The month of May recorded the least number of state- related cases of violence –so far in 2025- with a total of 45 reported incidents (18 killings and 27 injuries), monthly monitoring of Sandatahang Dahas showed.
The biggest factor in the incidents of violence, however, was the May 12 elections with Mindanao as the most volatile area.
Two days before the election, two civilians were killed and two more were injured after a fight between rival partisans broke out in Pandag, Maguindanao del Sur. Combined forces of the PNP and AFP responded to the incident, leading to a four-hour gunfight that left Emran Tumbah Mamalinta alias “Mengko” and Alkama Kilam Maslama dead. Mamalinta was running for a seat at the Sangguniang Bayan in Pandag while Maslama was a student. Two other civilians, including an old Moro woman, were injured in the crossfire.
Of the 18 individuals killed in May 2025, gun-bearing personnel from the police and the military were responsible for 15 of the deaths: seven are attributable to the PNP, five to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and three to joint operations by the PNP and AFP. In turn, three members of the PNP were killed by civilians. Meanwhile, for the third month in a row, there were no reported incidents of the police or of the military getting killed by alleged insurgents.
Over the five-month period, March remains at the peak of our monitor with 74 cases. With April recording 60 and now May, 45, the number of incidents point to a decline in reported state-related violence. Though the number of incidents has fluctuated over the five-month period, government armed personnel remain the number one perpetrator of state-related violence.
Notable number of violence arising from domestic dispute
Ten civilians were killed for the month of May. A 39-year-old businesswoman named alias “Dianna” was murdered by her policeman partner in Davao City. It was allegedly an extramarital affair as the corporal was married. A witness reported that Dianna was seen exiting a vehicle with the suspect while bleeding and crying for help.
Since Sandatahang Dahas began its monthly monitoring this year, there have been seven other cases recorded where military or police personnel killed their partners in domestic disputes.
In February, a policewoman shot her policeman husband dead in Angeles, Pampanga. The investigation of PNP revealed that the suspect may have been saddled with family problems, with postpartum depression being another angle they are looking into. On February 11, 37-year-old teacher alias “Lauerece” was shot by her policeman husband, leaving her injured. He reportedly barged into her room while drunk and shot her in the arm while she was asleep. She had recently given birth to their youngest child. Lauerece will be filing a frustrated parricide case against her husband. On February 27, two policewomen shot each other inside their office in Marawi, Lanao del Sur. Patrolwomen Amerah Mamayandug and Sittie Johainiah Langgay, a couple, had a fight about jealousy that left the former dead and the latter injured.
March recorded two incidents of similar cases. Police Master Sergeant Larry Juno shot dead his wife in Negros Occidental before turning around and shooting himself. The couple’s 10-year-old child witnessed the incident, stating that the two were having an intense argument before Juno pulled out his service firearm and began shooting. On March 23, a police lieutenant was shot multiple times by his policewoman girlfriend after a heated argument. The lieutenant survived the attack while the patrolwoman voluntarily surrendered herself to the authorities.
In April, a barangay tanod was shot by a CAFGU member after he saw the former with his live-in partner in Quezon Province. The tanod was immediately rushed to the hospital, allowing him to survive the attack.
Such incidents, while not numerous, point to repeated occurrence of state agents using their service firearms in disputes outside of their official duties.
Among those killed in May, five are classified as alleged insurgents. An NPA leader wanted for 23 cases including multiple murder, arson, armed robbery, and trafficking illegal drugs was killed by the AFP in Lingig, Surigao del Sur. In Lanao del Sur, a leader of Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group was killed in a clash with the AFP. Nasser Daud alias “Mas’od” or “Mahater” was allegedly involved in the bombing incident in Mindanao State University last December 3, 2024 which resulted in the deaths of four people and injured over 40 others.
On June 17, the AFP released a statement reporting that they have killed 51 NPA members from the beginning of the year until June 12. The Sandatahang Dahas monitor has counted 49 for the same time period.
Three personnel of the PNP were killed in May incidents of state-related violence. On the eve of the elections, Staff Sergeant Dennis Jali Oria was killed in Lingayen, Pangasinan. He was preparing to intervene in a fight that broke out between armed civilians, but was shot at by one of the suspects. Patrolman Jomar Madaliday Kalantungan and Sergeant Geoffrey Angub were killed only hours apart in Maguindanao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat respectively. Kalantungan was at a bakery when the suspect, a civilian, casually walked up to him and shot him repeatedly.
Similarly, Angub was simply walking down a street when a gunman shot him. Both died on the spot.
