April
29, 2026 - The anti-war movement across the U.S. vehemently
condemns and joins the fight for justice for the victims of the Toboso
Massacre enacted by the U.S.-backed Armed Forces of the Philippines on April 19.
We are grieving the loss of 19 beautiful, vibrant and
dedicated individuals and raise the alarm at the forced displacement of
more than 653 residents from 168 households in peasant communities in
the region of Negros Occidental in the Philippines. Among the confirmed
killed are beloved Filipino American activists Lyle Prijoles from
California and Kai Sorem from Washington State. Lyle and Kai are part
and parcel of our anti-war struggles here in the U.S., the belly of the
beast and we are outraged at their murder.
The attack took place while over 10,000 U.S. soldiers are currently
deployed to the Philippines for the Balikatan war drills and under the context of longstanding military alliance, military aid and counterinsurgency training of the Philippines by the U.S. The evidence
mounting that this was indeed a massacre by the AFP violating international humanitarian law, with
U.S.-made and funded artillery and aircraft, can not be covered up by
the clumsy lies of the latest counterinsurgency force in the Philippines
- the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict
(NTF-ELCAC). We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of:1. Roel Sabillo, 19, resident of Barangay Tabunac, Toboso2. R.J. Nichole Ledesma, 30, community journalist from Bacolod City3. Alyssa Alano, councilor, UP Diliman Student Council4. Maureen Keil Santuyo, 24, member, National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates (NNARA-Youth)5. Errol Wendel, 24, member, Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura6. Jemina Gumadlas, 15, resident of Sitio Plarending, Barangay Salamanca, Toboso7. Lyle Prijoles, 40, of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, from San Franciso, California (USA)8. Kai Sorem, 26, from Seattle, Washington (USA)9. Dexter Patajo, 17, Sitio Buklog, Barangay Lalong, Calatrava, Negros OccidentalBased
on the initial information we have gathered, they were killed despite
the fact they were unarmed or non-combatants. Among them are a
journalist, a student leader, peasant organizers, overseas human rights
workers and local residents. Two of the victims were minors.We also honor red fighters of the New People's Army who fought the fascists to their last breath. They are:1. Roger Fabillar (Ka Tapang), who served as NPA commander of the Northern Negros Front2. Sonny Boy Caramihan, 28, from IBarangay Bagonbon, San Carlos City;3. Rene Villarin Sr, 57, Barangay Marcelo, Calatrava, squad leader;4. Pedro Bonghanoy, medical officer, Barangay Libertad, Escalante City;5. Arnel Javoc, 32, from Barangay Lalong, Calatrava;6. Joros Caramihan y Ramos, 18, from Don Salvador Benedicto;7. Maria Clarita Branzuel Blanco (Ka Sanim/Pat), Political Instructor; and8. Genevieve Balora (Ka Raia), from Bacolod City, district Party cadre9. Labskie Purisimia Enustacion, 33, of Sitio Tinibawan, Barangay Bug-ang, Toboso10. Jocel Gimang, 18, of Sitio Bautista, Barangay Malasibog, Escalante CityThe
Toboso massacre is also significant since it is the first time in the
country’s history that two foreign human rights advocates have been
killed in an encirclement and suppression campaign by the Philippine
Army and its paramilitary forces. Lyle Prijoles with International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) and Kai Sorem
with Anakbayan South Seattle had long supported the campaign in U.S.
Congress to significantly reduce military aid to the Philippines owing
to extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and massive
displacement of rural communities.
Negros, along with Samar and
Bicol, was declared as a site of “lawless violence” by Memorandum
Circular No. 32 (MC32) by then president Rodrigo Duterte in 2018. The
memorandum was released following several extrajudicial killings of
peasants and activists, including the nine members of the National
Federation of Sugar Workers massacred in Sagay on October 20, 2018.
