Davao City to open halfway house for ex-NPAs

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 15, 2020): Davao City to open halfway house for ex-NPAs
(By Che Palicte) 



DAVAO CITY – Former New People's Army (NPA) rebels will now have a temporary home in this city with the opening of the halfway house called "Kalinaw Village" this September.

The "Kalinaw Village" aims to provide the former rebels transitional activities for six months before going back to their respective communities and families, the city government said in a statement Friday.

"Kalinaw Village" is a PHP10-million residential facility built by the city government and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) featuring an administration building, a male and female dormitory, and a conjugal home.

The project was conceptualized in 2018 and the construction started in April 2019.

Government agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), will assist the management of intervention programs for the former rebels, the local government said.

Ma. Luisa Bermudo, head of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), said the ex-NPA rebels will undergo a 14-day de-radicalization process under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) before they will be admitted to the halfway-home.

“Right now, the admin building is already finished, while the construction of the dormitories is already around 40 percent,” she said.

Bermudo said that the former rebels will engage in transitioning activities such as livelihood and productive skills training and psychological and psychosocial intervention for six months.

Former communist guerillas will also receive assistance under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), and enrolment to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).

“They have been with the [NPA] movement for many years. They have been away from society for so long. So, the half-way home is an intervention program before we bring them back to their family and community,” Bermudo said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1112290

Rebel killed, 2 soldiers hurt in Negros clashes

From the Manila Bulletin (Aug 16, 2020): Rebel killed, 2 soldiers hurt in Negros clashes (Gilbert Bayoran)

A suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA) died while two soldiers were wounded in an encounter in Sitios Maluya and Anahao in Barangay Sandayao, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Friday.

Col. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said the unidentified fatality was abandoned by his comrades.

Pasaporte said soldiers belonging to the 2nd Infantry Battalion recovered a carbine, a .45-caliber pistol, a 12 gauge shotgun, an M60 machine gun with 140 rounds of ammunition, five backpacks containing personal belongings, six cellular phones, a solar panel and a sack of rice at the scene.

In Biliran, alleged NPA assassin Luzviminda Orillo, 54, was arrested in Sitio Bigaa, Barangay San Pablo in Naval town on Wednesday.
The arrest was based on a warrant for 29 counts of murder issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina.

In Ilocos Sur, Sibalo Banganan, 37, and Rany Urbis, 35, commander of the Kilusang Laragang Guerilla-North Abra and deputy secretary of a guerrilla unit in Ilocos Sur, respectively, were arrested in Barangay Damacuag in Sta. Lucia town on Friday night.

Banganan and Urbis were wounded in a military operation in Barangay Suagayan last week.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2020/08/16/2035600/rebel-killed-2-soldiers-hurt-negros-clashes

Alleged NPA members nabbed in Ilocos Sur for Aug. 8 clash

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 15, 2020): Alleged NPA members nabbed in Ilocos Sur for Aug. 8 clash (By: Armand Galang)

Two alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were arrested on Friday (Aug. 14) in the Ilocos Sur town of Santa Lucia, according to the 7th Infantry Division (7ID) public affairs office stationed in Nueva Ecija.

Joel Sibali Banganan, 37, and Ranny Velle Urbis, 35, were supposedly part of the armed group that engaged soldiers in a firefight at Barangay (village) Suagayan in Santa Lucia on August 8.

Banganan is from Malibcong town in Abra province, while Urbis resides in Barangay Gimud Norte, San Juan town in Ilocos Sur, according to the Army. They were arrested by combined forces deployed by the Army’s 81st Infantry Battalion, the 703rd Infantry Brigade (under 7ID), and the Ilocos Sur provincial police office.

Banganan has fresh wounds at the back of his head and neck, which appear to be gunshot injuries he got during the Aug. 8 encounter, said Lt. Col. Rodrigo Mariñas Jr., 81IB commanding officer

Banganan is facing a rebellion case, while Urbis had been previously charged for frustrated murder, the military reported. They are currently under police custody.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1322109/alleged-npa-members-nabbed-in-ilocos-sur-for-aug-8-clash

In a town in Leyte, former rebels live in 'Peace and Prosperity Village'

From Rappler (Aug 15, 2020): In a town in Leyte, former rebels live in 'Peace and Prosperity Village' (By JAZMIN BONIFACIO)

From fighters, the former combatants are now farmers tilling their own land

After years of fighting, the war between the military and members of the New People’s Army in the town of San Isidro here ended when 458 former rebels and their supporters decided to put down their firearms.

A resettlement site in Sitio Limite, Barangay Daja Daku, San Isidro – christened the "Peace and Prosperity Village" – now serves as their new home.

The village – a 120-hectare area owned by the Provincial Government of Leyte – is designed to be a sustainable community. It has single detached housing units for each rebel returnee. The livelihood area includes a communal garden, house farm breeders, a poultry house, fattening and a slaughterhouse.

The Leyte government will also construct educational facilities, a health center, multi-purpose building, evacuation center, daycare center and children’s playground.

According to Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico `Mic’ Petilla, the project is part of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) jointly funded by the national government and his province.

Peace and Prosperity village in San Isidro, Leyte has a poultry house with over a hundred layers. Photo by the Leyte provincial government.

"We are strengthening our efforts in finding a long lasting solution to end this armed conflict not only here in Leyte but throughout the region. We are offering our hands of peace to our brothers and sisters who are still in the mountain,’ Governor Petilla told Rappler.

From fighters to farmers

The former rebels and their supporters of San Isidro town now farm assorted crops and vegetables in their large communal gardens and they have a hundreds of chicken in their poultry house.

Anton, 39 years old, not his real name, was one of the former rebels. He grew up with 5 siblings. His parents farmed most of their food in an isolated village. He was only 16 when he join the rebels in the mountains. He and his friends according to him were promised a good and adventurous life.

"Too much poverty and injustice was what led us to join the NPA," Anton said.

FARMS NOT FIREARMS. Peace and Prosperity village in San Isidro, Leyte. Photo by Leyte Provincial Government

Anton spent 23 years living in the jungle, until this year when the 93rd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the local officials of Leyte convinced them, telling them the war was over. They said the government whom the insurgents had battled for years was going to give them homes and help them start farming.

Today, Anton said he starts his day at 4 in the morning to work and care for their vegetable plantation and other crops and feed his chickens.

He said his life now has already allowed him to realize his dream of starting a family.

"It was such happiness. No more hiding," he said.

While for a 41-year old Alberto Campo, it was finding his first meaningful role in a peaceful society. He now makes a living as a farmer and as the president of Sitio Limite Farmers Organization.

He said he is now busy and involved in community works and supports his family through farming.

According to Alberto he is doing everything possible to ensure his child receives a good education. For him, education is the key to lasting peace.

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Zosimo Oliveros, brigade commander of the 802nd Brigade Philippine Army, said that the people in Barangay Daja Daku in San Isidro have always longed for peace.

"They really have a vision. People here believe that it is possible. And they deserve every assistance we can offer," Oliveros told Rappler.

And for the other rebels, Oliveros urged them to go back to the fold of the law and avail all the programs of the government.

https://rappler.com/nation/town-in-leyte-former-rebels-live-in-peace-and-prosperity-village

Suspected NPA killed in CamSur clash

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 15, 2020): Suspected NPA killed in CamSur clash
(By: Mar S. Arguelles)

A suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel was killed in an encounter with government forces on Saturday in a remote village in Lagonoy town in Camarines Sur province, an Army report said.

Army Captain John Paul Belleza, 9th Infantry Division public affairs chief, said soldiers and local police were on a security operation in Barangay (village) Olas at around 8:20 a.m. when they encountered a 15-man communist rebel.

A running gun battle ensued resulting in the death of a rebel and the recovery of two M16, an M653, AK47 rifles left behind by fleeing insurgents.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1322176/suspected-npa-killed-in-camsur-clash

CPP/NDF-KM-Southern Negros: Some comments on so called blended learning: aptly a blended neoliberal catastrophe

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 15, 2020): Some comments on so called blended learning: aptly a blended neoliberal catastrophe

MARIA CHRISTINA GUERRERO

SPOKESPERSON

KM-SOUTHEAST NEGROS

KABATAANG MAKABAYAN

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 15, 2020

One of the direst consequences of the Duterte administration’s ineptitude at addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, and the accompanying public health and economic crisis, is the sharp debilitation of the public education system. Resting as it already did on feeble foundations, the state education apparatus finds itself in a precarious predicament. On the president’s orders, traditional face-to-face learning is forbidden, until a vaccine is available. For the meantime, the Department of Education has to make do with its limited resources in delivering good-quality mass public education to the millions of student children and youth whose schooling have been put on hold. This is where “blended learning” comes in: online, modular, TV and radio based broadcast education.

As a relatively recent 21st century innovation, online education is a highly effective method of instruction, already placed into practice in most countries as a teaching alternative, and yielding impressive results long before the emergence of the novel coronavirus; online universities have gradually popped up across the globe. One need only to refer to the multitude of graduate students who earned their degrees thru online courses; and who could gloss over the countless peoples all over the world who mastered foreign languages on account of online classes. With the complete set of equipment – laptop computers, high-speed internet connection, smartphones, tablets, and of course, the economic stability and financial capability to acquire these in the first place – online based schooling should at least be up to par with the conventional classroom setup. In short, online education is feasible with the appropriate means, which are not available to the majority of Filipinos.

