The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) reiterated its call for a United Nations (UN) investigation into 99 alleged killings attributed to communist insurgents, stressing that no armed organization has the authority to carry out executions.
In a statement Sunday night, October 25, the task force condemned killings allegedly committed by the New People’s Army (NPA), saying armed groups cannot justify executions through their own judicial processes.
“No political front can confer immunity. No ‘kangaroo court’ can place itself above the law. No armed organization has the right to execute defenseless Filipinos,” the NTF-ELCAC said.
The statement came after the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) criticized the task force’s request for a UN investigation.
The NDFP claimed the move was intended to revive the government’s anti-insurgency campaign and divert attention from allegations of state-sponsored abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.
In response, the NTF-ELCAC challenged the NDFP to address the reported killings and provide evidence disputing the allegations.
“The NDFP cannot answer 99 reported killings with 99 excuses. It cannot erase the NPA’s own admissions by changing the subject,” the task force said.
The agency reported that the number of alleged killings linked to communist rebels had increased to 99 following the reported death of 42-year-old Junard Mansalon.
Mansalon, a resident of Sitio Namutang, Barangay Makilignit in Isabela, Negros Occidental, was allegedly killed by members of the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command on October 16, 2026.
According to the NTF-ELCAC, the 99 reported killings and summary executions occurred between 2021 and October 2026.
The task force rejected the NDFP’s characterization of the allegations as unsubstantiated, insisting that the reported incidents warranted independent scrutiny.
“The NDFP’s dismissal of the killings as gossip is no substitute for evidence,” it said.
The NTF-ELCAC urged the NDFP to identify which incidents it considered fabricated, present evidence contradicting the allegations and explain executions allegedly acknowledged by the NPA.
The task force maintained that the reported killings should be subjected to an independent investigation to establish accountability and determine whether violations of human rights and international humanitarian law occurred.
The allegations remain subject to verification, and no findings from a UN investigation were cited in the statement.
