The country’s national human rights institution announced the start of its independent investigations into the deaths of 19 individuals last April 19 in Toboso, Negros Occidental.
A week after the incident, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) finally broke its silence and said it is “gravely concerned” about the incident, including the deaths of student leader Alyssa Alano and journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma.
“The CHR, through its office in the Negros Island Region, has initiated an independent investigation. Information from local human rights advocates prompted coordination with civil society organizations, local authorities, and security forces, including working with the families for the retrieval of the remains in Toboso and Escalante,” it said Sunday.
The Commission said it notes the inconsistencies in the identities of the dead who the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintains were all members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Organizations assert that some victims, including Alano and Ledesma, were civilians engaged in community work. Subsequent reports said civilian casualties included two farmers’ rights advocates, at least two local farmers, and two Filipino-Americans.
The NPA itself said only a small number of its fighters were in the area when the 79th Infantry Battallion arrived and started what it claimed was a 12-hour gun battle.
“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 said.
The Commission noted that core obligations under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), even in the context of non-international armed conflict, must remain, such as the distinction between combatants and civilians and their properties.
“Indiscriminate attacks are prohibited, and civilians are protected unless they directly participate in hostilities,” it said.
Meanwhile, several lawmakers said they will file resolutions calling for congressional investigations into the incident, noting various reports that majority of those killed were civilians.
The Makabayan Coalition as well as ML Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima, former CHR chairperson, said investigations must be held on alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines and the International League of Peoples’ Struggles also called for independent and thorough investigations in the worst incident of mass killings in the country since the Ampatuan Massacre of 2009.
The Presidential Task Force on Media Security has maintained its silence on the case of Ledesma. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
