Press Release | RIGOBERTO F. SANCHEZ, Spokesperson, Regional Operations Command, New People’s Army, Southern Mindanao Region
[Video clip: Chief Inspector Arnold Ongachen video by the New People's Army
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3VUQtjPHJA]
In a recent video clip released by the NPA in Southern Mindanao, Prisoner of War Police Chief Inspector Arnold Ongachen described the Red Army’s campaign of rehabilitation of drug users and appealed to the AFP to cease their so-called rescue operations and make way for the resumption of the peace negotiations.
POW Ongachen said that during the first few days of his custody, he noticed that there were people also being held by the Red fighters. He later found out that these were drug users being rehabilitated by the NPA.
Ongachen was arrested by the NPA last May 29, 2016 during its raid on the PNP station in Gov. Generoso, Davao Oriental.
Rigoberto F. Sanchez, spokesperson of NPA-SMROC, said that the rehabilitation drive is part of the NPA’s campaign to rescue the poor who have fallen victims to drug abuse. “The NPA’s drug campaign complies with our revolutionary justice system, which adheres to our class analysis. We differentiate poor drug users who are clearly victims of drug abuse from those who are perpetrators of the rampant drug trade. It has long been the policy of the Red Army to rescue these victims and rehabilitate them through political education.”
He added that the revolutionary movement understands that the problem of the rampant drug menace is rooted from the basic problems confronting the Filipino people—the historic imperialist dominance over the Philippine’s domestic feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. “It is well in the interest of the ruling class that Filipinos, especially the youth, fall victim to drug abuse in order to desensitize them from the ills of society and pull them away from the revolution.”
Meanwhile, Sanchez said, the NPA takes a firmer stand against syndicates and protectors of the drug trade. “We undertake punitive action against big politicians, individuals and armed forces such as the AFP and the PNP who are involved in this menace. As in the case of the PNP in Gov. Generoso in Davao Oriental, we launch tactical offensives against drug trade protectors to dismantle their network of operation.”
POW Ongachen also called for the AFP to cease their military operations in communities. The arrested police chief inspector, who is still currently being investigated for his involvement in the drug trade in Gov. Generoso and in the province of Davao Oriental called for the AFP to “make way for the peace talks so that we would know and understand why our fellow Filipinos are taking up arms against our government.”
Sanchez added that even during the Duterte government’s shortlived unilateral ceasefire that ended yesterday, July 30, AFP troops in the region were still conducting widespread combat operations in clear violation of their Commander-in-Chief’s order. “While the NPA in the region is still committed in the peace process in accordance with the directives of the national leadership and the CPP, we are bound to defend the Red army and the people from the attacks of the AFP, PNP and paramilitaries,” he concluded.
Below is the complete transcript of POW Ongachen’s video message:
I am PCI Arnold S. Ongachen, chief of police of Gov. Generoso Municipal Police Station. According to them, the attack was undertaken because of reports of the worsening drug problem in Gov. Generoso and that it is one of their tasks, the anti-drug campaign.
On the first 5 days of my custody, I noticed other people who were also being held in custody by the NPA. I later found out that they were shabu users that the NPA are trying to rehabilitate from drug addiction. The NPA feed and take care of these addicts until they are able to overcome their addiction.
The NPA take care of me, they do not harm me. Since my arrest, I have never experienced even a slap in the hand because they adhere to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL, and they also have the 3 Directives and [8] Points of Attention, in which the 8th Point is “Never harm a Prisoner of War.”
At first, I thought they were criminals. But when they took me in one of the communities, I noticed that the masses love the NPA and entrust their houses to them. We keep transfering houses in the community and all the people there respect the NPA.
What I am asking from the AFP is to cease their military operations and make way for peace talks that has long been the clamor of our countrymen. I hope that we give peace talks a chance so that we would know and understand why our fellow Filipinos are taking up arms against our government. This is a long standing problem that most of us do not understand.
http://www.ndfp.org/pow-ongachen-video-message-npa-rehabilitates-drug-users/
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