The year 2025 started with 31 persons killed in state-related violence for the month of January with more than half of the casualties attributed to the Philippine National Police, monitoring by Sandatahang Dahas of the UP Third World Studies Center (TWSC) showed.
Mindanao experienced the highest concentration of violence, according to the same monitoring report.
The Sandatahang Dahas (Armed Violence) monitor of the UP Third World Studies Center (TWSC) reported that the police were responsible for 18 civilian deaths (16 during operations and two while in custody), the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for eight (seven alleged insurgents and a soldier killed a fellow soldier), three alleged insurgents killed three members of the Philippine Army, and two civilians killed two members of the AFP.
The Sandatahang Dahas is a monthly monitor started by the UP TWSC last January.
The monitor focuses on state-related violence, on “killings and injuries caused by and inflicted on gun-bearing members of law enforcement organizations or a public security agent (PSA) in the Philippines.” The data for the monitor come from media reports and press releases from the police and the military themselves.
Of the 25 injured persons, alleged insurgents were responsible for 14 of these, nine by civilians, and two by the police. In the main, with 22 cases, the police and the military are the ones in the receiving end of these attacks. Only three civilians were injured.
There were also two deaths while in police custody, both reported as suicides, though the circumstances of their deaths raise doubts if these were indeed the case. In Carcar City, Cebu, a detainee accused of burning his mother-in-law to death, allegedly swallowed a bathroom brush that caused his death. In Valencia City, Bukidnon, a man who confessed to the rape and murder of a 5 year-old, was said to have grabbed a pistol from a police officer and shot himself.
Alleged insurgents caused the death of three Philippine Army personnel. Two of the killings happened in Basilan in a firefight with a group linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the other one in Lanao del Sur in an encounter with members of the Dawlah Islamiyah- Maute Group.
Civilians have also killed PSAs in two separate knife attacks. A CAFGU (Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit, an auxiliary force of the AFP) member was killed in Negros Occidental and a Philippine Air Force personnel in Oriental Mindoro.
In Bohol, a private killed a corporal inside Camp Rajah Sikatuna of the 47th Infantry Battalion.
Alleged insurgents have inflicted on the military the most number of injuries. The MILF was the leading perpetrator, leaving 12 army personnel wounded, while the rest were committed by the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group. There were nine cases of civilians causing injuries, mostly due to alleged defense in police operations. Despite the high involvement of PSAs in fatalities, they were accountable for only 2 cases of injuries, both attributed to PNP officers.
According to the January 2025 data on state-related violence, PSA operations have caused the most deaths and injuries: 22 dead and 22 injured. Checkpoint incidents were the second most common cause of casualties, accounting for 3 fatalities and 1 injury. On January 12, a gun ban and COMELEC checkpoints were put in place in preparation for the May 2025 national elections.
Of those who were killed in January 2025, 18 were civilians, six were PSAs, and seven were alleged insurgents. 77% were male, while the remaining 23% were unreported and were mostly from the ranks of alleged insurgents.
Among those killed, 22 died in police and military forces operations: 8 civilians were neutralized by police officers during buy-bust operations, and 4 civilians were killed in other police actions; while 7 insurgents were killed by members of the AFP, and 3 PSAs were killed by alleged insurgents during anti-insurgency operations.
The encounter between the MILF and the Philippine Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion last January 22 brought the highest number of casualties in that month. The clash led to the death of Cpl. Orland James Diamel and Pfc. Mark Barat, along with two unnamed alleged insurgents. Twelve soldiers were also injured in the incident. The incident happened while the members of the 32nd Infantry Battalion were providing security to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) personnel in Barangay Lower Cabengbeng, Sumisip, Basilan.
Of the seven alleged insurgents killed in January 2025, 4 were members of the New People’s Army (NPA). One of them was Elmer Oli, also known by his aliases “Mel,” “Rommel,” “Daniel,” “Lapugo,” “Katindig,” and “Loy,” who was an alleged leader of NPA’s Komiteng Larangang Guerilla 1 (KLG1) Subregional Committee 5 (SRC5) Bicol Regional Party Committee (BRPC). Oli died during an encounter with the military forces in Barangay Catumag, Guinobatan, Albay last January 17. 2 members of the MILF and one member of the Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group were also killed in the same month.
