DOES THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have safeguards to discipline/penalize its erring ground troops, or none at all, so that the regular law enforcement agencies have to do the appropriate official investigation and make the decision as to the guilt or innocence of the accused AFP personnel? This question is quite relevant because there have been cases of AFP officials and ground troops to have illegally harassed, detained or even killed farmers, IPs and other marginalized Filipinos? One recent case of killings by AFP ground troops is the killing of 19 Filipinos in Tolosa, Negros, last April 19, 2026.
The organizers of the National Fact-Finding and Solidarity Mission (NFFSM), composed of more than a hundred participants from national, local, and international organizations and witnesses, inspected the sites of the killings, and documented by physical evidence and the impact of military operations on civilian communities.
Their report raised several violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law, including the killing of persons who may have been rendered hors de combat, as well as the treatment of civilians during the military operation.
The mission documented the searching of at least 24 houses, the detention and interrogation of civilians at gunpoint, and the displacement of approximately 800 residents whose access to food and livelihood sources was disrupted.
CRIMINAL CHARGES FILED
Recommendations include the filing of criminal and administrative charges against all military personnel involved in the massacre, as well as their superiors; provision of full access to families of victims and their legal representatives of all documentation by the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (PA) and the AFP such as the mission order, drone video footages, after-operations reports, among others; the immediate pull-out of the 79th IBPA in communities in Negros, as the presence of soldiers impede the conduct of investigations and the immediate and proper identification of the remains of Errol Wendel and release of his remains to his family.
“The mission’s findings challenge the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and other State agencies like the notorious NTF-ELCAC, of their portrayal of the incident as a legitimate series of armed encounters…We emphasize that even in the context of armed conflict, persons have rights that need to be recognized and respected, combatant or civilian…The aftermath of the Negros 19 killings continue to be felt by communities that remain under military pressure.
“The people of Negros deserve to live without fear and intimidation in their own communities…We continue to remember the Negros 19 as people whose lives mattered to their families and communities. We will continue to challenge the lies surrounding their deaths in their search for justice,” said Cristina Palabay, KARAPATAN secretary general.
INTEGRITY CONCERNS
In the light of the call for justice for the 19 massacre victims of the 79th Infantry Battalion of the PA/AFP, what has President Bongbong Marcos, as the Commander-in-Chief of the AFP done, if any, in the light of the human rights violations findings of the National Fact-Finding and Solidary Mission (NFFSM)?
Filipinos of goodwill naturally expect Pres. Bongbong Marcos and Vice-President Sara Duterte (even while on trial for betrayal of public trust and other crimes, by the Impeachment Court) to act forthwith on the case, actually, soonest upon knowing about the killings of 19 Filipinos in Tolosa, Negros. And, of course as known to be directly-in-charge on the ground, has the top brass of the AFP, concerned about justice and its integrity as an institution, examined the said massacre of 19 Filipinos, with its system of cleansing its ranks of erring personnel? Or, no issue to them, the massacre was SOP?!