NPA destroyed youth’s lives for rebellion: ex-CPP leader

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 24, 2019): NPA destroyed youth’s lives for rebellion: ex-CPP leader

A former regional youth chief of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said the revolutionary organization and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), destroyed the lives of the youth who could have been productive members of the community.

In a statement sent to PNA on Sunday, "Ka Louie" said the NPA is responsible for duping young minds into joining an organization with a lost cause.

Ka Louie, who claimed to be a member of the CPP in the National Capital Region for eight years before he decided to leave the group in 1990 to finish college, is now part of KADRE, a group of more than 300 former members of the CPP-NPA.

Later on, he became a professor in a university where "Ka Apol" and "Ka Czes" became his students.

“Parehong matalino sina Ka Apol at Ka Czes at pareho rin silang miyembro ng Collective Unit. Si Apol ay Student Council Vice President habang si Czes naman ay (Both Ka Apol and Ka Czes were smart and were members of the Collective Unit. Apol is a Student Council Vice President while Czes is a) Political Science Society President,” Ka Louie said.

He, together with the other youth members of the communist terrorist group, advised Ka Apol to focus on his studies first and not to accept NPA’s invitation to become a political officer of the group in Rizal and enter rural integration.

“Palubog na ang kilusan at papunta na sa pagiging gangsterismo. Naniwala si Czes at tinapos niya ang kanyang pag-aaral at nagtapos ng may dangal pero si Apol ay piniling mamundok (The group is sinking and already leaning to gangsterism. Czes believed and finished his studies with dignity while Apol chose to stay in the mountains),” he added.

With his determination to improve the status of his family, Ka Czes finished college and is now the head executive assistant of a senator while studying law.

Meanwhile, Ka Apol died in a bloody encounter between members of an NPA unit in Tanay, Rizal and a private army of a politician.

Ka Louie said ka Apol was tasked to grab the lands of “hacienderos” and politicians in the area.

According to reports, he said, Ka Apol’s corpse was dragged by the politician’s army to the plaza to show the farmers that the NPA is not capable of giving them protection.

Ka Apol’s corpse was then buried at the foot of Sierra Madre in Rizal.

“Kung hindi napatay sa engkuwentro, malamang ay isang kapaki-pakinabang na mamamayan si Apol sa kasalukuyan. Malamang ay isa itong top executive at malaki ang naiaambag sa Pilipinas (If he didn’t die due to the encounter, Apol could have been a productive citizen now. He may now be a top executive with a lot of contributions to the Philippines),” Ka Louie said.

Ka Apol, he said, is just among the many young Filipinos whose lives were wasted after joining the "failed rebellion."

In March 2018, six alleged communist rebels — among them 21-year-old Myles Albasin, a Mass Communication graduate of UP Cebu — were captured following an encounter with government personnel in Negros Oriental province.

In February this year, John Carlo Capistrano Alberto, a student of the University of the Philippines - Los Banos, reportedy an NPA member, died in a clash with government troops in Laguna province.

The military, meanwhile, said it will heighten its security in preparation to the forthcoming 50th founding anniversary of the NPA.

The CPP founded the NPA on March 29, 1969.

Both the United States and the European Union listed the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1065468