MANILA — A ranking official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Tuesday called on remaining members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Occidental to surrender following a deadly encounter between government troops and insurgents in Toboso town.

NTF-ELCAC executive director Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr. said communist rebels still in the armed struggle should abandon violence and return to their families, following what authorities described as a major setback for the group.

“To those who remain in the armed struggle, we say this: the path you are on leads nowhere but loss. The organization you serve will not protect you. It will use you, and when the time comes, abandon you. The long arm of the law will reach you—it always does,” Torres said.

“But there is still a way out. Lay down your arms. Return to your families. Avail of the government’s reintegration and amnesty programs. Choose life. Choose peace. Because peace is not won by bullets —it is secured when we break the cycle of lies, end the violence, and reclaim every Filipino life from a cause that was never meant to serve them,” he added.

The appeal came after government troops clashed with suspected NPA members in Barangay Salamanca, which officials said resulted in the dismantling of a rebel unit.

Torres said a senior NPA leader, identified as Arnel Tapang with a reported ₱1-million bounty, was killed during operations conducted by the 79th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

He added that a total of 19 suspected rebels were killed in the series of encounters.

The NTF-ELCAC official said the incidents demonstrate that fugitives and insurgents will eventually be held accountable.

He also commended the Philippine Army for its conduct during the operation, saying troops showed discipline and professionalism in addressing long-standing security concerns in the area.

Torres, however, said the situation should not be seen as a moment for celebration but for reflection.

He further alleged that individuals recruited into the insurgency are often used as “cannon fodder,” isolated from their families, and conditioned to believe violence is their only role.

“In Negros and elsewhere, this pattern has been persistent: individuals are isolated from their families, conditioned to reject dissent, and molded to believe that violence is their only purpose,” he said.