CPP/Ang Bayan: People’s militia municipal command formed

From the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the CPP Website (Mar 7): People’s militia municipal command formed

The Milisyang Bayan Municipal Command (MBMC) or the people’s militia command at the municipal level was successfully formed in a guerrilla front in Subregion 4 of the Southern Mindanao Region on December 21-22. (The MBMC is also known as the MCU or Militia Coordinating Unit in other regions).

The establishment was accomplished through a conference attended by unit commands of seven people’s militia platoons in a cluster of barangays in the guerrilla front. The conference drafted a one-year program of action.

Part of the conference program involved discussions on the context and significance of raising the level of their organization. Building the MBMC falls within the overall call to raise people’s war to a higher level. These were all tackled in more detail during discussions regarding the military situation in the area and the defense of the guerrilla base.

The decision to form the MBMC was arrived at after an assessment of the people’s militia’s level of development. The militia members already comprise a battalion and self-defense units had already been established in each sub-village or sitio in eight barangays. These units could be actively mobilized for military operations, monitoring enemy movements and other tasks. In ten surrounding villages, militia units had either already been formed or are in the process of being built. Political education has already been conducted in all people’s militia units, with some having attended military training.

The leading Party committee in the area pointed out the need for the people’s militia to coordinate at the level of the village cluster or municipality. There are situations where militia units need to cooperate in order to effectively perform their tasks in advancing guerrilla warfare.

The people’s militia’s greater tasks highlight the mass character of guerrilla warfare. The MBMC also serves as a partner of fulltime guerrilla units in the coordinated, systematic and organized mobilization of every militia unit.

The delegates enthusiastically asked questions and aired their views as they discussed the orientation, structure, rights and duties of the MBMC. As an operations command at the municipal level, the MBMC’s basic task is to mobilize and coordinate the people’s militia and self-defense units. The members of the MBMC are leaders of militia units in their respective villages.

The MBMC is directly under the Party section or subsection in the locality. Like the NPA, it abides by the Party’s absolute leadership. It is also under the NPA front operations command. The MBMC is likewise under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Revolutionary Committee through the latter’s Subcommittee on Defense.

After the actual establishment, the delegates discussed and ratified the MBMC’s one-year program, which includes the conduct of special trainings for the people’s militia on sniping and the use of explosives as well as the regular Basic Politico-Military Training. A medical training has also been scheduled to provide medical officers for every militia squad. The MBMC immediately set the date of the trainings and the designated number of attendees from every unit.

The conference took note of the economic needs of the families of militia members and addressed the problem of rice and other food supplies. They agreed that their communal farms must have an area of at least two hectares. Idle plots and land donated by allies would be converted to communal farms. They will also be planting trees.

The conference ended with speeches from the newly appointed members of the unit command of the MBMC, who all affirmed their readiness to take on their duties. They called on all their comrades to rev up their collective action.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20140307/people-s-militia-municipal-command-formed