The Exploitation of the Landless Peasants in Toboso, Philippines

On April 19 and 20, 2026, the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted military operations and aerial strafing in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental that killed 19 people, displaced 653 residents (168 families), and caused an additional 200 residents to flee.

An editorial by the Philippine news site Altermidya (https://www.altermidya.net/negros-after-the-gunfire-what-the-blood-on-o…) explains how this is a pattern of the military targeting landless peasants:

"It began with landlessness in a land of vast haciendas, with entrenched poverty in communities surrounded by wealth, with cycles of exploitation in sugar, labor, and wages, and with a justice system many perceive as distant or inaccessible. These are not abstract ideas. They are lived realities in the fields, coastal barangays, and upland sitios...

...The tragedy of Negros is that we have normalized a cycle where violence answers violence. Armed struggle emerges from real and long-standing injustices. Military response seeks to restore order. Communities are displaced. Grievances deepen. Another generation takes up arms. And the cycle continues...

...a pattern emerges. Human rights organizations have pointed to persistent impunity, with accountability often elusive. Victims are often labeled as communist rebels, a practice widely referred to as red-tagging, which critics say places individuals at risk. Many of those killed are farmers, labor organizers, or advocates involved in longstanding agrarian disputes."

REFERENCES
"Humanizing the victims: Toboso massacre not a win for the Philippine military" by Anne Marxe Umil for Bulatlat
https://www.bulatlat.com/2026/05/04/humanizing-the-victims-toboso-massa…

"When Farmland Becomes a Battlefield: The Peasant Struggle for Land in the Philippines" by the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines
https://ichrp.net/when-farmland-becomes-a-battlefield-the-peasant-strug…

"Rural women face landlessness, militarization – report" by Dulce Amor Rodriguez for Bulatlat
https://www.bulatlat.com/2026/03/08/rural-women-face-landlessness-milit…

"Philippine Peasants Were Promised Land. Staking a Claim Can Be Deadly." by Peter S.Goodman for The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/27/business/philippines-duterte-poverty…

"Peasant sector continues to bear the brunt of neoliberalism" by the Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN)
https://www.aprnet.org/peasant-sector-continues-to-bear-the-brunt-of-ne…

"Food as a daily struggle in Negros" by Janess Ann J. Ellao for Bulatlat
https://www.bulatlat.com/2019/08/21/food-as-a-daily-struggle-in-negros/

"Empowering the Peasant Movement of the Philippines to Secure Land Tenure Rights and Create a Climate-resilient Food System" by One Earth
https://www.oneearth.org/projects/empowering-the-peasant-movement-of-th…

"In the Public Square: Understanding Toboso" by John Nery and Eddie Quitoriano for Rappler
https://www.rappler.com/philippines/in-the-public-square-understanding-…