Tears welled in the eyes of an elderly woman with a disability as she recalled her harrowing journey to safety during an intense gun battle that forced over 600 residents to flee their homes in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental.
57-year-old Erlinda Sabello, who relies on two crutches to walk, broke down as she recounted how she and her husband struggled to reach an evacuation center while fierce clashes between suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and government forces raged on.
“My husband carried me on his back, nearly stumbling along the way to the evacuation center,” she told Brigada News FM Philippines on Monday, April 20, in Bisaya.
Sabello said she was jolted awake by the sound of gunfire at around 3:30 am on Sunday, April 19, recalling waking her 63-year-old husband in a state of fear, but dismissed the situation, saying, “It’s just a game.”
He later roused her father, also brushing off the sharp bursts of gunfire, saying it was just a skit.
“Wala man ni nangundang, hantod nag alas otso sige ra gihapon, hantod sa pag alas-10. Muadto unta akong bana diri sa Toboso kay manindahan, pero wala nako siya gipadayun kay basi naay military sa unahan,” she said. (It didn’t stop—by 8 am, it was still ongoing, and even until 10 am. My husband was supposed to go to Toboso to buy groceries, but I didn’t let him continue because there might be soldiers on his way.)
She said her husband wanted to go to the market but was stopped by relatives and neighbors due to the ongoing conflict and potential danger. He returned home, relieved that his family was safe.
They stayed at home. By 11:30 am, Seballo said she had already finished cooking when another round of gunfight erupted.
“Naa ko sa amohang kwarto ba, nya atbang lang ang among balay sa gyera, nakita gyud nako ang boto nga kadagko dyud kaayo nga ga aso. Mga upat ka kilometro siguro. Naa tanan akong mga silingan kay nilantaw pud. Perti gyud nakong kulbaa gyud hinoon,” she said.
(I was sitting in our room, and our house was facing where the fighting was happening. I heard and saw the explosions—really big ones—producing smoke. It was probably about four kilometers away. All of my neighbors were also watching. I was extremely frightened)
Sabello said that because of what happened, she struggled to decide what to bring. She asked a neighbor to carry her bag of clothes while her husband carried her on his back.
They finally reached the evacuation center at dusk, she said.
Glen Rosalia, from another community, also bore the brunt of the conflict. Fearing for his family’s safety, he also sought temporary refuge.
He said his house was situated between the encounter sites in Sitio Sinugmawan and Sitio Plarinding, which are several kilometers apart.
Rosalia recounted that he took his wife and grandchildren to the evacuation center without hesitation, following instructions out of fear.
Series of clashes
Brigadier General Ted Dumosmog, commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, confirmed that 19 suspected rebels were killed and one soldier was wounded during nearly 12 hours of sporadic clashes, with a total of eight separate encounters.
Brigadier General Dumosmog confirmed that among the dead was Roger Fabillar, also known as Arnel Tapang—a “prominent” individual with a bounty on his head for alleged killings in the area and in neighboring Calatrava and Escalante City.
Lieutenant Levie Fajardo, civil-military operations (CMO) officer of the 79th Infantry Battalion—the unit that engaged the alleged rebels—also released the names of three additional slain individuals: Pedro Bunghanoy, Glenmar Bacusmo, and another known by the alias Panes.
Despite the slow release of information, some families have independently identified two additional deceased individuals, apart from the four released by the military: 19-year-old Roel Sabello and 67-year-old Rene Villarin, Sr.
Villaren’s son, who claimed his father’s remains, admitted that his father had been a member of the NPA even before he and his siblings were born.
The military subsequently confirmed his father’s role in the underground movement as vice-squad leader of the Northern Negros Front (NNF), a guerrilla front the government has already declared dismantled.
Dumosmog said that the identities of other fatalities could not yet be disclosed, while they await for the results of the Philippine National Police (PNP) forensic examination.
Meanwhile, there were speculations that foreign nationals and students were among the dead, but the army declined to comment as the processing of the remains continued.
The government also reported seizing at least 20 high-powered firearms, ammunition, and personal belongings at the different encounter sites.
‘End violence’
San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza urged an end to the violence, emphasizing that genuine and lasting peace cannot be achieved through violent means.
“Violence does not arise in a vacuum. It takes root where wounds have long been left unattended—where poverty persists, where injustice is endured, where trust between people and institutions has been broken, and where hope in peaceful change has slowly faded,” he said.
“Violence can never lead us to a peace that endures. We are called to walk another path—the path of a just peace, a peace rooted in justice, in dignity, and in right relationship with one another,” he added.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.