As in all previous months of Sandatahang Dahas’s 2025 monthly monitor, forces operations remain the primary circumstance that resulted in the recorded deaths, taking the lives of 15 people. Two PNP personnel died in attacks against policemen, which Sandatahang Dahas classifies as incidents “wherein a [police or military personnel] has died or sustained injuries outside of their official duties.” Of the 18 people killed, 16 were male, one was female, and one individual’s sex was unreported.
Police and military personnel remain the top perpetrator of injurious violence for this month’s monitor. Among the 27 recorded cases of injuries, they were responsible for 12. Broken down further, the AFP was responsible for eight injuries, the PNP for two and joint operations by the AFP and PNP for another two. Civilians and alleged insurgents caused eight and seven injuries against state forces respectively.
Both victim and victimizer
While being the top victimizers, state forces also remain the top victims of injurious violence. Fifteen police or military personnel were injured this month: eight from the PNP and seven soldiers. All of these were committed while they were on official duty: 14 during forces operations and one classified as a checkpoint incident. A corporal was injured after being caught in a shootout between two rival political supporters in Cotabato City, Maguindanao del Norte. Meanwhile, five policemen sustained knife injuries while trying to subdue armed suspects who ran amok: a staff sergeant in Negros Occidental, a staff sergeant in Parañaque City, and an executive master sergeant, a master sergeant, and a corporal in Butuan, Agusan del Sur.
Eight alleged insurgents were injured by state forces during May: four NPA, three associated with the Dawlah-Islamiyah and BIFF, and one MILF member. All of them were harmed by AFP soldiers. An encounter between the NPA and state forces in Bukidnon led to four injuries on each side. In Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur two soldiers of the 6th Infantry Division were injured two days before the election. They were conducting a mobile patrol in the area to ensure no armed group would interfere with the elections when they were allegedly shot at by MILF members. News reports say the AFP were “forced to use cannons,” resulting in several MILF members being injured. As no exact count has been reported as of this writing, the MILF injuries are listed as one in the Sandatahang Dahas monitor.
Finally, four civilians were injured by state forces this month. A police corporal was allegedly involved in a robbery-extortion and carnapping case in Metro Manila, wherein he forced four men to ride his vehicle and demanded payment for them to be released. He also beat up at least one of the victims after the latter was not able to provide payment immediately. The corporal, assigned to the Northern Police District Personnel Holding Administrative Section, had reportedly been charged with other cases in the past. He is currently under investigation.
As with the killings, the primary circumstance behind the injuries reported for this month is the state forces’ operations. Out of 27, 24 are attributable to this category. Two checkpoint incidents, both in Isabela province, also resulted in an injury each. The robbery-extortion case in Manila made up the final incident of injury this month. Among the 27 individuals injured, 19 are male, two are female, and the sex of six victims was not disclosed in the news reports.
Mindanao most volatile
Mindanao stands out as the most volatile during this month’s tracking, with 11 killed and 20 injured. The top three provinces with the most cases of state-related violence are all in Mindanao: Maguindanao del Sur with three killed and eight injured, Bukidnon with eight injured, and Agusan del Sur with three injured. Sultan Kudarat reported two killed, while Maguindanao del Norte had one killed and one injured. The provinces of Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Surigao del Sur, and Tawi-Tawi each had one killed during the month of May.
While it was the island group with the most cases in April, state-related violence in Luzon has slowed down relatively this month, reporting four killed and five injured. Quirino makes its first appearance in the Sandatahang Dahas monitor with one killed and one injured for this month. NCR and Isabela record two cases of injuries each. Meanwhile, Camarines Sur, Pangasinan, and Rizal had one killed each.
In Visayas, three were killed and two were injured in incidents of state-related violence during May. Bohol, Cebu, and Negros Oriental each reported one killed, with Negros Oriental having an additional one injured. Its neighboring province Negros Occidental also reported one injured case.
Since March, there has been a relatively downward trend in incidents of state-related violence. However, every month has recorded at least one case of state forces abusing their power in cases of police brutality, with May being no exception.
Recent pronouncements made by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urging the PNP to shift its approach when it comes to drug-related cases may also introduce new waves of violence. As the PNP adopts a “paramihan” system for drug arrests, it will be important to observe how this can possibly impact incidents of state violence in the coming months.
Aidrielle Raymundo is a university research associate at the Third World Studies Center, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman. Joel F. Ariate Jr., John Matthew Cabural, Nadine Castillo, Eugene Claire Belen Espino, Timothy Antoniette F. De Jesus, and Madeleine Ann E. Ibe provided research assistance for this report. To learn more about Sandatahang Dahas, visit its website and for the latest updates, follow the Dahas Project in these social media platforms: X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky. Reports for the previous months are available at https://dahas.upd.edu.ph/sd-monthly-reports/.
