23/04/2026
Stop the attacks against peasant advocates! End militarization in Negros now!
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Tanggol Magsasaka (Defend) vehemently condemn the killing of peasant organizer Maureen Keil Santuyo and community researcher Errol Wendel, among the 19 victims massacred in Toboso, Negros Occidental. KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka demand justice for all victims, the respect for the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), and the immediate end to the worsening militarization of Negros Island.
Maureen was first a peasant advocate under National Network of Agrarian Reform Advocates-Youth (NNARA-Youth) before taking on the role of a full-time peasant organizer in Negros Occidental. Errol Wendel, an organizer of the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), went to Negros as a community researcher of sugarcane workers. He was also a cultural worker, formerly affiliated with the Artista ng Rebolusyong Pangkultura (ARPAK). Both took on peasant advocacy after being exposed to the reality of widespread landlessness firsthand in the countryside and the extreme poverty experienced by farmers and rural communities.
The military’s account of the incident is a study in calculated exaggeration and misrepresentation. KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka categorically reject the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) attempt to whitewash the massacre in Toboso by claiming an “armed encounter” with the New People’s Army and asserting that “19 members of an armed group were neutralized.” According to the AFP statement, the operation was based on “verified reports” and was conducted in accordance with rules of engagement with regard for civilian safety. However, this narrative is contradicted by multiple credible reports from community organizations, student councils, and rights advocates that innocent civilians -- including a University of the Philippines student leader, a journalist, and peasant advocates -- were among those killed. Available accounts indicate that only a small group of armed revolutionary fighters were present, while the rest of the casualties were civilians who were documenting or accompanying a peasant activity in a community long burdened by landlessness, land grabbing, and state neglect.
The military’s framing of the incident as a conventional clash serves to obscure the reality on the ground, and evade accountability. Labeling slain civilians as “NPA fighters” to justify state killings is a familiar tactic used to sanitize atrocities and deflect scrutiny. The AFP’s version also omits any acknowledgment of civilian harm or displacement despite clear evidence of communities being caught in the crossfire, underscoring the need to reject the military’s official account and demand a genuine, impartial probe into the Toboso killings.
The brutal killing of Mau and Errol is not an isolated incident, but part of the systematic targeting of peasant advocates, organizers, and progressive individuals in Negros. For years, Negros has been treated like a military encampment, where farmers and sugar workers endure constant surveillance, harassment, forced “surrenders,” and vilification campaigns under the guise of counterinsurgency. This climate of repression was exacerbated by Memorandum Order No. 32, declared Negros and other regions in a “state of lawless violence” to justify the deployment of additional troops to “suppress sporadic acts of violence.” In practice, however, MO 32 became the basis for the intensified presence of military and police forces in rural communities, contributing to pervasive militarization and an escalation of human rights violations against peasants, human rights defenders, and rural organizers.
Alongside the killings, the persecution of activists in Negros continues to escalate. KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka condemn the relentless harassment and political persecution faced by development worker and community organizer Joselito Macapobre – chairperson of the fisherfolk group PAMAGI and a volunteer of the Paghidaet sa Kauswagan Development Group (PDG) – who has been subjected to red-tagging, surveillance, and threats, including an attempted abduction, due to his work among rural communities. Also similar are the threats and intimidation against human rights lawyer Atty. Rey Gorgonio, chairperson of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)-Negros Chapter, for providing legal assistance to peasants and victims of rights violations. These attacks reflect the broader pattern of criminalizing peasant advocacy work and suppressing legitimate dissent in Negros.
KMP and Tanggol Magsasaka call on the Marcos Jr. regime to immediately pull out military forces from peasant communities. The Marcos Jr. administration proves itself cowardly and rotten: attacking unarmed civilians, peasant organizers, and rural advocates while the world teeters on the brink of wider war and crisis.
Instead of addressing landlessness, hunger and rural poverty, the regime chooses to unleash State violence in the countryside to protect landlords, silence legitimate dissent, and secure the interests of foreign powers and big business. We call on human rights institutions, the public, and the international community to intensify scrutiny and action against the worsening climate of impunity in Negros and across the country. # # #