Scores have been killed in Negros Island because of joint military and
police operations, with the Sagay 9 massacre
as a prime example of the culture of impunity trashing the rule of law
and Philippine obligations under international humanitarian law. The
Toboso 19 massacre is but a repeat of the Escalante massacre,
September 20, 1985, in Escalante, Negros Occidental where government
paramilitary forces gunned down civilians engaged in a rally in
commemoration of the 13th anniversary of the declaration of martial law,
during the dark days of the Marcos Sr. fascist dictatorship.It
is no coincidence that this bloodshed occurred as the U.S. and
Philippines' militaries conduct the annual multi-lateral Balikatan
("Shoulder-to-Shoulder") military exercises. Balikatan was launched in
2001, initially justified under the global war on terror and
concentrated on counterinsurgency operations. Over time, Balikatan and
dozens of other annual U.S.-Philippines military exercises evolved into
mechanisms for interoperability, logistics integration, and strategic
positioning.Since their beginning, the Balikatan
exercises have fostered numerous human rights violations against the
Filipino people. In addition to the massacre in Toboso Negros, three
people were killed and two were injured in a region near the locations
of the Balikatan exercises in Zamboanga City, Mindanao, including a
12-year-old Moro child, during a joint operation of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the
early morning of April 23, 2026.This December 2025, the U.S. PERA "Philippines Enhanced Resiliancy" Act was
passed through bipartisan support in the National Defense Authorization
Act in Congress giving "$2.5 billion in U.S. security assistance" to the Philippines to "deepen
U.S.-Philippines defense cooperation and strengthen the defense
capabilities and interoperability of the U.S.-Philippines Alliance to
meet growing threats in the Indo-Pacific". This has
embedded US doctrine, command structures, and operational dependence
into the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which is using this playbook
to kill the peasant masses struggling for their land and livelihood, and
those who choose to fight alongside them. This kind of U.S. military
funding, training, and support for the AFP shows the direct culpability
of the U.S. military and government in the war crimes and violence
committed in these massacres.While the genocide
rages in Gaza, ceasefire violations continue in Lebanon and the
hybrid-warfare against Iran continues in West Asia, the Zionist forces
of Israel also are complicit in the massacre in the Philippines. Public
records show that Israeli defense companies have supplied the
Philippines with drones, radar systems, patrol vessels, and thousands of
assault rifles used by police and military units. These partnerships
reinforce security approaches centered on surveillance, rapid
neutralization of targets, and combat-style engagement.These
incidents point to a pattern of intelligence-driven raids conducted in
civilian areas under the framework of “counter terrorism,” blurring the
line between law enforcement and combat. The U.S. has directed conducted
or backed similar massacres under so-called "combating narco terrorism"
boat strike operations in the Caribbean and Pacific against Venezuelan,
Colombian and Trinidadian individuals, as well as the murders in the
bombings of peasants in Esmeraldas, Ecuador and the murder of five young
people in Colcabamba, Peru this week by the Peruvian military under
so-called "anti-trafficking" military operations.The
Anti-War movement must join the fight against the military aid,
exercises and U.S. military-backed operations that are not only
preparing the national armies of US neo-colonies for future wars but are
already emboldening fascist forces to be used by U.S. puppet government
against their own people.We join the
calls of our comrades in the Philippines national democratic movement
for Justice for the Negros 19 in Toboso and the victims of the massacre
in Zamboanga City. We demand an immediate and independent investigation
into the AFP’s April 19th attack and into US funding and support for the
brutal, fascist Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration.And we honor those who served the people until their last breath.
Signed, Resist U.S.-Led War Movement, United National Antiwar Coalition, Anti War
Action Network, Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective, Diaspora Pa’lante
Collective, Labor for Palestine, Prutehi Guahan, Black Alliance for
Peace, Palestinian Youth Movement, Workers World Party, International
Action Center, International Coalition for Human Rights in the
Philippines - U.S., Juventúd Unida en la Diáspora, International League
of People's Struggle - U.S.
Call to Action: Justice for the Negros 19!Contact your congress members with info here: https://tinyurl.com/Negros19-Advocacy-Toolkit- Advocate
for an independent fact-finding mission into the Negros 19 massacre on
April 19-20, ensuring that it is not led by the NTF-ELCAC, AFP or
affiliated agencies and organizations
- Demand
Lyle Prijoles, Kai Sorem and other victims’ families, as well as their
lawyers and human rights advocates, be given full access to their loved
ones’ remains without any threat, interrogation, harm, or intimidation
- Raise
inquiries into whether U.S. security assistance and weaponry was used
in the military operations on April 19th and other incidents of aerial
bombings and indiscriminate firings and strafing
- Issue
public statements, social media posts, and letters demanding justice
for Lyle Prijoles, Kai Sorem and the Negros 19, and transparency and
accountability from the Philippine government and the AFP for war crimes
committed against U.S. citizens