Modular, along with TV and radio based broadcast, however, have never been seriously considered to be a primary means of instruction; rather, they are supplements, and not alternatives. University lectures uploaded on YouTube, Math problem solving tutorials, and the classic college entrance exams reviewers are trademark examples of this. Clearly, this kind of supplementary material is not meant to substitute the customary social dynamic among living-breathing human educators and their students. Case in point, watching a series of personality psychology lectures on YouTube can never be similar to attending a formal course on the subject; reading an encyclopedia of physics is clearly not the same as actually attending physics classes at university and going thru the rigorous subject curriculum; acing the trigonometry problem set on the maths section of the college exam reviewer is so unlike taking the final exam after a semester of lectures, quizzes, and homework; Japanese and Koreans would obviously prefer to having a lovely Filipina lady teaching them conversational English via Skype, while studying books on how to speak the English language as supplement.

Now, for the prestigious schools, especially the top-dog universities, online learning should be no problem for students and educators, with all having access to the necessary prerequisites. However, the children, teenagers, and young adults of poor peasant and worker families do not have that kind of luxury. The reality is that the majority of the student population, locked into their homesteads, resides in the countryside, where internet connection, computers, and electricity, not to mention paved roads and running water are more or less uncommon; so modular, TV and radio broadcast based learning are the remaining options, which are supplements, and never have been, alternatives to learning. In substitute for the teachers would most conveniently be the householders, the parents or guardians, who more often than not have likewise been deprived of their right to education. What this must necessarily imply is that the inaccessibility to good-quality education has been consequently made many times worse, also further widening the gap between state and private schools and among their faculty, staff, and students; again making more stark the blatant rich-poor divide that conspicuously demarcates the national social landscape.

Another prime ramification to ponder on is blended learning’s effect on child development and parent roles, and teacher workload. Human beings are social creatures that thrive in a world with others; in this connection, the capacity, the skill to harmoniously engage in dynamic social interaction with fellow humans, the adeptness at playing social games, and the proficiency in maneuvering within social hierarchies are developed at the crucial stage of childhood. A point in line with this, children must constantly have adult supervision especially in their education and development. Necessarily, parents must double the role of teachers, while teachers now overwhelmed with the duty to supervise child students without actual interaction with them; this, of course, defeats the purpose of schools, as one of the main joys of parents is sending children to an institution that takes care of and educates their children, relieving them of the stresses of parenting for a few hours a day. Depriving the Filipino children of crucial face-to-face human interaction much needed in order to develop a fully socially functioning human being is something the present Duterte administration must be held accountable for, and will be etched in history as one of the GRP’s major screw-ups.

As clear as the light of day, despite the present administration’s grand educational schemes conjured up by their detached-from-reality technocrats, the state is not prepared to implement so called blended learning on a mass scale. Budgetary constraints – accordingly, negatively affecting human resources, facilities, materials, actual salaries of teachers, and overall quality of education — are clear obstacles that cannot be negotiated with, bringing to the surface and making more glaring the underfunded condition of the Department of Education, which has been forced to once again move the reopening of public schools this coming October. With the novel coronavirus helping to expose the whole puppet GRP machinery as a neoliberal catastrophe plagued by perpetual and ever-worsening politico-economic crises, the Filipino people more militantly demand a first-class, scientific, national, mass oriented education that serves the interests of the nation and its citizens, especially the great masses of workers and peasants. A nationwide social uprising is brewing, and the educators and youth are consequently, along with all patriotic, freedom-loving Filipinos, pushed to venture onto the radical path of national democratic revolution.##

https://cpp.ph/statement/some-comments-on-so-called-blended-learning-aptly-a-blended-neoliberal-catastrophe/

CPP/NPA-Central Negros: Engkwentro sa Tunga sang NPA kag 62nd IBPA Ginadugangan sang Binutig nga Eksena ni 303rd Bde Commander Col. Inocencio Pasaporte

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 15, 2020): Engkwentro sa Tunga sang NPA kag 62nd IBPA Ginadugangan sang Binutig nga Eksena ni 303rd Bde Commander Col. Inocencio Pasaporte

JB REGALADO

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-CENTRAL NEGROS

LEONARDO PANALIGAN COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 15, 2020

Natabo ang engkwentro sa tunga sang unit sang NPA kag 62nd IBPA sa Sitio Tabago, Brgy. Sandayao, Guihulngan City, Negros Occidental, Agosto 14, sa takna nga alas 11:30 sang udto. Indi matuod nga duha ka besis ang engkwentro, indi man matuod nga may engkwentro nga natabo sa Sitio Maluy-a sa amo man nga baryo, indi man matuod nga may kaswalidad pareho sang patay kag pilason sa hanay sang NPA kg mas labi nga indi matuod nga may nakuha nga mga armas ang mga militar halin sa NPA tungod wala sang nabilin nga mga kagamitan militar ang yunit sang NPA sa amo nga engkwentro.

Ang matuod nakaalerto na ang yunit sang NPA sang malapit na sa ginakampohan sini ang 33 tanan ka tropa sang 62nd IBPA nga wala sang ihibalo nga pasulod na sila sa kampo. Ginhulat sang NPA ang ila pagsulod sa kampo kag ginpalupkan sila sang Command Detonated Explosive amo nga 10 gilayon ang KIA (Killed in Action) kag na kompirmar nga may duha pa ka pilason sa hanay sang militar nga gnkarga ini sa duha ka helicopter pa gwa sa amo nga erya. Luwas kag wala sang kaswalidad ang hanay sa NPA nga nakagwa palayo sa amo nga erya. Naga pati ang LPC-NPA nga ang napatay isa naman ka sibilyan kag nagdrama sang engkwentro para matabunan ang ila mga kalakasan batok sa pumuluyo.

Ang pahayag ni Pasaporte napuno sang drawing sa iya utok kag ginadrama sang iya mga tropa. puro kabutigan, hinimo-himo nga mga eksena kag malayo sa matuod nga mga hitabo. Indi man malipod ini sa mga pumuluyo nga amo ang saksi sa panahon sang engkwentro kag pagkatapos sini. Indi man malipod sa iya mga tropa ang ini nga kamatuoran nga sila mismo naga into sang ila kaugalingon nga gina uyonan ang kabutigan sang ila mga opisyal kag mga propagandista kaangay ni Pasaporte samtang ginatago ang ila mga kaswalidad sa tuyo nga mapahagan-hagan ang grabe nga kahadlok sang ila tropa. Ang pinakakaladlawan pa kay pilit sila ginapapati sa mga kabutigan nga kahibalo sila nga indi matuod kag hinimo-himo lamang nga mga istorya nga kon anu ang malab-ot sa ginadrawing sang utok ni Pasaporte.

Wala man sang mataas nga moral ang pasista kag bayaran nga tropa sa pagpakig-away atubang sa NPA nga boluntaryo, bug-os sa tagipusuon ang pagpakig-away para sa interes sang sahing anakbalhas nga mahilway sa sa mapiguson kag mahimuslanon nga sistema. Bit-bit man sang NPA ang inspirasyon sa pagpalangga sang masa kag pag angkon sang hustisya kag matuod nga kalinong. Samtang ang mga pasista kag bayaran nga tropang militar sweldo lang ang ginalagas kag ginakaugtan sang pumuluyo tungod sa ila kapintas kag madamu ang ila gin-utang nga dugo sa pumulyo.

Ang ini nga engkwentro indi makapugong sa pagpaninguha sang NPA nga malab-ot ang malapad nga pumulyo sa kampanya sa edukasyon kag mga paghanas para sa ikaayong lawas kag pag-atubang batok sa makamamatay nga COVID-19 nga pandemya. Kadungan man ang kampanya sa malapnagon nga pagpauswag sa produksyon sang pagkaon para sa paghanda sa mga nahimo nga epekto sa ekonomiya tuga sang lackdown. Ang LPC-NPA lubos man nga nagakondina sa paghatag sang gobyerno sang mas dalagku pundo para sa operasyon kombat sang militar ikompara a suporta pang ikaayong lawas kag pang-ekonomiya sang pumuluyo ilabi na sa karon sa ginaatubang nga krisis sa pandemya.

Padayon nga maghimakas!
Isulong ang armadong rebolusyon!

https://cpp.ph/statement/engkwentro-sa-tunga-sang-npa-kag-62nd-ibpa-ginadugangan-sang-binutig-nga-eksena-ni-303rd-bde-commander-col-inocencio-pasaporte/

CPP/NPA-Central Panay: 12th IB: Rabid Dogs Unleashed in the Hinterlands of Janiuay

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 15, 2020): 12th IB: Rabid Dogs Unleashed in the Hinterlands of Janiuay

JURIE GUERRERO

SPOKESPERSON

NPA- CENTRAL PANAY

JOSE PERCIVAL ESTOCADA JR. COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 15, 2020

The Jose Percival Estocada Jr. Command vehemently condemns the numerous human rights violations perpetrated by the 12th IB and the terror it sowed during its combat operations in the mountainous barangays of Janiuay. The said operation started August 5, 2020 and lasted for more than a week.

Two peasants were illegally detained and interrogated and were forced to be their guides for the whole day. One of them was beaten up while his hands were restrained behind his back and was stripped naked by the military. Four houses were illegally ransacked including one that was empty and padlocked. The 12th IB soldiers also threatened to kill, interrogated, accused as NPA members and/or beat up five more peasants. They confiscated 12-gauge shotguns from the homes they ransacked that the farmers keep in case the need to defend their families and farm animals against criminal elements arises. They stomped through farms that destroyed the crops. The victims of the said military atrocities were residents of Brgy. Atimonan, Januiay, Iloilo.

