Negros Occidental Third District Representative Javier Miguel Benitez will no longer pursue his resolution seeking an inquiry into the armed encounter in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, on April 19, 2026, which resulted in the deaths of 19 individuals.
Benitez withdraws resolution
"I earlier filed a resolution for inquiry in aid of legislation, intended as a fact-finding measure. I will not push it forward," Benitez said in a statement released on May 10. He explained that multiple investigations are now underway by proper authorities, including the Commission on Human Rights and relevant government agencies. He emphasized that the right course is to let these processes run their full course without political interference.
"Justice is best served by institutions doing their work, not by Congress getting ahead of them," he added.
Background of the incident
Benitez had earlier filed House Resolution (HR) 969, which sought an inquiry in aid of legislation on the incident. On April 19, a total of 19 alleged New People's Army rebels were killed in what the military claimed as an armed encounter in Barangay Salamanca. Among those killed were a local journalist, a student leader, and two Filipino-Americans.
Support for security forces
The lawmaker commended the men and women of the 79th Infantry Battalion, the 3rd Infantry Division, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for their service across Negros, as well as barangay officials and community members whose vigilance and cooperation make that service possible. He noted that they put themselves in harm's way to protect communities from a decades-old insurgency that has cost too many lives, displaced too many families, and stunted too much potential in the countryside.
"The work is hard and dangerous. The people of Negros know it. Those who live in our barangays understand the true situation on the ground," Benitez said.
Insurgency as daily reality
Benitez stressed that the insurgency in Negros is not an abstraction debated in Manila or argued about online. "It is a daily reality our farmers, teachers, and local officials live with. It is felt in fear, in displacement, in lost school days, in stalled livelihoods," he added.
Call for coordination
The lawmaker urged students, journalists, and researchers who come to Negros to study, document, and serve the communities to coordinate with their academic institutions, the barangay, and the local government unit. "In parts of our province where the conflict remains live, coordination is a layer of safety. It is not a constraint on your work. We want you to be able to do what you came to do, and to go home safely," Benitez said.
Path to peace
Benitez noted that peace in Negros will not be won by force alone. "Our people need two things in equal measure, protection and new sources of livelihood. Where there is no opportunity, despair grows. And despair is what the insurgency feeds on. We have seen this pattern across generations," he said.
He added that the work ahead, in Congress and in the district, is to keep pushing for both: stronger security where it is needed, and serious investment in agriculture, tourism, creative industries, and education—the things that give young people a real future and leave no opening for any movement that promises them otherwise.
