Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday, May 23, challenged groups claiming that civilians were among the 19 people killed in the controversial military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental last month, saying the allegations were based on “hearsay” and lacked proof.

The encounter, which took place on April 19 in Barangay Salamanca, resulted in the highest single-day casualty count in recent region-wide conflicts.

While the military maintained that all 19 fatalities were combatants of the New People's Army (NPA), the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) claimed that only 10 were armed revolutionaries, asserting that the remaining nine were civilians.

“What's the source? What's their source saying those were civilians? That is hearsay. Our soldiers saw that those six were armed, so what is their source that they were civilians? Is the source from the NPA? What kind of credibility can you give the statement of a terrorist organization?” Teodoro said during his visit to troops in Negros Occidental.

Teodoro visited the headquarters of the 79th Infantry Battalion (79IB) in Sagay City and the 15th Infantry Battalion in Cauayan, Negros Occidental, where he commended soldiers under the Visayas Command (VISCOM) for their continued efforts in maintaining peace and security in local communities.

But questions abound over the deaths in Barangay Salamanca after soldiers from the 79IB figured in an encounter with the Northern Negros Front of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Among those identified by progressive groups and relatives as civilians were University of the Philippines students Alyssa Alano and Maureen Keil Santuyo, poet and journalist RJ Nichole Ledesma, community researcher Errol Wendel, American activists Lyle Prijoles and Kai Dana-Rene Sorem, local resident Roel Sabillo, and two minors.

Human rights advocates raised fears that activists, researchers, and students were being placed at risk through alleged “red-tagging.”

And in recently released results of the paraffin test conducted by the police, it showed that 11 of the fatalities tested positive for gunpowder while eight others did not.

However, Teodoro dismissed assertions that paraffin test results weakened the military’s claim that those killed were armed combatants.

“The paraffin test showing that 11 tested positive for gunpowder, that doesn’t mean anything. What if they wore gloves? A paraffin test is only secondary and cannot substitute the testimony of an actual participant, which is direct evidence rather than hearsay.,” he said.

He also defended the conduct of troops involved in the operation, saying a lot of misinformation has come out.

“And I’m here to correct that misimpression and misinformation, and I am 100 percent sure of the legitimacy not only in the planning but also in the conduct of the operation in Toboso and Cauayan,” Teodoro said, referring to a separate military offensive in Negros Occidental, where fresh encounters broke out on May 16 in the hinterlands of Barangays Abaca, Poblacion, and Man-uling in Cauayan town.

The clashes involved troops from the Army’s 15th Infantry Battalion and alleged remnants of the NPA. The military reported five rebels killed, including Rolando Dantes Jr., whom authorities identified as the commanding officer of the Southwest Front.

Also killed were Jobert Casipong, Gilbert Tingson, Alex Chaves Languita, and Francis Vince Dingding, a former student leader at the University of the Philippines (UP) Cebu. One wounded rebel was captured in the encounter.

Earlier in the day, Teodoro also met with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose "Bong" V. Lacson, 6th District Representative Mercedes "Cheding" K. Alvarez, and other local officials at the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City.

During the meeting, the defense chief thanked the provincial government for its continued support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and addressed the misinformation surrounding the encounter between government troops and armed communist rebels in Toboso.

Teodoro also assured local officials of the national government’s continued support, including that of the DND, in ensuring peace and order across Negros Occidental.