The officers and men of the 12th IB did not waste any time pretending they care even a bit for the welfare of the people. This early, after a few months of deployment, they already showed their true faces – rabid dogs trained and fed by a mad man, ready to bite at anyone anytime unleashed. The soldiers of the 12th IB are thugs and abusive men without any regard for the people.

The supposed encounter reported by 12thIB that transpired in Brgy. Atimonan last August 8, 2020 was a fat lie. There was no firefight between the NPA and the AFP. The stories they tell to the public are just droolings of these rabid dogs that carry out cowardly acts of brutalities against innocent and unarmed civilians.

The reassurances issued by Duterte and his gang are empty words as they try in vain to calm down the people clamoring against the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. This law has no other objective but to legalie the human rights abuses perpetrated by his government against the Filipino people, its critics and rivals in politics, legal democratic organizations and revolutionary forces who rise up against the ills of his government. Duterte and his rabid dogs want to sow fear and terror and to make the people believe that they can commit even the vilest crimes against the people with impunity.

However, Duterte and his lapdogs will soon know that they will not get away with their crimes. The violations committed to the people in hopes to sow fear and terror will only ignite the people’s anger and courage to rise up against his regime. Time will come, Duterte will cower in fear, not the people.

Meanwhile the NPA, through the leadership of the CPP, is determined in educating the people about the real situation and is actively helping the masses solve practical challenges they face especially in these times of crisis brought about by the poor and inutile measures of the Duterte administration in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. The NPA leads campaigns to increase agricultural production and develop the spirit of cooperation within the ranks of the farmers in the countryside. The NPAA also extends free medical services especially to poor patients. Above all, the NPA, along with the enraged masses, is ready to give justice to atrocities and abuses, and strike at enemy forces in places and times they expect the least

https://cpp.ph/statement/12th-ib-rabid-dogs-unleashed-in-the-hinterlands-of-janiuay/

CPP/NDF-PKM: Ituloy ang pamanang pakikibaka ni Ka Randy Echanis, martir at bayani ng uring magbubukid at masang maralita!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 15, 2020): Ituloy ang pamanang pakikibaka ni Ka Randy Echanis, martir at bayani ng uring magbubukid at masang maralita!

PAMBANSANG KATIPUNAN NG MGA MAGBUBUKID

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 15, 2020

Sa ngalan ng milyun-milyong magsasakang nagsusulong ng Rebolusyong Agraryo, pinakamataas na pagpaparangal at malawakang pulang saludo ang pinapaabot ng Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Magbubukid kay Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis, martir at bayani ng uring magbubukid at masang maralita. Nakikidalamhati ang buong katipunan sa pamilya ni Ka Randy, at mga kasamahan sa ligal at demokratikong kilusan, gayunpaman, ang alaala ng kanyang mahigit limang dekadang pakikibaka ay nagsisilbing gabay sa bawat kasapi at ang kanyang pag-aalay ng buhay bilang tilamsik ng apoy para sa lalo pang pagsusulong ng Rebolusyong Agraryo at Demokratikong Rebolusyong Bayan!

Si Ka Randy ay natatanging rebolusyonaryo, na mula kabataan hanggang sa kanyang huling hininga ay tangan ang pakikibaka para sa kalayaan at demokrasya sa lipunan. Mula sa nakabababang panggitnang uring pamilya mula Ilocos Sur at Abra, kaya sa sa maagang yugto ng kanyang buhay ay nasilayan niya ang atrasadong kanayunan at abang kalagayan ng masang magbubukid. Kaya sa kanyang pagtuntong sa kolehiyo noong dekada 60, hindi niya piniling palampasin ang mga ugat ng krisis sa lipunan, pangunahin ang imperyalismo, pyudalismo at burukrata kapitalismo.

Bilang mag-aaral ng Philippine College of Commerce (kasalukuyang Polytechnic University of the Philippines), aktibo siyang lumahok sa mga aksyong masa ng pagkundena sa gerang agresyon ng imperyalistang US sa mamamayan ng Vietnam, at pakikipamuhay sa mga piketlayn ng mga welga at komunidad ng mga maralita. Sa maagang yugto, isinulong niya ang pagmumulat sa sarili, sa aspeto ng ideolohiya, pulitika at organisasyon. Siya ay naging kasapi ng Kabataang Makabayan, at naging tagapangulo ng balangay nito sa University of the East noong 1970. Sa panahong ito, si Ka Randy ay naging bahagi ng dumaluyong na paglaban ng mamamayan sa pasistang rehimeng Marcos, o ang panahong kilala bilang Sigwa ng Unang Kwarto o First Quarter Storm. Kasing linaw ng bughaw na langit, bilang kabataang-estudyante ay niyakap ni Ka Randy ang panawagan ng Inang Bayan na ipagtanggol ang kalayaan at demokrasya, laban sa pasistang rehimeng Marcos, na nag-ilusyong maghari nang walang hanggan sa bansa.

Sa unang hati ng dekada, nagpakahusay si Ka Randy sa paggagap sa Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo at sa pagsasakongkreto nito sa Demokratikong Rebolusyong Bayan para sa interes ng uring anakpawis. Kaya naman noong huling bahagi ng dekada 70, tinanggap niya ang hamon ng “Pagsilbihan ang Mamamayan” at tumungo sa kanayunan para mag-organisa ng masang magsasaka, isulong ang Rebolusyong Agraryo, Armadong Pakikibaka at Demokratikong Rebolusyong Bayan sa kabuuan. Naging instrumental si “Ka Makar” sa gawaing edukasyon at propaganda sa hanay ng masang magsasaka sa Cagayan Valley, Cordillera at Ilocos. Naging bahagi siya ng mga makasaysayan at pinakaunang pagbibinhi ng mga pulang pampulitikang kapangyarihan sa kanayunan hanggang noong Hulyo 1983, nang siya ay mahuli ng mga pasistang berdugo na sina Colonel Rodolfo Aguinaldo, Red Kapunan at Gregorio Honasan, na mga birador sa ilalim ng Ministry of Defense Security Group.

Naka-bartolina at incommunicado si Ka Randy mula 1983 hanggang 1984 sa Camp Aguinaldo at mula 1984 hanggang 1986 sa Camp Adduru sa Tuguegarao, Cagayan. Walang makapagtutunggaling siya ay biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng diktaduryang Marcos dahil mahigpit itong ipinagbabawal sa Universal Declaration of Human Rights at International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, kung saan parehong nakalagda ang reaksyunaryong gubyerno. Dinanas ni Ka Randy ang brutalidad ng mga pasistang halimaw ng diktador na si Marcos, ngunit bigo silang baliin ang kanyang rebolusyonaryong diwa hanggang sa siya ay makalaya noong Marso 1986, halos isang buwan pagkatapos ng pagpapatalsik sa diktadurya.

Sa paglaya, naging pangunahing lider at personalidad si Ka Randy sa pagtatatag ng Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (SELDA) at Partido ng Bayan. Gayunpaman, dahil sa mataas na pampulitikang kamulatan at yakap ang aral ng Estado at Rebolusyon, batid niyang ang rehimeng pinangungunahan ng isang haciendero ay hindi magpapatupad ng pundamental na pagbabagong Tunay na Reporma sa Lupa. Kaya makalipas ng isang taon at napako ang mga pangakong pagbabago para sa uring magsasaka at anakpawis, tumungo muli siya sa kanayunan, para mag-mulat, mag-organisa at magpakilos at isulong ang Rebolusyong Agraryo.

Muli siyang nadakip noong 1990 ng mga notoryus na Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) at the Naval Intelligence and Security Force (NISF). Siya ay tinortyur sa isang isang safe house, kasama ang kanyang kabiyak na si Ka Linda Lacaba at ang pinakabatang bilanggong pulitikal noong panahong iyon, ang kanilang dalawang taon na anak. Siya ay nakalaya noong 1992, nang ibasura ng korte ang gawa-gawang kaso laban sa kanya na illegal possession of firearms para sa rebelyon.

Mula nito, si Ka Randy ay nakibaka na sa ligal at demokratikong kilusan. Naging aktibo siya sa pakikibaka para sa paniningil sa pamilyang Marcos, kasama ang libu-libong biktima ng diktadurya. Naging bahagi rin siya ng pagkatatatag ng Karapatan, ang alyansa ng mamamayan na magiting na nagtatanggol ng karapatang pantao, kalayaan at demokrasya. Dahil sa kanyang balon ng karanasan sa pagsusulong ng karapatan sa lupa ng masang magsasaka, noong 1999 siya ay ninumbra bilang Deputy Secretary-General ng pinakamalawak na ligal at demokratikong samahan ng magsasaka sa bansa, ang Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas o KMP. Noong 2001, inihalal din siya bilang lider ng FQS Movement ng mga beteranong aktibista nakasama niya sa pakikibaka.

Sa kanyang pagsusulong ng interes ng masang magsasaka, naging bahagi siya ng mga internasyunal na aktibidad tulad ng asembliya ng International League of People’s Struggle noong 2001 at 2004 sa Netherlands, World Farmers’ Assembly sa France noong 2003, World Social Forum sa Brazil noong 2005. World Anti-Imperialist Conference sa Indonesia, maging ng UN FAO International Planning Committee sa Italya.

