Military Reports One Rebel Casualty in Occidental Mindoro Operations; Progressive Groups Claim At Least Five Civilians Killed
January 15, 2026
The January 1, 2026 encounter between the Philippine military and the New People’s Army (NPA) in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro recently drew increased media attention amid contesting narratives and casualty count on the incident, as well as the involvement of a Filipino-American activist who got caught in the crossfire. Authorities reported that one rebel was killed and two soldiers were wounded in the firefights.
Meanwhile, progressive groups Karapatan and Kabataan Partylist reported that five civilians were also killed from the military airstrikes, which they denounced as excessive. Three of the victims were reportedly children from the indigenous Iraya Mangyan, while the children’s mother reportedly suffered injuries from the airstrikes.
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