APCHRP: U.S.-Marcos Jr. regime continues its reign of terror on Negros Island after the Toboso massacre

Not content with the bloodshed that occurred during the 19 April massacre in Toboso, Negros Occidental province, the U.S.-Marcos Jr. regime is continuing its reign of terror with illegal arrests and continuing militarization in Negros Island. The Asia-Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP) strongly condemns these spate of illegal arrests and other forms of repression on peasants and civilians, as we continue to call for justice and accountability for the civilians murdered by the military in the Toboso massacre.

The indiscriminate killings that resulted in the deaths of activists and peasant organisers: Alyssa Alano, RJ Ledesma, Maureen Keil Santuyo, Errol Wendel, Lyle Prijoles, Kai Sorem, and Roel Sabillio constituted violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Recent findings by forensic pathologist, Dr. Raquel Fortun, put the military’s claim of an “armed encounter” into question. One body suffered gunshot wounds from the back, while another succumbed to gunshot wounds in the torso but was wearing a bulletproof vest that did not bear any holes in the same area. The U.S.-Marcos Jr. regime’s mercenaries in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) could not account for these discrepancies in their narrative that a legitimate encounter with armed combatants resulted in those deaths.

With these exposés already unmasking the AFP’s propensity for human rights violations, the military are continuing their streak of terror by repressing more civilians in the aftermath of the violence in Toboso. On 22 April, Julie Ann Balora, an organizer of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) , was illegally arrested during an armed operation in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. According to reports, state forces blocked the van she was commuting in and detained her – despite not presenting any warrant of arrest. Balora and her companions were forced to kneel with their hands on their heads. These military elements then planted firearms and explosives in their van, to justify the illegal arrest that had happened.

Julie Ann’s arrest is connected to the earlier arrest of her family member, Harlyn Balora, last 2022. Genevieve Balora, another of Julie Ann’s relatives, was also among the 19 murdered by the AFP in Toboso last 19 April. Last May 4, a farmer was also illegally arrested by the military after being accused of fleeing the supposed “armed encounter” with the revolutionary New People’s Army (NPA). The victim, Jose Jefford Escamilla – 35 years old – and a resident of Cauayan town, was apprehended by authorities around 5:25 a.m. on 4 May, according to his wife, Manilyn. The AFP justified Escamilla’s arrest saying it was “normal procedure” post-encounter. However, Escamilla was released later that evening after state agents could not find anything that linked him to the NPA. While he remains free, the military operation was successful in sowing fear and terror to his family and neighbours for no valid reason.

These arrests and killings are part of the continuing implementation of Memorandum Order No. 32 (M.O. 32), first enforced under the previous Duterte regime to suppress communities resisting landlessness, exploitation, and state violence. Today, the Marcos Jr. regime continues this same fascist policy to protect the interests of big landlords and foreign corporations that have long impoverished the people of Negros.

The Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines strongly condemns the illegal arrests of Julie Ann Balora and Jose Jefford Escamilla. We also condemn the AFP’s intimidation, interrogation, and harassment of civilian communities in Negros Island. These acts are not “normal procedures”, but rather instruments of state terror meant to silence the people, criminalize dissent, and break the resistance of communities fighting for land, livelihood, and justice.

APCHRP continues its calls for justice for the Toboso 19 and demand that the U.S.-Marcos Jr. regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines be held accountable for the massacre, illegal arrests, and continuing human rights violations in Negros Island. We demand the immediate withdrawal of military troops from rural communities and an end to all forms of militarization, red-tagging, harassment, and repression.

We call on the international community to stand with the people of Negros and the Filipino people. We urge human rights advocates, organizations, and solidarity networks and other peace advocates across the globe to expose and oppose the Marcos Jr. regime’s campaign of terror against Filipino People.

Justice for the Toboso 19!
Stop the militarization of Negros Island!
Withdraw AFP troops from the countryside!
Hold the Marcos Jr. regime and the AFP accountable!