Negros Island has reportedly become a primary training ground for new recruits of the New People’s Army (NPA), including youths from Metro Manila and foreign nationals, according to local authorities and former rebels.
Speaking at a press conference, Buklod Kapayapaan Federation Inc. (BKFI) President Noel Legaspi stated that remnants of the insurgent movement are actively attempting to replenish their depleted ranks despite waning community support.
Legaspi cited the April 19 armed encounter in Toboso involving three individuals from Metro Manila and two foreign nationals as clear evidence of cross-regional recruitment efforts.
He emphasized that rigid adherence to the doctrine of protracted people’s war has alienated the public and forced insurgent units toward intimidation tactics. Furthermore, Legaspi noted that the movement’s international propaganda serves primarily to secure foreign funding and maintain an illusion of revolutionary legitimacy.
In response to these developments, Prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales of the Joint Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict warned that recruitment efforts coincide with expanded criminal investigations into civilian executions.
Gonzales revealed that state security forces are currently reviewing affidavits submitted by former rebels since 2019 to reopen unresolved cases and identify perpetrators of spy-tagging killings.
Authorities are also building comprehensive legal cases targeting personalities and groups providing material support and terrorism financing to the underground movement.
According to Gonzales, over 500 individuals in Negros are expected to provide critical testimony against active NPA operatives involved in intimidation and extrajudicial killings.
He highlighted that the NPA commander killed in the April 19 Toboso clash had multiple outstanding warrants for murder, directly contradicting claims that those involved were mere political activists.
Parallel to criminal prosecutions, the Commission on Human Rights has initiated independent inquiries into reported civilian deaths attributed to insurgent forces across the island. State investigators are likewise taking steps to submit documentation of these alleged atrocities to international human rights bodies to expose systemic abuses.
To counter further recruitment, the BKFI is actively assisting former rebels through education, livelihood opportunities, and organizational support across its 17 regional federations.
Gonzales urged remaining insurgent cadres to surrender their weapons, return to their families, and take advantage of government-backed reintegration programs.
He stressed that continued resistance in support of an obsolete ideology only leads to unnecessary loss of life and inevitable legal prosecution.
