The Philippine National Police said Monday, April 27, it will intensify community watch efforts and launch information campaigns in schools and barangays after a deadly April 19 encounter in Toboso, Negros Occidental, where 19 alleged New People’s Army rebels were killed, including two Americans and two minors.
Online recruitment shift
PNP chief Police Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez said insurgent recruitment is shifting to online platforms, with social media used to target young people through ideological narratives and misinformation. He said recruitment strategies have become more subtle, combining digital outreach, community immersion and cause-oriented messaging, making early detection harder.
“It is important for parents to closely monitor and guide their children while the PNP continues to support awareness campaigns and information drives to prevent radicalization,” Nartatez said.
Risks to minors
The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict said the deaths of two minors, ages 16 and 17, in Toboso and the death of another minor in a separate April 17 encounter in Samar show the grave risks faced by young people drawn into armed conflict.
The task force said the presence of foreign nationals and minors points to a widening recruitment scope, and called for vigilance among families, communities, schools and organizations in the Philippines and abroad.