On the other hand, three civilians and 22 PSAs were injured in the same month. Of the 22 PSAs, 6 were from the PNP, 2 from the PNP-Special Weapons and Tactics unit, and 14 from the AFP. 20% of them were male, 4% were female, while the sex of the remaining 76% was unreported.
Of the 22 injuries recorded during police and military operations, 6 were PSAs injured by civilians, 14 were PSAs injured by alleged insurgents, and 2 were civilians injured by a PSA. Among the isolated cases of injuries in January was a civilian attack against a PSA and a civilian-induced injury to a PSA during a checkpoint operation. A rape case in General Santos City was also reported, which involved a 17-year-old female student who was sexually assaulted by an unnamed policeman.
Looking at these numbers, civilians suffered the highest number of deaths, while PSAs sustained the highest number of injuries during incidents of state-related violence in January 2025. This high number of killings of civilians could be explained, in part, by the continuous anti-drug operations of state agents, which led to eight civilian deaths in that month.
Sandatahang Dahas may not be painting a complete picture though when it comes to these encounters; few to no news outlets report on injuries sustained on the insurgent side, but that does not mean that there were none.
The January 2025 Sandatahang Dahas data suggest a geographic pattern in the distribution of killings and injuries, with Mindanao experiencing the highest concentration of violence, followed by Visayas and select provinces in Luzon.
Mindanao reports the highest number of casualties, with the most affected area being Basilan with four killed and 12 injured, primarily due to the aforementioned January 22nd ambush by the MILF of the Army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion during a reported miscommunication at a community engagement program.
Next in order are Davao del Norte with three killed and two injured, and Lanao del Sur with two killed and two injured. Following this trend are Agusan del Norte with 2 killed, Cotabato with one killed, South Cotabato with one killed and one injured, and Sultan Kudarat with one killed and one injured.
The concentration of fatalities in these contiguous provinces suggests that political or militant-related violence remains a significant concern in Mindanao. In total, Mindanao makes up 45.16% of the reported killings and 72% of the reported injuries in the Philippines this month.
In Visayas, casualties are concentrated in Cebu with three killed, Negros Occidental with two killed, Samar with three killed and four injured, and Northern Samar with one killed. The high number of deaths and injuries in Samar suggests ongoing violent encounters, possibly linked to insurgency or local conflicts. Northern Samar, with one recorded fatality, may indicate a spillover of violence from its neighboring province. Meanwhile, Negros Occidental has historically been a hotspot for agrarian-related disputes and political violence, which could be considered contributing factors. Cebu, a major urban center, stands out with multiple killings, hinting at potential crime-related violence.
Luzon has several individual cases of state-related violence with incidents recorded in Laguna with two killed and one injured, Batangas, Cavite, Albay, and Oriental Mindoro with one killed per province, and Ilocos Norte with one injured. Urban areas such as Cavite and Laguna, which have higher population densities and more economic activity, may indicate crime-related violence. On the other hand, cases in rural areas like Albay and Oriental Mindoro may be associated with politically motivated killings or insurgency-linked violence.
This pattern suggests that Mindanao surfaces as the most volatile region, Visayas sees sporadic but deadly incidents, and Luzon experiences scattered cases with varying causes.
These findings also highlight the ongoing impact of state-related violence, underlining the need for further investigation and preventive efforts to address the underlying causes of such incidents.
*The authors are interns of the UP Third World Studies Center. To learn more about Sandatahang Dahas, visit its website: https://dahas.upd.edu.ph/sandatahang-dahas/ and for the latest updates, follow the Dahas Project at X (https://x.com/DahasPH), at Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dahas.project/), at Threads (https://www.threads.net/@dahas.project), and at Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/dahasph.bsky.social).
