of Steilacoom, Washington State, was one of the founding officers of Anakbayan South Seattle.
The NPA is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the governments of the United States and the Philippines, the US Embassy said.
“Anyone in proximity of NPA elements is at grave risk of arrest, injury, or death. Foreign terrorist organizations actively recruit Americans to participate directly in terrorist activities and/or provide financial support,” it said.
“We advise Americans in the Philippines and around the world to abide by local laws and to avoid situations with elevated security risk,” the US Embassy alert said.
The US Embassy also advised its citizens not to affiliate with terrorist or insurgent groups.
“If you unwittingly become associated with a group you suspect is engaged in terrorism or armed opposition to the Philippine government, the embassy can help. Contact us immediately,” it said.
“If you encounter armed individuals not affiliated with the police or military, leave the area immediately,” it added.
Some nongovernmental organizations have affiliations with the NPA and other violent groups, the Embassy warned.
Americans seeking to engage in humanitarian activities should work with groups registered with the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency and obtain the correct visa, it said.
Volunteer groups should also coordinate with local governments, which can provide reliable security information and local context, the Embassy said.*
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