Dahil sa puspusang pagsusulong ng interes ng uring magsasaka, idinamay siya sa kasong rebelyon ng pasistang rehimeng Macapagal-Arroyo noong 2006, at inaresto noong Enero 2008, batay sa gawa-gawang kaso ng “Leyte mass graves.” Ikinulong siya sa Leyte at Manila City Jail hanggang siya ay makalaya noong Agosto 2009. Idinamay na naman siya ng kasalukuyang pasistang rehimen sa proscription list o listahan ng inaakusahang terorista batay sa Human Security Act.

Mula 2002 naging bahagi ng Reciprocal Working Committee for Social and Economic Reforms o mga pundamental na repormang sosyo-ekonomiko, ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines sa usapang pangkapayapaan sa reaksyunaryong gubyerno. Ang kanyang atas ay buuin ang mga kumprehensibong kulumpon ng mga probisyon ng Agrarian Reform and Rural Development o ARRD para sa pamamahalang nagtataguyod ng makauring interes ng masang magsasaka. Makasaysayan ang ambag ni Ka Randy, dahil nabuo ang burador at pinal na bersyon ng Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms o CASER, bahagi nito ang ARRD, pangunahin ang libreng pamamahagi ng lupa at nasyunalisasyon ng mga plantasyong pag-aari ng dayuhang monopolyo.

Sa pagbaybay ng kanyang rebolusyonaryo at militanteng pakikibaka nang mahigit limang dekada, hindi maitatanggi na palagiang target si Ka Randy ng pampulitikang pag-uusig mula nakaraan at kasalukuyang rehimen. Gayunpaman, ang tibay ng kanyang komitment at prinsipyo ay napagtagumpayan ang anumang pakana o mga tradisyunal na pamamaraan ng pag-uusig ng mga ito, kung kaya iwinasiwas nito ang madugo at duwag nitong atake. Ang asisanasyon o pagpatay kay Ka Randy ay hindi maitatatwang patunay ng kabulukan ng naghaharing sistema. Walang reaksyunaryong rehimen ang nagtataguyod sa mga palabok nitong probisyon ukol sa kalayaan at demokrasya. Hangga’t mala-pyudal ang lipunan at ekonmiya, at ang estado ay pinaghaharian ng mga kinatawan ng naghaharing uring panginoong maylupa at imperyalismo, ang malawak na mamamayan ay pawang alipin ng pyudalismo, pasismo at burukrata kapitalismo.

Nabubuang ang mga pasista kung inaakala nilang nagtagumpay sila. Sa kasalukuyan ay inaani nila ang pagkamuhi ng malawak na mamamayan na agarang binubura gapatak nilang mga tagumpay sa pagpapakawala ng mga pekeng balita. Animo’y nagpukpok ng martilyo sa sarili ang mga pasistang pwersa dahil inilantad nila ang sariling kamangmangan sa reaksyunaryong batas. Hindi dapat magbunga ng panghihina ng loob at takot sa hanay ng rebolusyonaryong pwersa ang pagpatay kay Ka Randy, dahil ito ay isang desperadong hakbang sa isang desperadong yugto ng nanginginig nang reaksyunaryong rehimen ng nababaliw nang si Duterte. Nangangahulugang iniinda nito ang walang puknat na paglalantad sa kanya at pagkilos ng mamamayan. Si Ka Randy ang nagtagumpay, dahil hanggang sa kanyang huling hininga, tinupad niya ang kanyang akdang tulang “Hindi Ko Kayo Titigilan.”

Bilang direktiba ng pag-aalala kay Ka Randy, ipinapanawagan ng PKM sa lahat ng balangay nito sa bansa, na higit pang paigtingin ang pagsusulong ng Rebolusyong Agraryo, kakapit-bisig ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan at sa pamumuno ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, at konsolidahin ang mga inaning tagumpay para sa interes ng uring magbubukid.

Ang sigaw ng Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Magsasaka,

Rebolusyonaryong hustisya para kay Ka Randy Echanis!
Isabuhay ang rebolusyonaryong pamana ni Ka Randy!
Isulong ang agraryo at demokratikong rebolusyong bayan!
Ibagsak ang rehimeng US-Duterte!

https://cpp.ph/statement/ituloy-ang-pamanang-pakikibaka-ni-ka-randy-echanis-martir-at-bayani-ng-uring-magbubukid-at-masang-maralita/

CPP/NPA-Central Negros: Pagharas sang NPA sa Tropa sang 62nd IBPA Sabat sa pasismo kag Kabutigan ni Gen. Inocensio Pasaporte

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 14, 2020): Pagharas sang NPA sa Tropa sang 62nd IBPA Sabat sa pasismo kag Kabutigan ni Gen. Inocensio Pasaporte

JB REGALADO

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-CENTRAL NEGROS

LEONARDO PANALIGAN COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 14, 2020

Agosto 14, alas 8:00 sang aga madinalag-on nga ginlunsar sang Unit sang NPA ang pagharas sa 27 ka elemento sang 62nd IBPA sa Sitio Inangaw, Brgy. Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla. Nagresulta ini sang duha ka WIA (wounded-in-action) sa tropa sang 62nd IBPA kag pagsinala-sala sang iban pa nila ka tropa samtang luwas kag wala sang kaswalidad sa hanay sang NPA nga gilayon nga nakagwa sa amo nga lugar. Indi magsobra sa duha ka minutos ang pagpalupok sang yunit sang NPA sa direksyon sang tropa sang militar apang naglawig ang linukpanay sa ginabana-bana nga 15 minutos tungod sa paturagas nga pagpinalupok sang armas sang mga katapu sang militar nga wala sang maathag nga direksyon ang ginapadulungan sang ila mga bala.

Ini nga aksyon sang NPA sa tropa sang militar bahin lang sang sabat sang NPA sa mga kalakasan batok sa pumuluyo sang militar kag kabutigan ni 303rd Bde Commander Colonel Inocencio Pasaporte. Sa Central Negros madamu sang mga biktima sang paglapak sang tawhanon nga kinamatarung ang nakomiter sang 62nd IBPA pareho sang pagpamatay, iligal nga pagpang-aresto, pagpangkastigo, pagpasaka sang mga hinimo-himo nga mga kaso, pagpangsunog sang mga pamalay kag kagamitan sang mangunguma kag mga pagpamahog. Samtang sa pihak sini wala sang huya pa nga ginapanghambog ni Pasaporte ang madamu nga peke nga ginpilit nga ginpasurender nga mga sibilyan. Ang matuod sini para matabunan ang paslaw nga pagpatuman sang kontra-insurhensya nga kampanya sa isla gamit ang NTF-ELCAC kag RCSP kag ang pinaka ginatuluan sang laway ni Pasaporte kag iban pa niya nga mga opisyal amo ang daku nga kurapsyon sa pundo sang E-CLIP.

Sa pihak sang krisis sa pandemya nga ginaatubang sang bug-os nga pumuluyo kag epekto sini sa palangabuhian sang pumuluyo, ginabayo pa sang mas malala pa sa virus nga kalakasan sang pasistang militar ang mga komunidad sang mga mangunguma. Ang panawagan sang bug-os nga pumuluyo amo ang suporta pang-ekonomiya kag pang ikaayong lawas apang ginasabat man ini sang gobyernong duterte sang militarisasyon kag kapintas sa kamot sang mga militar. Amo nga indi gid mapunggan ang pag-upod kag pagsuporta sang pumuluyo sa rebolusyonaryo nga kahublagan ilabi na sa armado nga paghimakas tungod amo lamang ini ang masaligan nga kawsa sang pumuluyo nga ila masandigan sa panahon sang pandemya, pag-agum sang matuod nga hustisya kag maathag nga katumanan sa ila mga handum.

Segurohon man sang LPC-NPA nga manabat ang mga kriminal nga militar, kapulisan, ahente kag mga ara sa otidad sa gobyernong Duterte nga may mga utang nga dugo kag mga nagtuga sang mga kahalitan sa pumuluyo. Ang pag-angkon sang hustisya sosyal magapangibabaw tungod handum ini sang mayorya nga pumuluyo kag maangkon lamang ini sa pagtipon sang rebolusyonaryo nga kusog sini nga magatuga sang wala tupong nga kabaskog sang unos sang rebolusyonaryo nga paghimakas nga magawasak sang mapiguson kag mahismuslanon nga nagaharing sistema.

https://cpp.ph/statement/pagharas-sang-npa-sa-tropa-sang-62nd-ibpa-sabat-sa-pasismo-kag-kabutigan-ni-gen-inocensio-pasaporte/

CPP/NDF-KAGUMA-Negros: Push for a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education! Oust the US-Duterte regime!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 14, 2020): Push for a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education! Oust the US-Duterte regime!

KAGUMA-NEGROS

KATIPUNAN NG MGA GURONG MAKABAYAN

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 14, 2020

KAGUMA-Negros unites with the academe, students, and parents in strongly opposing DepEd’s insistent resumption of classes this August 24th through blended learning. It also is united with the call for a safe resumption of classes instead of an obviously flawed band-aid solution. Most importantly, it calls on the education sector to unite in demanding and pushing for a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education, which is deemed impossible while the tyrant Duterte remains in power.

