The Embassy of the United States (US) in Manila has issued a “security alert” to its citizens currently in the Philippines, “not to engage with terrorists or insurgent groups,” following the latest armed clashes on several islands in the country.
In a statement on Friday, May 1, the US Embassy alerted its citizens who are in Leyte, Mindoro, Negros, and Samar, of the recent “intensified operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the New People’s Army (NPA).”
“U.S. citizens have been present during recent military actions against the NPA. An April 19, 2026, armed clash resulted in the deaths of two Americans. We advise Americans in the Philippines and around the world to abide by local laws and to avoid situations with elevated security risk,” a portion of the statement read.
It added that the NPA has been designated as “a foreign terrorist organization” by both the governments of the US and the Philippines.
“Areas of Heightened Concern include rural, mountainous regions of Leyte, Mindoro, Negros, and Samar, all of which have seen recent fatal clashes between NPA and Philippine forces,” the Embassy said.
On April 19, two Filipino-American Activists – Lyle Prijoles (40, of California) and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem (26, of Washington) – were killed in Barangay Salamanca in Toboso town in Negros Occidental, along with two students, a journalist, and a peasant worker, accused of being members of the NPA.
The embassy said that if a US citizen “unwittingly becomes associated with a group you suspect is engaged in terrorism or armed opposition to the Philippine government, the embassy can help.”
“Do not affiliate with terrorist or insurgent groups,” it added.*
