2020: Fight against Reds' atrocities, exploitation of youth

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 30. 2020): 2020: Fight against Reds' atrocities, exploitation of youth (By Lade Jean Kabagani)

MANILA – Groups and civil society organizations this year have joined hands to denounce the decades of attacks and atrocities committed by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA).

In August, anti-communist groups have begun launching various groups representing various sectors of society to condemn the atrocities and violence of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

The League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) or the Liga ng mga Magulang was formed fueled by issues on the CPP-NPA’s supposed recruitment of the youth into the armed movement.

The Hands Off Our Children (HOOC), meanwhile, was formed which consisted of various parents of students who were reportedly recruited by militant organizations with alleged links to the CPP-NPA-NDF.

Meanwhile, other multi-sectoral groups including the Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI), Sulong Maralita, Duterte Youth Movement, Movement of Women for Change and Reform (MELCHORA), and the Maralitang mga Magulang ng Maynila have actively participated in denouncing the long-standing communist insurgency committed by the CPP-NPA.

In August 27, the anti-communist groups marked their very first condemnation rally at the Mendiola Peace Arc in Manila as they denounced the killing of innocent individuals and what they described as “barbaric” and inhumane activities of the CPP-NPA, which included abuses on women and the youth among their ranks.

Fight vs. communist insurgency

While the pandemic shut down businesses and slowed down social life, anti-communist groups have intensified their fight to put an end to the terroristic activities of the CPP-NPA-NDF and its allied organizations.

More multi-sectoral groups including League of Youth for Peace Advancement (LYPAD) and Coalition for Peace (COPA), Kabalikat ID, Kabataan Kontra Droga at Terrorismo (KKDAT), and other organizations joined the call to end armed insurgency and struggle.

A series of indignation and picket rallies were held in various places in Metro Manila including outside the offices of several government agencies, foreign embassies, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

Appeal for Joma's return

The anti-communist groups have also demanded the termination of the asylum status in the Netherlands of CPP founding chairman Jose Maria "Joma" Sison, as they staged multiple rallies in front of the Dutch Embassy in Makati City.

The groups said the Dutch government should stop harboring Sison and let him face every rap filed against him.

The groups called on the Dutch embassy to remove all forms of protection given to Sison and the rest of the CPP founding members.

The group said they must be deported to the Philippines.

The anti-communist groups said the extradition treaty between the Netherlands and the Philippines allowing Sison to be sent to Philippine custody will give a huge relief to parents who fear for the future of their children who could be the next victims of the communist group's recruitment.

The groups also decried a book titled "Jose Maria Sison, Reflections on Revolution and Prospects", which was launch in the country in February.

They said the book is a part of the CPP-NPA-NDF's move to promote their “wrong ideologies and senseless cause”.

Protection of youths vs. recruitment

Groups have also heightened their call for the protection of the youth against the CPP-NPA-NDF's recruitment and exploitation of minors including student activists, out-of-school youth, and children of indigenous peoples (IP).

They also took a swipe at the Commission on Human Rights for being silent over the terrorist activities of the NPA and the cases of missing minors who were reportedly recruited by various militant organizations linked to the CPP-NPA-NDF.

CHR spokesperson Jacqueline Ann de Guia, however, said the CHR "has never been a supporter of the armed movement or the NPA," adding that the office is clear in its mandate to "support freedom and rights of expressing opinions based on the Constitution and not the armed conflict".

She said the commission has been releasing several statements condemning the atrocities and violence committed by rebel groups.

De Guia assured the groups that the commission remains dedicated to upholding its mandate and that it is willing to accommodate the groups’ sentiments, especially the grievances of mothers whose children were allegedly recruited by militant groups.

Anti-communist groups have continued to raise awareness on the recruitment of minors through online webinars and virtual discussions with other parents.

They heightened the campaign on protecting the youth against CPP-NPA's deceptive recruitment schemes through their allied organizations.

They used the virtual platform to denounce the CPP-NPA-NDF.

'Truth tagging'

While the groups vowed to be relentless in taking to streets their denunciation of the communist insurgency, the government, on the other hand, ramped up community programs for the NPA surrenderers through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The NTF-ELCAC is a whole-of-government approach that has introduced the Barangay Development Program (BDP), a counter-insurgency plan which aims to deliver various government programs in conflict-afflicted and geographically isolated villages considered as "cleared" from the influence of communist rebels.

This program, the NTF-ELCAC said, has urged former NPA members to return to the fold of the law after realizing that there is "no good" in life while staying in the armed struggle.

The anti-communist groups hailed the bravery of the CPP-NPA's former cadres and members who have come out in the open to expose the deceptive recruitment schemes of the communist rebels through their legal front organizations.

Former rebels disclosed that students are the primary target for the recruitment process of the CPP-NPA, due to their vulnerability and innocence.

They even confirmed the ties between the CPP-NPA and the youth organizations belonging to the Makabayan bloc.

The former rebels bared the correlation and mutual relationship of the legal democratic mass movement with the revolutionary underground mass movement.

'Denial'

Contrary to what the former cadres have confessed, Makabayan bloc lawmakers in the House of Representatives have denied the allegations linking them to the CPP-NPA.

The representatives have refuted claims that their organizations serve as the recruitment arm of the NPA.

The anti-communists, meanwhile, criticized the Makabayan bloc lawmakers for repeatedly denying their connection with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

The groups also slammed Makabayan’s continued refusal to denounce the atrocities and other inhumane activities perpetrated by the communist rebels.

Remy Rosadio, LPP chair, said with so many stories of missing student activists who were allegedly recruited by organizations belonging to the Makabayan bloc, they only make them convinced that these militant groups are legal-front organizations of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

With these revelations, the groups urged the Makabayan lawmakers to resign from their posts.

Relissa Lucena, mother of Alicia Jasper (AJ), a student activist who was reportedly recruited by the militant youth group, hit the Makabayan bloc members for exploiting student activists.

"They are using the public funds to destroy our children, to destroy our families," Lucena said. "This armed conflict, exploitation of youth, and disgracing women's dignities will not end unless these politicians will withdraw their support to the communist rebels.”

Lucena is the founder of the newly created group, Yakap ng mga Magulang, which aims to address the roots of youth recruitment into communist groups.

As this year ends, the groups hope that the country will soon be free from the "CPP-NPA's lawlessness and cruelty." 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1125949