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FACT’s weaponization of social media to explicitly name organizations and…individuals is a well rehearsed counterinsurgency tactic of the Philippine government.
Overseas Filipino grassroots organizations launched the “Defend Negros” campaign in response to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental that left 19 people dead on April 19, 2026.
One cannot sit with peasants shaped by generations of landlessness, listen to mothers narrate massacre, watch children learn the ordinary disciplines of fear, and still believe history may be resolved through technical adjustment alone.
“For the months that they were in Barangay Salamanca, Errol reported that 18-hectares of land being cultivated by 16 peasant worker families, or 32 individuals, should have long been awarded to the farm workers. Based on Errol’s research, the person controlling the land only holds a tax declaration, not title."
A national fact-finding mission organized by human rights groups revealed that the Armed Forces of the Philippines used excessive military force on April 19. Residents also confirmed that at least six of the 19 killed were civilians.
“This appears to be another attempt of the Marcos Jr. regime to hide its war crimes from international eyes.”
“This incident has brought me a lot of stress and I fear that the attacks against me and other activists and progressives in the Ilocos region will only escalate into more grievous attack.”
"They are seriously twisting the rules of international humanitarian law by insisting that everyone killed was a legitimate target in a military operation."
“My mother’s day was not happy and so are the coming special occasions because he is not here anymore."
"If we allow such wounds to pass without serious examination, we risk normalizing what should never be tolerated.”
If what happened on April 19 was indeed a gunfight, Fortun said, “Maybe we can speculate. Why were some of the gunshot wounds at the back if this was supposedly a confrontation? That’s my question.”
“RJ symbolizes the best of us in community journalism, but his life was cut short when the military killed him."
The concerns shall be transmitted to the Philippine government, stressing that the petition and recommendations will be sent to the concerned agencies.
“If we are ‘at peace,’ why does the armed conflict persist?”
“She was happy with what she did and we cannot stop her from doing something that gives her happiness. We have to respect that."
“What happened in Toboso is a massacre."
We both share the same violence from the State.
“We are here to show the Philippine armed forces and government that we will continue to struggle in the footsteps of those they stole from us."
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