23/04/2026
‘ADVOCATES IDENTIFY JOURNALIST AMONG 19 KILLED IN NEGROS MILITARY OPS’
Human rights groups Karapatan and Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN) confirmed that RJ Nichole Lacson Ledesma, a 2022 Kabataan Partylist nominee and community journalist, was among the 19 individuals killed during military operations in Toboso, Negros Occidental, on April 19.
While the Philippine Army identified the fatalities as members of the New People’s Army, the Altermidya Network stated that Ledesma was a writer and regional coordinator conducting field research on the impact of renewable energy projects on local farmers.
Human rights advocates alleged that Ledesma was not part of the initial armed encounter but was instead targeted during a subsequent military pursuit operation in a separate peasant community.
Ledesma, 30, was a former editor-in-chief of The Spectrum, the student publication of the University of St. La Salle, where he graduated with a degree in BS Psychology.
He was also a small-press advocate who served as the founding editor of SPIT zines, a poetry fellow at the 55th Silliman University National Writers Workshop and the 9th Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Writers Workshop, and an active campaigner against palm oil plantation in Candoni.
HRAN announced that they will hold a press conference tomorrow, with a tribute for Ledesma tentatively scheduled for Friday.*
📷: The Spectrum USLS file photo
