04/28/2026
Reactions from Anakbayan Scarborough members on the Negros19 killings:
"Makes me angry that the government would target people - ordinary people like you and me - who just want to learn about how the struggle is like back home and try to create their own stories to justify their killing. It makes me sad that people trying to defend their livelihood - to protect the land they live on - are painted as having deserved their death at the hands of the state.
"Filipinos overseas want to go back home to become more connected to our land, to grow our roots. To understand better why our parents/families left, and to know for ourselves what life is like back home, and to witness for ourselves what is actually happening. As youth, so much of our questions get fielded with “you won’t understand,” “life is just harder there, just accept it.” Well-meaning, protective responses I’m sure but these answers end up building walls that block us from knowing who we are and where we come from."
"I think our roles in the diaspora to make sure that their deaths were not in vain. That we continue to share stories about the lives of the Toboso 19, the conditions of peasants and farmers on the ground, that there is acknowledgement and discussion where those in power would rather have silence"
“They (Negros19 victims) see the systems that are put in place, and to know something is to experience it. I think people will go back home to get those experiences so they can listen to these communities, help there and come back to share it”
“Our role is to stay educated/updated but most importantly to go out into our own communities. Organize your people and bring everyone else up with you. Education is important but experiences and connection are necessary.
build community- there are many ways people can do that, and what we’ve seen that’s really impactful is by connecting with peasants in Negros and other oppressed communities”
