Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro has ordered an investigation into the killing of a Philippine Army soldier in Negros Occidental, linking the fatal encounter to the heated public discourse surrounding a controversial anti-insurgency operation in the province earlier this year.
Teodoro issued the statement following the death of a private first class during a clash on June 1. Preliminary findings indicate that the suspect behind the soldier’s death is allegedly tied to one of the individuals killed during an April military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental, which left 19 suspected rebels dead.
The defense chief’s remarks come at a time when the military faces intense scrutiny and mounting demands for an independent probe into the circumstances of the April clash.
Addressing the military during a Talk to Troops event on Wednesday, Teodoro voiced his frustration over the persistent calls for investigations against the military while pointing out the fresh casualty on the government side.
“Bumuhos na naman ang salitang imbestigasyon. Ngayon, may namatay tayo, kapatid,” he said.
Teodoro asserted that the accountability for the soldier’s death rests on the perpetrators of the violence and on critics whom he accused of escalating tensions over the security situation in Negros.
“Nasa konsensya at nasa ulo ng mga nanggugulo doon. Lalo na yung mga nagpapasiklab, ang dugo ng kapatid natin, dahil sinasabi nila. Hindi totoo ang pangyayari sa Negros, namatayan tayo,” he said.
Turning the tables on critics, the defense secretary demanded that they answer for the latest military casualty, insisting that this specific loss deserves its own thorough inquiry.
“Sino ngayon ang sasagot? Ako ngayon, humihingi ng imbestigasyon, na may namatayan tayong kapatid,” Teodoro added.
Active combat operations persist in Negros Occidental as government troops press forward with anti-insurgency campaigns in the area.
Negros Island has remained a primary hotspot for communist insurgency in the Philippines, marked by decades of intermittent skirmishes between state forces and communist rebels.