Slain student rebel, 3 others honored by NPA in Mindanao

From the Mindanao Examiner (Nov 13): Slain student rebel, 3 others honored by NPA in Mindanao

Communist rebels honored a student leader and three others who were killed by soldiers in a clash in southern Philippines.

The 23-year old Rendell Ryan Cagula, a student at the University of the Philippines in Davao City, was killed along with rebels identified only as Ka Payat, Ka Doming and Ka Jappie in the town of Maasim in Sarangani province on November 4.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Thursday confirmed the death of Cagula, who was known in the New People’s Army as Comrade Lucas, and the three other rebel fighters.

“The Southern Mindanao Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines salutes Comrade Lucas whose young life ended in the battlefield while fighting the fascist enemy troops of the 27th Infantry Battalion in Maasim, Saranggani at 2 pm November 4, 2014,” it said.

The communist group said Cagula, a known activist, became exposed to the basic ills of society and the sorry state of peasants, workers, indigenous people and the urban poor. “His study of society led him to an awakening that the same ills can only be cured not by reforms but by a systemic change through an armed revolution,” it said.

The CPP said Cagula joined the rebel group in December last year and was deployed in southern Mindanao where NPA fighters and civilians admired his innate leadership skills, critical thinking and fortitude. “Cagula became Comrade Lucas when he left the comforts of city life and became a Red fighter who followed the iron discipline contained in the NPA’s three rules of discipline and eight points of attention,” it said.

Cagula also served as a medic in the NPA and conducted mass clinics in the villages. “He was happy with the masses. In between mass clinics, he taught the indigenous people and peasants of basic political education. In organizing the peasants, he participated in farm work for the communal production. He also did tapping rubber, planting vegetables and helping with the peasants in their individual farms,” the CPP said.

It said in less than year, Cagula became the political instructor of a platoon belonging to the Guerrilla Front 73 and worked in its recovery areas. There he began learning four different dialects of the indigenous peoples, to help him effectively immerse with the masses.

Last month, another young rebel Rhaim Buanjug, also known as Comrade Jack, also died from malaria. Buanjug was also a former activist in Davao City.

“The deaths of the two young Red fighters from Davao City were untimely, indeed, for they could have given more for the well-being of the masses and for the national democratic revolution. But comrades and the masses who dearly loved them know that in so short a time in their young lives, the two have left an irreplaceable mark in history,” the CPP said.

“The ever exploitative and oppressive conditions of the Philippine society continue to provide fertile ground for the young to join the revolution. Comrade Lucas’s martyrdom teach that the youth should never fear sacrifice for there can be no revolutionary victory without sacrifice, to not waver in the face of any setback, to always uphold the revolutionary cause, to not let down guard, rely on the masses at all times, and to strive more in order to defeat the enemy.”

“Thus, we shall prevail, because the people and the battlefield are our infinite sources of strength and support. Comrade Lucas’ example and the martyrdom of other Red fighters continue to inspire the revolutionary forces to steadfastly carry out the most urgent tasks in advancing the revolution, to outwit the enemy and to resolutely bring the people’s war to revolutionary victory,” it added.

The NPA has been fighting for decades now for the establishment of a separate communist state in the country.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20141113095541