DepEd Secretary Briones, along with Duterte, Galvez and the IATF are ignoring the glaring indications that the country is not at all ready to resume classes. Briones herself mentioned that every region is left for itself in facing the new mode of learning. With this, teachers and parents are left to bear the brunt of printing modules locally, acquiring radios, computers, internet paraphernalia, and other logistical concerns that are not subsidized by the government. Blended learning will worsen the inaccessibility of education. At least 7 million youth will not be able to attend classes this school year.

The militarized response of the pandemic has led to negatively affect the situation of the country’s education. Duterte has used his Juan Tamad approach of awaiting for a vaccine, despite the calls of healthcare workers and the entire Filipino people for mass testing a medical solution. Thus, physical classes are still unsafe in the Philippines, while other Southeast Asian Countries who used a medical approach to the pandemic are now back to normal. Recently, the fate of the country is being gambled on an unreliable vaccine from Russia.

KAGUMA agrees with Briones that students are yearning for their right to education. The state, however, along with its rubberstamp DepEd has, for the longest time, failed to provide that. Miseducated youth and underpaid-overworked teachers are proof of that. The systemic problem of a colonial, commercial, and repressive education plagues the nation even before the pandemic and is dire need of an overhaul.

Only through the national democratic revolution can education be truly of quality and accessible to the youth. It will also allow teachers to actually help in nation building as they will shape minds not for labor-export and foreign exploitation, but for the promotion and pushing of genuine land reform and national industrialization to maximize the country’s resources for self-sufficiency and improvement. A just society built upon this will also ensure the welfare of its teachers and academic staff.

Duterte’s police-military regime proves to be an impediment of such aims. The people’s collective demand for mass testing, along with the academic sector’s demand for a safe resumption of classes is not possible while the dictator remains in power. Instead of addressing these, he has weaponized the pandemic to further his tyranny and personal interests. Through Duterte’s ouster and the perseverance of revolutionary academics to wage the national democratic revolution, the aim for a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education is surely attainable.

https://cpp.ph/statement/push-for-a-nationalist-scientific-and-mass-oriented-education-oust-the-us-duterte-regime/

CPP/NDF-KM: Iduso ang kalidad, luwas sa peligro kag libre nga edukasyon para sa tanan! Maghimakas para sa pungsodnon, siyentipiko kag makamasa nga kultura kag edukasyon!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 14, 2020): Iduso ang kalidad, luwas sa peligro kag libre nga edukasyon para sa tanan! Maghimakas para sa pungsodnon, siyentipiko kag makamasa nga kultura kag edukasyon!

KABATAANG MAKABAYAN

KM-NEGROS

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 14, 2020

Mabangis kag wala sang balatyagon ang inutil nga ahensya sang Department of Education (DepEd) sa idalum ni Leonor Briones kag ang mapintas nga rehimen US-Duterte mismo sa pwersahan sini nga pagbukas sang klase sa Agosto 24 sa pihak sang katalagman nga dala sang nagasaka nga kaso sang Covid-19 nga pandemya kag ang kulang pa sa kahanda-on para sa bag-o nga moda sang pagtu-on.

Nagapabilin nga kontra-estudyante kag kontra-pumuluyo ang sistema sang edukasyon sa Pilipinas sa diin nagapadayon nga kolonyal, komersyalisado kag represibo ini. Mas ginpalala ini sa elitista nga “blended learning” nga ginaduso sang DepEd nga nagtulod sa 7 ka milyon nga mga kabataan pareho sa publiko kag pribado nga mag-untat sa pag-ekswela bangod sa tuman ka gastuso kag indi-masarangan nga moda sang pagtu-on.

Bangod sa kawad-on sang konkreto nga plano ang reaksyunaryo nga gobyerno ni Duterte para sa hilway sa peligro nga pagbukas liwat sang klase, ang kontra-pigado nga “online class” ang magaresulta lamang sa malapnagon nga pagdingut sang sandigan nga kinamatarung sa edukasyon sa diin nagakinahanglan sang pinasyal nga kapasidad para sa mga kinahanglanon nga kagamitan kaangay sang laptop, tablet, smartphone, load pang internet kag maayo nga signal. Nabutang sa kompromiso ang kalidad sang edukasyon kag nagdugang pabug-at sa gina abaga nga responsibilidad sang mga manunudlo, ginhikanan kag mga estudyante nga tubtob subong wala pa nakabangon sa malala nga gutom kag kaimulon nga dala sang palyado, uyaya kag paslaw nga pag-atubang sang inutil nga gobyerno ni Duterte sa krisis sosyo-ekonomiko kag ikaayong-lawas.

Kabutigan lamang ang ginahambal ni Briones nga handa na ang pungsod para sa pagbukas sang klase bangod tubtob subong padayon nga wala ginasabat ang demanda sang mga manunudlo, ginhikanan kag mga estudyante para sa libre nga mass testing, dugang nga mga pasilidad sa eskwelahan, nagakadapat nga proteksyon medikal kag nagaka-igo nga pondo para sa mga kagamitan kag kinahanglanon sa bag-o nga moda sang pagtu-on.

Nagapadayon nga hugas-kamot, bulag kag bungol ang rehimen Duterte sa panawagan sang pumuluyo para sa konkreto kag siyentipiko nga solusyon medikal agud matapna ang madasig nga paglapta sang bayrus. Mas prayoridad sang reaksyunaryo nga gobyerno ang pagpatuman sang mga kontra-pumuluyo, paantus kag mapintas nga mga laye kaangay sang Anti-Terror Law agud pahipuson ang nagalanog nga panawagan sang mga pamatan-on kag pumuluyo kag tapakan ang ila demokratiko nga mga kinamatarung.

May pandemya man ukon wala, nagapabilin nga magalala kag atrasado ang aton nga pungsod bangod ang pabaya, korap kag tiraniko nga estado sang nagahari nga sahi sang mga agalon mayduta, dalagko komprador burgesya kag burukrata kapitalista ang nagapadayon nga ido-ido kag nahigot sa dikta sang ila mga imperyalista nga amo. Padayon ini nga magapatuman sang mga patakaran nga nagaserbi lamang sa ila interes samtang padayon nga ginapigos kag ginahimuslan ang kusog-pangabudlay, manggad kag rekurso sang pumuluyong Pilipino.

Gani, wala na sang lauman pa ang mga pamatan-on kag pumuluyo sa inutil kag diktador nga rehimen ni Duterte. Nagapabilin nga madulom ang bwas-damlag sang mga kabataan kag pamatan-on ilabi na sa nagalala nga kawad-on sang duta, kawad-on sang trabaho kag puluy-an, malapnagon nga pagkadislokar sa trabaho kag madamu pa nga mga kontra-pumuluyo nga mga patakaran sang estado agud ilubong kita sa kapigaduhon.

Nagakadapat lamang nga makig-bahin ang malapad nga sektor sang mga pamatan-on sa bug-os nga rebolusyonaryo nga hanay sang pumuluyo sa pagsulong sang pungsodnon demokratiko nga rebolusyon agud maangkon ang matuod nga reporma sa duta, pungsodnon nga industriyalisasyon bilang sabat sa pundamental nga problema sang sosyedad bunga sang nagahuyango nga sistema sang malakolonyal kag malapyudal.

Palaparon ang aton hanay kag hugot nga uyatan ang signipikante kag makasaysayan nga papel sang pamatan-on sa pag-angkon sang matuod-tuod nga pagbag-o sang sosyedad nga nakabase sa hustisya sosyal. Isulong ang maki-pungsodnon, siyentipiko kag maka-masa nga kultura kag edukasyon! Sukton kag palayason ang traydor, inutil kag tiraniko nga rehimen US-Duterte! ###

https://cpp.ph/statement/iduso-ang-kalidad-luwas-sa-peligro-kag-libre-nga-edukasyon-para-sa-tanan-maghimakas-para-sa-pungsodnon-siyentipiko-kag-makamasa-nga-kultura-kag-edukasyon/

Kalinaw News: NPA terrorist crumbling in Ilocos Sur and Abra; Top-Ranking Leaders of KLG-SIS and KLG-Abra fall

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 15, 2020): NPA terrorist crumbling in Ilocos Sur and Abra; Top-Ranking Leaders of KLG-SIS and KLG-Abra fall

Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija- The combined elements of Army’s 81st Infantry Battalion, 702nd Infantry Brigade and Ilocos Sur Provincial Police Office of PNP arrested the top ranking leader of Komiteng Larangan Gerilya (KLG) North Abra named Joel Sibalo Banganan, alias “PAYAS”, and Ranny Velle Urbis, with aliases “MARIA, NISE and ESTER”, who is reported to be the Secretary of KLG South Ilocos Sur (SIS) on August 14, 2020 in Barangay Damacuag, Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Rodrigo Mariñas Jr., the Commanding Officer of 81IB, Banganan and Urbis are part of the group that was encountered by Army and PNP in Barangay Suagayan, Santa Lucia on August 8.

Troops that arrested Banganan revealed that the said NPA leader has a fresh gunshot wound at the back of his head and neck which he got during the encounter. Banganan, aged 37, is a resident of Barangay Mataragan, Malibcong, Abra is facing a rebellion case, while Urbis aged 35 is a resident of Barangay Gimud Norte, San Juan, Ilocos Sur also facing a frustrated murder case. The two notorious top-ranking NPAs are now in the custody of Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur PNP for legal processing.

Meanwhile, 7th Infantry Division Commander Major General Alfredo V. Rosario Jr. PA, lauded the troops in their successful law enforcement operations leading to the deaths and arrest of NPA top-ranking leaders in Ilocos Sur that will surely stop their criminal, bandit and terrorist activities in Ilocos Sur.

