The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) warmly welcomed and supported the initiative of US lawmakers, led by Sen. Jeffrey A. Merkley and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, calling for an independent, impartial, and credible investigation into the massacre of 19 individuals in Toboso, Negros Occidental. Those killed included Kai Sorem and Lyle Prijoles, both US citizens.

Eleven US lawmakers sent an official letter to Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez to call for an investigation. Besides Merkley and Jayapal, the letter was also signed by Representative Maxine Dexter, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, James P. McGovern, Kweisi Mfume, Johnny Olszewski Jr., Delia C. Ramirez, and Rashida Tlaib.

The lawmakers urged the Philippine government to allow a credible third-party review of whether the military operation violated International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and human rights standards. They raised questions about whether Philippine military units involved in the Toboso operation used US security aid, training, or weapons. This could lead to restrictions under US foreign aid laws such as the Leahy Law. They emphasized the need for transparency on civilian casualties and for accountability for any military personnel who violated international combat protocols.

“We share the grave concerns of the US lawmakers regarding the systemic barriers effectively crippling domestic accountability mechanisms,” the NUPL said. The group said the military and police are actively blocking independent investigations into the massacre to “sanitize the narrative and cover their tracks.”

The NUPL agreed that the Toboso massacre happened in a “broader context of the state’s counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism campaigns.”

“The perpetrators of this massacre must be fully held accountable and brought to justice, along with the commanding officers who planned and enabled it,” the group said.

“Through the deadly practice of Red-tagging, state forces routinely obliterate the principle of distinction between armed combatants and unarmed civilians,” it said. “This is deliberately compounded by the weaponization of terror laws, which conflate armed conflict with terrorism to cast a dragnet over the armed movement and the legal democratic movement falsely associated with it.”

The group added that “international solidarity is crucial in shattering the culture of impunity in the Philippines.”