The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has
heeded the call of President Rodrigo Duterte for cooperation in the war
against prohibited drugs, claiming they have long waged an anti-illegal drugs
campaign.
“In positive response, the CPP reiterates its standing order
for the NPA (New People’s Army) to carry out operations to disarm and arrest
the chieftains of the biggest drug syndicates, as well as other criminal
syndicates involved in human rights violations and destruction of the
environment. The NPA is ready to give battle to those who will resist arrest
with armed violence,” it said.
During Friday’s turn over of command at the Armed Forces of
the Philippines in Quezon City
“Well, nakikinig naman ‘yung mga NPA, nasa pwesto pa naman
kayo. Ano kaya ‘yung korte nito,‘yung korte ninyo. Korte ninyo, I don’t know if
it’s a kangaroo or otherwise. E, patayin nalang ninyo para mas madali ang
masolusyon ang problema natin” (Well, the NPA is listening, you’re still in
place. What if your courts, I don’t know if it’s a kangaroo or otherwise. E,
just kill them so we can easily solve the problem).
In a statement published on July 2 on ndfp.org, the CPP said they have long waged a
campaign against illegal drugs by disarming and arresting for prosecution and
just punishment the most notorious criminals who are also involved in big
illegal drug operations.
It said they employed armed violence against biggest illegal
drug traffickers and used a cultural revolution among the masses to detest
illegal-drug use.
The statement also noted that the CPP shares with Duterte
the reprehension against illegal drugs and its grave effects on the Filipino
people.
“The proliferation of illegal drugs, especially shabu, and
the concomitant rise in incidents of violent crime serves the perpetuation of
the ruling system,” it said, adding that the biggest and most notorious drug
traffickers “are those in the top echelons of the AFP and PNP, who are also in
cohorts, with key officials in the local and national bureaucracy. It is
apparent that President Duterte is fully aware of such.”
The CPP claimed that they were successful in their fight
against drugs within their territories, what with their “vigilance and
militance” in opposition to the entry and operations of the illegal drugs.
It said the most recent case is that of a chief of police in
Davao Oriental province who was arrested by the NPA last May 29 and is
currently under detention and undergoing investigation for involvement in the
illegal drug trade.
In a statement dated June 1, the Regional Operations Command
of the NPA in Southern Mindanao said they took
Chief Insp. Arnold Ongachen, chief of police of Governor Generoso town in Davao
Oriental. The NPA said they confiscated from Ongachen a sachet of shabu.
In his press conference on May 31, Duterte called on the NPA
to release the police chief kung wala namang kasalanan (if he did not commit a
crime), release (him) immediately.”
He added that if the NPA does not release the police chief,
he would “go to the mountains” to get him from the NPA.
But Duterte changed his mind on June 2, following the NPA’s
claim that a sachet was seized from Ongachen.
“Sorry for that guy. I leave his fate to the NPA,” Duterte
told a press conference.
He said the NPA commander asked him what to do with the
police chief. He said he told him “you have a kangaroo court there, you try him
and sentence him to 20 years hard labor.”
In its July 2 statement, the CPP, detested the use of
“kangaroo court” in reference to the their judicial system, claiming they
observe due process.
Resumption of peace talks
On the last day of the two-day “Hugpong sa kalinaw” at
the Davao City Recreation Center on Tuesday, CPP founder Jose Maria
Sison, in a video message, announced the resumption of formal peace talks
between Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front
sometime third week this month.
The resumption was made possible following the June 14 and
15 talks between Sison and the NDF peace panel led by Luis Jalandoni with then
returning Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza and incoming
government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III.
The parties agreed to resume the formal peace talks by the
third week of January.
Sison said the resumption will be most likely on the third
or fourth week, pending the release of their 21 consultants.
“We need more time with regards to the release of the
consultants,” he said.
In their Joint Statement last month, the parties agreed on a
five-point agenda for the July talks: the affirmation of previously signed
agreements; accelerated process for negotiations, including the timeline for
the completion of the remaining substantive agenda for the talks,
socio-economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, and end of
hostilities and disposition of forces; reconstitution of the Joint Agreement on
Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASISG) list; Amnesty Proclamation for the
release of all detained political prisoners, subject to concurrence by
Congress; and mode of interim ceasefire.
“Let us look forward to the success of the first formal
talks in the time of the Duterte government. The success of these will lead to
further hard work by the principals, negotiators, consultants, ceasefire
monitors and other focused personnel of the negotiating parties and to further
inputs and support from all the peace-loving forces and people,” Sison said.
http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2016/07/03/cpp-heeds-dutertes-call-for-cooperation-in-war-vs-prohibited-drugs/
There are times when President Duterte needs to think before he speaks and this is one of them.
ReplyDeleteBy calling for the NPA to use their "kangaroo courts" to try and execute drug traffickers he has in essence given the Maoist rebels a license to kill.
All NPA assassination teams have to do now is simply claim that those who are the victims of their brand of revolutionary justice were involved in drug trafficking and the murder becomes a government sanctioned hit. After all they a just doing the bidding of President Duterte.
And this applies to Philippine military officers and soldiers who the commies claim, without any tangible evidence, are involved in drug trafficking.
The commies even go further in their public statement by claiming that the military uses illegal drugs as part of its OPLAN Bayanihan in order to pacify villagers in the countryside.
Now the NPA can assassinate members the military's Bayanihan teams and claim they are just complying with Duterte's request to stop those engaged in the proliferation of illegal/dangerous drugs.
Words have meaning and consequences. Sometimes shooting from the hip during a high profile public appearance and putting those words on the record can come back to haunt you.