“We were serious when we said that we will dismantle the KLG-SIS of the NPA in Ilocos this year. The fall of its top-ranking officers and members is a determinant that the reign of terrorism in Ilocos Sur and Abra is nearing its end. We attribute this success to our peace-loving community and their leaders who supported and cooperated with us in the fight to end the local communist armed conflict in their communities,” Maj. Gen. Rosario Jr., added.

[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/npa-terrorist-crumbling-in-ilocos-sur-and-abra-top-ranking-leaders-of-klg-sis-and-klg-abra-fall/

Kalinaw News: NPA couple and another full-time NPA member surrender in Agusan del Norte

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 15, 2020): NPA couple and another full-time NPA member surrender in Agusan del Norte

PLACER, Surigao del Norte– Tired and weary NPA couple together with another full time member of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) voluntarily gave up themselves and surrendered to the 29th Infantry (Matatag) Battalion stationed at Barangay Mahayahay, Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte, Friday morning, August 14.

The NPA regulars are members of Guerilla Front 21 of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee. They are identified as @Milan, 28 years old and his wife @Cris, 26 years old, and residents of Brgy Anticala, Butuan City and @JR, 28 years old, and a resident of Brgy Padiay, Sibagat, Agusan del Norte. Their true names are being withheld for security reason.

Based on the initial interview, the former rebels explained that the continuous hardships, hunger, and false promises of their leaders have prompted them to surrender. According to @Milan, father of four, he said that as parents, they can no longer bear being away from their children most of the time as well as the uncertainties of the future for their family.

“Ang unang nagtukmod saako nga mobalik sa sabakan sa balaod, mao ang akong pamilya tungod kay gusto nako sila tibook nga makauban ug wala akoy maayong kaugmaon nga mahatag sa akong pamilya kung naa ko sa kalihukan. Ang gisulti ug tomotomo sa NPA sa gobyerno puro bakak ug walay kamatuuran ug gigamit ra nila ang akong pagkaway hanaw ug kalisod aron musampa mi sa kalihukan”, he said.

As they return to the folds of the law, the former rebels also yielded one caliber 5.56mm bushmaster rifle with one plastic and four short magazine assemblies loaded with 85 rounds of live ammunition, one AK47 rifle with four magazine assemblies loaded with 68 rounds of live ammunition and one anti-personnel improvised explosive device (IED).

In the statement of Lt. Col. Isagani O Criste, Commanding Officer of 29IB, he lauded the decision of the surrenderees citing that they were able to realize their role as parents and grabbed the opportunity to change for the betterment of their respective families.

“Perhaps, it is easy for us to condemn and judge their regrettable decision of joining the armed struggle but just like the other recruits they were also victims of communist lies and deception. It is not too late for them to make up and be better parents to their children”, Lt. Col. Criste said.

Meanwhile, Col. George L Banzon, Commander of 901st Infantry Brigade, warmly welcomed the surrender. In his statement, he said that to “surrender” is the best option for those who succumbed to the propaganda and lies of communist terrorist group.

“To put an end to the hardships brought about by a futile struggle, they must heed to the call of the government and abandon the armed struggle. The real score says that the ordinary CTG members are suffering in the mountains while their leaders live in luxury. They have been robbed of their rights to live peaceful lives which is a clear manifestation of exploitation within their ranks”, he said.

In addition, the Brigade Commander said that the government never closes its door for those who want to surrender. He stressed that the government provides assistance through the Enhance Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).

“Everyone deserves a second chance specifically for those former rebels who opted to take the path of peace”, he added.



[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/npa-couple-and-another-full-time-npa-member-surrender-in-agusan-del-norte/

Kalinaw News: Army spearheads Livelihood distribution to Former Rebels in Surigao del Sur

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 15, 2020): Army spearheads Livelihood distribution to Former Rebels in Surigao del Sur

MADRID, Surigao del Sur 14 August 2020 – The 36th Infantry “Valor” Battalion spearheads distribution of Livelihood resources yesterday at nine o’clock in the morning, August 13, 2020, to the Ibuan Enterprise Village at Sitio Ibuan, Brgy Mampi, Lanuza, Surigao del Sur. A total of 4 swine, 10 sacks of feedstuffs for swine and tilapia, 100 pieces native chicken and 4,000 tilapia fingerlings were initially distributed and was received by their Barangay Captain Hon. Danilo Duaso and Hon Thelma Salazar, Chairperson of Ibuan Peace Organization.

The said Livelihood was part of the initiative of the PRLEC composed of different agencies of the government as fulfillment of the basic services and social development package especially on livelihood interventions of the government and as was committed during the crafting of the said livelihood program intended to the all former rebels of Sitio Ibuan. In pursuit of the country’s peace agenda. The delivery of basic services and social development package of the government by facilitating societal inclusivity, and ensuring active participation of all sectors of the society in the pursuit of the country’s peace agenda. Resources are only one of the few ways in showing the unit’s support towards the Ibuan Enterprise Village in performing their duties and responsibilities.

Soldiers of the army’s 36 Infantry “Valor” Battalion personally handed over the said Livelihood resources to the Ibuan Enterprise Village. The said Livelihood resources was an initiative of the unit through outsourcing from the different stakeholders in the area. In his statement, Lt Col Jezreel Diagmel the Commanding Officer of the 36 Infantry “Valor” Battalion said “Livelihood resources is an effort of the army intended for Ibuan Enterprise Village particularly to the Community of Brgy Mampi, in helping the Former Rebels in
mainstreaming to the society ” 4TH INF DIV

The 36IB will continuously extend its efforts in partnership with other stakeholders so that the needs of the people are sustained and delivered as the country battles survive their daily life,” Lt Col Diagmel said He also calls other agencies and private entities to give and help these needy individuals to surpass their daily needs. (Lt Rodante Soso, Acting CMO, 36IB)

The distribution of said livelihood program is timely especially during this time of difficulty brought by COVID-19 pandemic where in the society backs to backyard gardening as source of food and livelihood.

https://www.kalinawnews.com/army-spearheads-livelihood-distribution-to-former-rebels-in-surigao-del-sur/

Kalinaw News: 23IB welcomes 4 NPA surrenderers from Agusan del Norte

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): 23IB welcomes 4 NPA surrenderers from Agusan del Norte

BUENAVISTA, Agusan del Norte – Four members of the New People’s Army surrendered and were warmly welcomed by the troopers of 23rd Infantry “Masigasig” Battalion at their headquarters in Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte on Thursday, August 13.

The four NPAs decided to abandon the dying cause of the communist movement in the country and chose to go back to their families and communities.

The four NPAs were identified as @BENON, 34, team leader ABE of Squad Dos; @SIMON/@JUDGE, 27, team leader ABE Squad; @AMALIA, 21, member of Squad Uno; and @HAPPY, 18, member of Squad Dos, all under the Sangay sa Yunit Pang propaganda (SYP), KINGDOM of Guerilla Front (GF) 4A, North Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC) of the Communist-Terrorists.

In his testimony during the interview by the 23rd IB, Alias Benon said they were brainwashed by the sweet propaganda of the NPAs and the promises they made such as the benefits for the families of the fighters who will join the armed revolution to topple the government.

“Their promises turned false as families suffered while we were away fighting for their ideology which we eventually realized as wrong,” Benon said.

He added that what they were fighting for inside the communist movement was also misplaced as the NPAs sowed fear among communities in the areas where they operate.

“Our leaders forced us to extort money and food from ordinary civilians. If they fail to comply we were ordered to do harassments,” Benon revealed.

He also pointed out that communities in Agusan del Sur and nearby towns are already tired of the atrocities of the NPAs, while some of their comrades already left the movement and returned to their families and communities for good.

“We learned that some of our companions are now with their families as they received enough support from the government after they surrendered. Upon learning about their situation, we decided to leave the movement. We could no longer withstand the hardships we encounter every day,” Benon added.

He also shared their realization on the seriousness of the government in extending support and services even in far-flung areas amidst the fight to contain the spread of the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“In the communities, we actually saw how the government worked by bringing relief goods and provided basic health services to ordinary people. Yet, despite what we witnessed, the communist leaders continue to deny such reality by instilling in our minds that the government failed to help the people in the middle of this pandemic,” Benon said.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, the acting commander of 23rd IB led the troopers in welcoming Benon and his group.

“These former NPA members surrendered after realizing that they are a lost cause and failed ideology. They learned that the government is sincere in its efforts towards achieving peace and development that contradicts the sweet talks of their communist leaders,” Paulo said.

He added that the experiences of Benon and his companions must be shared and pondered upon by those who are being targeted for recruitment by the NPAs, especially the youth.

“The NPAs assign good speakers that can convince people, especially our students, to join their ranks. But behind their honeyed words are the grim realities in the lives of fighters, the sufferings they endure, and the anguishes of their families and children left in their homes,” Paulo said.

He thanked Benon and his group for the decision they made and assured them of the full support of the government under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).

“To those who continue to remain inside the dark realm of the communist movement, act now as the government is always open to accept you,” Paulo said.

He added that the government will also use its force to prevent terrorism and to ensure the safety of civilians and their communities.





