Jonathan Frederic De Santos

NTF-ELCAC USec Ernesto Torres holds a press conference at the Premiere Guesthouse in Malacañang on August 31, 2023. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool/File

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NTF-ELCAC USec Ernesto Torres holds a press conference at the Premiere Guesthouse in Malacañang on August 31, 2023. Yummie Dingding, PPA pool/File


Marilyn Cahatol

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17771719258191777171922883.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">NTF-ELCAC Undersecretary Ernesto Torres holds a press conference at the Premiere Guesthouse in Malacañang on August 31, 2023. <em>Yummie Dingding, PPA pool/File </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA —  The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict on Saturday said Filipino communities abroad should be wary of groups and networks that they said are &quot;drawing members of the Filipino diaspora into armed conflict in the Philippines.&quot;</p><p>The anti-communist task force issued the warning after the death of Filipino-American activist Lyle Prijoles, who was killed in a military operation in Negros Occidental earlier in the week.</p><p>Activist youth group Anakbayan-USA has also acknowledged the death of Filipino-American activist Kai Sorem in the operation that left 19, including a university student, a community journalist, and two peasant advocates, dead.</p><p>The Philippine Army and Armed Forces of the Philippines said the 19 were with the New People&#x27;s Army, which has acknowledged the deaths of a rebel leader and a small squad of its fighters. The NPA said others killed in the operation were civilians.</p><p>&quot;We caution Filipino Communities abroad: not all that is presented as advocacy or solidarity is benign. There are actors operating within certain spaces who, under the language of cause and identity, are facilitating pathways that lead to direct exposure to armed confrontation,&quot; the task force said.</p><p>&quot;This is not a matter of political disagreement. This is a matter of safety, protection, and responsibility,&quot; it said.</p><p>The NPA has been engaged in guerrilla warfare with the government since 1969 over supposed foreign interference and over landlessness and corruption that it and the Communist Party of the Philippines believe have caused poverty and inequality in the Philippines.</p><p>The government has said it has <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/22/marcos-promises-gov-t-compliance-with-peace-deals-says-no-guerrilla-fronts-left-1818">dismantled all active guerrilla fronts</a> in the Philippines and that the nearly six decade-long insurgency will end soon.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>NTF-ELCAC: FIL-AM ACTIVIST&#x27;S DEATH A &#x27;WARNING&#x27; OF &#x27;DISTURBING PATTERN&#x27;</strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><p>NTF-ELCAC said Prijoles’ death was a “warning” of the “emergence of a disturbing pattern involving members of the Filipino-American community—from Chantal Anicoche, to Cristina Pasion, and now Lyle Prijoles—whose cases raise serious concerns about how individuals are being influenced, guided, or drawn into situations that ultimately place their lives at grave risk.”</p><p>Bayan-USA, in a statement, said “Lyle was immersing with communities in Negros at the time to learn first-hand their daily hardships as farmers and their struggle for land and justice.”</p><p>Anakbayan-USA said Sorem was in the country &quot;to deepen her knowledge of her country and culture through learning the language and serving peasant farming communities.&quot; It said she had previously visited farming and fishing communities in Rural Cebu.</p><p>Anicoche, also a Filipino-American activist, was found near a clash site in Occidental Mindoro January this year.</p><p>Umbrella group Malaya Movement USA said she was in the Philippines “to learn from the communities that have been hit the hardest by the economic and social crisis in the Philippines.”</p><p>Anicoche has since been sent back to the US.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/11/-person-of-interest-tag-no-basis-to-hold-fil-am-activist-found-near-clash-site-lawyer-1054">‘Person of interest’ tag no basis to hold Fil-Am activist found near clash site — lawyer</a></div><p>Pasion is a Filipino-American who NTF-ELCAC alleged to be involved with the NPA and who advised &quot;to surface and avail of assistance while there is still time.&quot;</p><div> </div><div><strong>‘JUSTICE FOR PRIJOLES’</strong></div><p>Bayan-USA meanwhile condemned “the fascist violence” of the AFP, saying the Negros Occidental clash was a “clear violation&quot; of human rights and international humanitarian law.</p><p>The group said Prijoles — a human rights advocate from California — “strove to take his education beyond the classroom, and use it to listen to and uplift the stories of marginalized communities who had the courage to stand for their rights.”</p><p>“We must demand justice for Lyle, the people of Negros, and all people who have fallen victim to state violence,” Bayan-USA said. </p><p>Also killed in the encounter were UP student Alyssa Alano and community journalist RJ Ledesma. </p><p>Bayan-USA recognized with “highest respect” Prijoles’ decision to return to the country, which it said was motivated by the activist’s “care for others, for his community, and for human rights in the Philippines.”</p><p>“No Filipino abroad who wants to return home to our motherland and stand with the most marginalized in society should have to fear government attack.&quot;</p><p>“We demand an immediate and independent investigation into the AFP’s April 19th attack, in what can only be called a massacre,” Bayan-USA said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/4/24/protesters-seek-truly-independent-probe-into-negros-occidental-clash-that-killed-19-1552">Protesters seek ‘truly independent’ probe into Negros Occidental clash that killed 19</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/syac614cETw?si=Nlta_v5HosCBXLl_" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>A Filipino-American was among the 19 casualties in the Philippine Army and New People’s Army’s April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) confirmed Saturday.</p>

A Filipino-American was among the 19 casualties in the Philippine Army and New People’s Army’s April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) confirmed Saturday.

NTF-ELCAC warns Filipinos abroad vs ‘being drawn into armed conflict’ in PH

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NTF-ELCAC warns Filipinos abroad vs ‘being drawn into armed conflict’ in PH

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 26, 2026 11:00 AM PHT

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Updated April 26, 2026 11:01 AM PHT

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Negros Occidental

Armed Forces of the Philippines

Bayan-USA

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