[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/23ib-welcomes-4-npa-surrenderers-from-agusan-del-norte/

Kalinaw News: Army clashes with New People’s Army recovers 1 M16 rifle in Ilocos Sur

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): Army clashes with New People’s Army recovers 1 M16 rifle in Ilocos Sur

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija- Army troops under the 91st Brigade Reconnaissance Company, 1st Brigade Combat Team recovered one (1) M16 rifle when they clashed with seven (7) New People’s Army under Komiteng Larangan Gerilya South Ilocos Sur (KLG-SIS) in the boundary of San Emilio and Gregorio del Pilar, Ilocos Sur on August 14, 2020 at around 8:30 a.m.

The NPA group that the Army troops clashed with are under Alias “NERO”, the leader of the KLG-SIS, whose group clashed with the Army last August 8 in Barangay Suagayan, Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur. In the said encounter, five (5) NPAs were killed and 9 of their firearms were recovered by government forces.

A tip by a concerned civilian led the troops to the hiding place of the terrorist that resulted to an encounter.

According to the report that reached the Headquarters of 7th Infantry Division, Philippine Army, there is no reported casualty on government’s side, while undetermined in the enemy side.

Pursuit operation is ongoing as of press time.

“The pursuit operation against the group of alias “NERO” will continue until we get all of them, said ”Brigadier General Audrey L. Pasia Philippine Army, the Commander of 702nd brigade that supervises the ongoing operation. “It is only a matter of time before we can corner them again and deliver the final blow for their complete decimation. Before that happened, I am encouraging the remaining members of KLG SIS to surrender, for them to avoid the fate of their five comrades who perished last August 8.”

Major General Alfredo V. Rosario Jr. PA, the Commander of Army’s 7th Infantry Division, said, “I am appealing to the dwindling forces of the KLG-SIS to surrender themselves to the authorities before it is too late, as the Army will not stop in going after them until they are totally crushed and decimated.”





[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/army-clashes-with-new-peoples-army-recovers-one-1-m16-rifle-in-ilocos-sur/

Kalinaw News: Bayawan City residents condemn Communist-Terrorist Groups (CTG’s) atrocities

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): Bayawan City residents condemn Communist-Terrorist Groups (CTG’s) atrocities

Bayawan City, Negros Oriental – The Civil-Military Operations Specialty Enabler Company, 14th CMO “Voice of Peace” Battalion under 11th Infantry (Lapu-lapu) Battalion attended by 1LT JUNALD V LACSAMANA, CO, BCoy, 11IB, 3ID, PA together with augmented RMFB7, other government and local officials headed by Hon. Jonas M. Trias, Bayawan Peace & Order Council, Representative of Mayor Pryde Henry Teves and PLT Tomas Wagas Tanutan, Deputy Bayawan City Police Station participated the Mass Condemnation New People’s Army atrocities in Barangay Ali-is, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental last August 11, 2020.

Around 270 residents of Barangay Ali-is assembled and simultaneously exhibited a peace rally followed by the burning of NPA flags to show that they strongly condemn the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed-wing, the New People’s Army (NPA). Participants carried placards and banners with messages calling for an end to the atrocities perpetrated by the CPP-NPA and they longing for peace & development and an insurgency-free community.







The Barangay Officials headed by Hon. Danilo P Salison, Chairman of Barangay Ali-is led the oath of allegiance and signing of a large banner of the Barangay Resolution declaring the members of CTGs as Persona Non-Grata.

With this overwhelming support from the masses and the utmost dedication and effort by the Province of Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC), we can attain insurgency-free communities and sustainable development in the Island of Negros.









[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/bayawan-city-residents-condemn-communist-terrorist-groups-ctgs-atrocities/

Kalinaw News: Army pursues fleeing NPA terrorists in a running gun battle in Moises Padilla

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): Army pursues fleeing NPA terrorists in a running gun battle in Moises Padilla

CAMP GERONA, MURCIA, Negros Occidental– A running gun battle transpired between the troops of 62IB and New People’s Army that resulted to undetermined number of wounded on the NPAs at So Uway- uway, Brgy Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental exactly 9:00 am today, August 13, 2020.

The armed encounter happened after concerned residents in the area reported the presence of armed men believed to be NPA rebels. The residents tipped-off the 62nd Infantry Battalion, who has operational jurisdiction in the area, after being extorted and harassed by the NPAs. The populace was fed-up by the extortion activities, harassment and food grabbing of the NPAs who were having trouble in their food supplies following the lockdown enforced to contain the 2019 coronavirus disease (CoViD-19).

Despite the heavy rains in the area, troops of 62IB immediately acted on the information and launched a combat operation on the reported presence of the NPAs wherein they encountered more or less fifteen (15) members of New People’s Army at vicinity Sitio Uway-uway, Brgy Quintin Remo. The skirmish resulted to a running gun battle that lasted for almost 15-minutes. The NPAs cowardly escaped and scattered in different directions while dragging their wounded companions as evidenced by bloodstains along their route of withdrawal. Left also along the scene of encounter were 2 rice pots with cooked rice believed to be taken from the populace, cell phones, headlight/flashlights and other belongings.

Lieutenant Colonel Melvin N Flores, Commanding Officer of the 62IB stated that “this clearly shows that the NPA terrorists are not welcome and despised by the people of Moises Padilla, These NPA rebels have suffered hunger and exhaustion as their emissaries encountered difficulties in finding supplies of foods and other basic needs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These CNTs are constrained in obtaining supplies after all the barangays in Moises Padilla and its neighbouring towns had declared the NPA as persona non grata last year. I commend the courage of some civilians who, despite the fear and danger, managed to provide us accurate information on the area where the NPA were gathering. The information resulted in this successful military operation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Colonel Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade Commander said, “We will continue to pursue the NPAs without let-up to eradicate them in Central Negros, however, we are calling on the remaining NPA combatants to surrender and return to their families and communities to live a peaceful life. Avail the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the government as the Province of Negros Occidental is always ready to accept them and provide assistance to start their lives again, “he added.





[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/army-pursues-fleeing-npa-terrorists-in-a-running-gun-battle-in-a-moises-padilla/

Kalinaw News: Residents living in encounter site plead for gov’t custody

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): Residents living in encounter site plead for gov’t custody

CAMP CAPINPIN, Tanay, Rizal — Three locals from Kalayaan, Laguna’s Brgy San Antonio who were residing in a house where an NPA leader was killed, expressed their need for assistance through an affidavit notarized on Aug 11, requesting for military custody in fear for their lives.

The trio admitted to being coerced to hide and support Mario Caraig alias Jethro, the Secretary of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee’s SRMA 4C, from pursuing AFP-PNP elements who were then closing in to the location of the now deceased terrorist commander.

Brigadier General Alex Rillera, Commander of the 202nd Infantry Brigde which has operational jurisdiction over Laguna, identified the coerced civilians as Virgillo Asedillo, Chloe Anne Asedillo and Marknel Iwarat.

“Under duress, these civilians took in alias Jethro who was then fleeing from the Aug 4 encounter site wherein RTF ELCAC 4A’s PLEDS Team neutralised alias Termo, the NPA Commander of the Main Regional Guerilla Unit which operates across Southern Tagalog”, said BGen Rillera.

He said that immediately after the encounter, the trio “approached our forces and pleaded to go with them and be taken under government custody out of fear of reprisal from the NPAs who might think that they were the concerned citizens who tipped the security forces of his presence in the area”, ended BGen Rillera.

The military presented their signed affidavit as well as pertinent document from the Local Government of Kalayaan, Laguna indicating that civilian authorities are cognizant of the arrangement between and among the military, PNP and the concerned civilians.

Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr, Commander of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, said that granting protective custody to those under terrorist threat is part of their responsibility to every Filipino citizen.

“We will not allow the NPAs to terrorize our people by allowing them to avenge the death of two of their most seasoned cadres, thus, the safety and security of these coerced residents are our priority as of the moment”, added Maj Gen Burgos.

He emphasized that 2ID has time and again proven their ability to protect their informants as well as their families.

“The fact that Karapatan has once again taken the lead in the left’s massive propaganda and misinformation operations in the aftermath of these twin debacles”, referring to the successive neutralization of alias Termo and alias Jethro, “is a manifestation that the NPA terrorists are once again on panic mode as they try to avert the massive paranoia and demoralisation that it will cause upon their ranks which could lead to the underground movement’s permanent demise in Southern Tagalog”, ended Maj Gen Burgos.

The military reported that they are now awaiting for the formal declaration of the dismantling of the STRPC’s Guerilla Front Cesar which terrorises the communities in the boundaries of Rizal, Laguna, Quezon and Bulacan.

GF Cesar will be the second guerilla front to be dismantled in Southern Tagalog after the 202nd Brigade defeated GF Honda after the 2018 campaign.







GF Honda used to operate in the provinces of Cavite and Batangas.

[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/residents-living-in-encounter-site-plead-for-govt-custody/

Kalinaw News: 6th ID Commander gives Plaque of Recognition to Sarangani Provincial Governor

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): 6th ID Commander gives Plaque of Recognition to Sarangani Provincial Governor

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao -6th Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Diosdado C. Carreon presented a memento to the Provincial Governor of Saranggani, Hon. Steve Chiongbian Solon during his visit at Sarangani Provincial Capitol, C.P. Garcia Street, Alabel, Sarangani last August 10, 2020.

The said activity is part of the Commander’s exit visit and recognition of the Governor’s support to this command. A Plaque of Recognition and a “Kampilan Box” were given as tokens of appreciation for the Governor’s invaluable contribution to the mission accomplishment of Joint Task Force Central and 6th Infantry (Kampilan) Division, Philippine Army.

The Commander also visited Mayor Ronnel Chua Rivera of General Santos City, where he also expressed his gratitude for the Mayors support. The commander was accompanied by 603rd Brigade Commander, Brig. Gen. Wilbur C. Mamawag, Battalion Commander, 37IB and the Command’s Triad Staff during the entire visit.







[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/6th-id-commander-gives-plaque-of-recognition-to-sarangani-provincial-governor/

Kalinaw News: JTFC Central, 6ID Commander honors North Cotabato Governor

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): JTFC Central, 6ID Commander honors North Cotabato Governor
CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao- Joint Task Force Central and 6ID Commander, Major General Diosdado C Carreon officially acknowledged the efforts of North Cotabato Provincial Governor, Hon. Nancy A Catamco in a Recognition Rite at the Kampilan Officers Clubhouse in Camp Siongco, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao yesterday August 11, 2020.

MGen Carreon expressed his utmost gratitude and presented Gov. Catamco with a Plaque of Recognition and the 6ID Kampilan Box in recognition of her invaluable contributions to the mission accomplishment of JTF Central and 6ID, Philippine Army.

“Outside the battlefield, there are many ways of manifesting your bravery and heroism without shedding a blood or sacrificing your life. The community needs your kind of discipline and training and most especially your solemn oath to defend and protect the people. With the professionalism and dedication to duty and service that I have observed from the new breed of soldiers today, I am very hopeful that you will not fail us.” Gov. Catamco said in her message during the ceremony.

“I thank you for the many sacrifices of the uniformed men and women in the past; for your efforts in assisting the community and the local governments; and for the acts of bravery and heroism that you will impart in the future; these will surely become inspiration to those who will come after us.” She added.







[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/jtfc-central-6id-commander-honors-north-cotabato-governor/

Kalinaw News: Military turns terrorist mobility venue into farm

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): Military turns terrorist mobility venue into farm

PATIKUL, Sulu — Military spearheads farming activity in former terrorist logistical venue in Brgy Tugas morning of August 13, 2020.

The 45th Infantry (Gallant) Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ruben Guinolbay led the troops in the Tausug Agro-Demo farming. During this activity, the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Agrarian Reform also taught organic farming to the residents of the said barangay. The area where the vegetables were planted used to be a mobility corridor and logistical venue to the Abu Sayyaf Terrorist. Many encounters occured and a place where many soldiers sacrificed their lives for the Tausug people.

This organic farming was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the following: 45th Infantry (GALLANT) Battalion, 5ID, PA; 1st Brigade Combat Team (1st BCT),11th Infantry (ALAKDAN) Division; 1101st Infantry (GAGANDILAN) Bde; 1102nd Infantry (GANARUL) Bde; 1st Civil-Military Operations (CONNECTOR) Company, 12th Civil-Military Operations Battalion, Civil-Military Operations Regiment (P), Philippine Army; LGU of Patikul, Sulu; and Provincial Government of Sulu. The military and the government will continue to work together to transform the said area into a place that nurtures life.





[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/military-turns-terrorist-mobility-venue-into-farm/

Kalinaw News: FR revelation yields to discovery of NPA arms cache in Misamis Oriental

Posted to Kalinaw News (Aug 14, 2020): FR revelation yields to discovery of NPA arms cache in Misamis Oriental

CLAVERIA, Misamis Oriental- Acting upon the revelation of a former rebel, the 58th Infantry (Dimalulupig) Battalion troopers discovered arms cache at remote village in the hinterlands of Claveria Misamis Oriental last 09 August 2020.

Among the discovered items from the area are: One M1 Carbine Rifle with serial number , one Carbine magazine, 12 AK47 magazines, 309 rounds of AK47 ammo, and twelve rounds of R4A1 ammunitions.

While scouring in the same barangay, the troops also discovered one AK47 rifle with serial number 7123974, five AK47 magazines, 141 rounds of AK47 ammo, five detonating cords with blasting caps, one short magazine for M16, subversive documents, and medical supplies such as assorted medicines and assorted surgical equipment.

Accordingly, these items were buried by members of New People’s Army (NPA) from Sub-Regional Committee 1 (SRC 1), North Central Mindanao Regional Command (NCMRC).

Lt. Col. Ricky L Canatoy, Commanding Officer of 58IB commended the troops for the successful operation and recognized the effort of the former rebel that leads to the discovery of arms cache.

“This proves that the Former Rebels are disappointed and tired of the NPA atrocities. Likewise, this indicates that they shifted their support from the CNTs to the government. Now, they want to return and live with their families in peaceful and harmonious community,” Lt. Col. Canatoy said.

The recovered firearms were brought to the Battalion Headquarters in Sitio Migbanday, Brgy Poblacion, Claveria, Misamis Oriental for proper disposition.





[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/fr-revelation-yields-to-discovery-of-npa-arms-cache-in-misamis-oriental/

Lacson hits ‘politics’ in Misuari’s handover of Abu Sayyaf leader

From Rappler (Aug 15, 2020): Lacson hits ‘politics’ in Misuari’s handover of Abu Sayyaf leader (By JC GOTINGA)



(UPDATED) Reacting to a report of an alleged deal behind the arrest of Abu Sayyaf leader Abduljihad Susukan, Senator Panfilo Lacson says politics and terrorism 'may be a deadly mix'

Senator Panfilo Lacson criticized the alleged “politics” that went into the arrest of top Abu Sayyaf terror group leader Abduljihad “Idang” Susukan that was facilitated by Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari on Thursday, August 13.

Reacting to an Inquirer report of an alleged “surrender deal” brokered by Misuari, Lacson on Saturday, August 15 warned that politics and terrorism “may be a deadly mix.”

“Huwag naman po sana. 'Pag pinaghalo ang pulitika at terorismo, talo lahat tayo (I hope not. When politics and terrorism mix, we all lose). Why? Politics has no logic and terrorism has no reason,” Lacson said on his official Twitter account.

"We had sent the right message to the world that we mean business against terrorism with tough legislation in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. But we could be sending the wrong message if we allow politics into the mix, as in the case of Susukan," Lacson said in a succeeding statement.

Misuari surrendered Susukan to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Davao City on Thursday. A report by The Star said Susukan surrendered to Misuari in Sulu in April. The PNP said Susukan was brought recently to Davao City for “medical attention.”

When the police learned that Susukan was in Davao City with Misuari, they “initiated the negotiation” with the MNLF leader.

On Saturday, the Inquirer reported that PNP chief General Archie Gamboa, Armed Forces chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay, and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana had not been aware of Susukan’s presence in Davao City. However, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and Army chief Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana knew Misuari and Susukan were traveling from Sulu to Davao City on August 9, the report said.

Sobejana denied this in a message to Rappler. He said he did not know about Misuari's and Susukan's travel from Sulu to Davao City.

Sobejana was the military commander in Western Mindanao before his appointment as Army commanding general on August 4.

There were 34 warrants of arrest out for Susukan: 23 for murder, 5 for kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and 6 for frustrated murder. He figured in a February 2019 clash in Patikul, Sulu, that killed 5 government soldiers.

The Abu Sayyaf is a proscribed terrorist group with factions linked to the Islamic State or ISIS international terror network. It is one of the most insidious security threats in the Philippines.

Misuari is a pioneer of the Moro rebellion, and was governor of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) from 1996 to 2001. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) replaced the ARMM in 2019. The BARMM is led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which had splintered from the MNLF in the late 1970s.

Misuari has warm ties with President Rodrigo Duterte, who appointed him the country’s Special Economic Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in December 2019.

Lacson, a former PNP chief, heads the Senate committee on national defense and security. He sponsored the new Anti-Terrorism Law, which significantly broadens security forces’ power to identify, surveil, accuse, detain, and prosecute terrorism suspects. Rights groups have opposed the measure for cutting into constitutional liberties such as political dissent and peaceful assembly.

https://rappler.com/nation/lacson-hits-politics-in-misuari-handover-abu-sayyaf-leader

Rebel killed, 2 soldiers injured

From the Visayan Daily Star (Aug 15, 2020): Rebel killed, 2 soldiers injured

A suspected member of the New People’s Army died, while two Army soldiers were injured in renewed armed skirmishes in Sitios Maluy-a and Anahao, in Brgy. Sandayao, Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental, yesterday.

Col. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said the unidentified slain NPA rebel was left behind by his fleeing comrades.

Pasaporte said a carbine rifle, a .45 caliber pistol and shotgun were among the war materials initially recovered by the 62nd Infantry Battalion soldiers, who figured in two encounters.

Maj. Cenon Pancito, 3rd Infantry Division spokesman, said that the two Army soldiers, who suffered gunshot wounds in the back and hips, are now in stable condition.

The two encounters took place after Army soldiers were tipped by civilians on the presence of armed men in the two hinterland sitios of the barangay. A day earlier, 62IB soldiers had encountered 15 suspected NPA rebels in SitioUway-Uway, Brgy. Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.

Lt. Col. Melvin Flores, 62IB commander, said that some fleeing rebels may have been injured as indicated by traces of bloodstains they discovered along their withdrawal routes.

Pasaporte said he believes that the three groups of rebels encountered by the 62IB belong to the Central Negros Front of the Komiteng Rehiyonal-Negros-Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor.

Air Force helicopter gunships from Cebu have been assisting the 62IB in the conduct of pursuit operations against the fleeing rebels, as of yesterday afternoon.

https://www.visayandailystar.com/2020/August/15/topstory7.htm