NPA in NegOcc on the run; gov’t forces on high alert

From Panay News (Dec 17, 2022): NPA in NegOcc on the run; gov’t forces on high alert (By DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA)

Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, orders his troops to remain on “heightened alert”. The Communist Party of the Philippines will mark its founding anniversary on Dec. 26, 2022. PNA PHOTO

BACOLOD City – Communist rebels in Negros Occidental are on the run, according to the head of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IBde), Brigadier General Inocencio Pasaporte.

But despite the heavy losses and significant weakening of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the province, Pasaporte said, they are not letting their guard down.

He ordered his troops to remain on “heightened alert”, noting that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) will mark its founding anniversary on Dec. 26.

The NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, is known to wage offensives during their party’s anniversary.

However, Pasaporte said NPA attacks would now be unlikely due to the Army’s aggressive pursuit against the rebels.

Earlier on Tuesday, Dec. 13, the Armed Forces of the Philippines announced there are currently no discussions regarding a possible Christmas ceasefire.

AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar pointed out that a Christmas truce is not a guarantee that the rebels will honor it, pointing out that the CPP is currently having a “leadership crisis” following a series of setbacks such as the death of high-ranking leaders.

https://www.panaynews.net/npa-in-negocc-on-the-run-govt-forces-on-high-alert/

CPP founder Joma Sison dies

 Posted to Rappler (Dec 17, 2022): CPP founder Joma Sison dies

(2nd UPDATE) Joma Sison dies at the age of 83, after two weeks of hospital confinement, says the Communist Party of the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has died, the CPP announcement on Saturday, December 17. He was 83.

CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena said in a statement that Sison died around 8:40 pm (Philippine time) on Friday, December 16, after two weeks of hospital confinement in Utrecht, the Netherlands. His death came barely 10 days before the 54th founding anniversary of the CPP on December 26.

“The entire Communist Party of the Philippines gives the highest possible tribute to its founding chairman, great Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thinker, patriot, internationalist, and revolutionary leader,” Valbuena said.

“Even as we mourn, we vow continue to give all our strength and determination to carry the revolution forward guided by the memory and teachings of the people’s beloved Ka Joma,” he added.

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Sison lived in the Netherlands as a political refugee since 1987.

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Sison founded the Maoist CPP in 1969, becoming one of the most significant political figures in the Philippines. The anti-subversion law, passed in 1957, declared the CPP and any affiliation to it illegal. Then-president Fidel Ramos repealed the law around four decades later, as peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) began.

From prison to self-exile

Sison was among the political prisoners released by then-president Corazon Aquino in 1986, after the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He then left Manila for a lecture tour of Asia and Europe but was relentless in his attacks against Aquino, prompting her government to cancel his passport while he was in the Netherlands.

Retired general Jose T. Almonte said in a 2002 Newsbreak magazine interview that Sison at the time had asked him to convey his message to Aquino, “He asked me to tell Cory – as a matter of courtesy because she was the one who released him – that he was not returning to the Philippines and that he would lead the revolution from abroad.”

While he led one of the world’s longest running insurgencies, Sison also played a key role in its bitter split in the early 1990s that turned the communist movement into several factions, a shadow of its old self.

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Joma Sison: Mao in Utrecht

In a party document, he ordered the cadres and guerrillas to return to basics and scoffed at the “military adventurism” that saw the expansion of the New People’s Army in the mid-1980s to early 1990s, such as the execution of high-profile attacks against government officials, military officers, government installations, including the assassination of an US Colonel James Rowe in 1989.

When then-retired general Fidel Ramos got elected president in 1992, he waved the olive branch of peace to Sison and his party through his key ally then, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

Sison told Newsbreak in a 2002 interview from Utrecht that it was when De Venecia ran for president in 1998 that he started to seriously consider coming home to sign a peace pact with the government. “I was already issued a Philippine passport,” he recalled, adding however that the “hawks” in the Ramos government managed to “sabotage” the plan.

While dangling peace, Ramos also mounted a massive intelligence operation against the guerrillas from 1992 to 1998, which exploited their internal squabbles and infiltrated their top units – leading to the arrests of nearly the entire leadership of the CPP and what Ramos would then describe as the “irreversible decline” of the communist movement.

But the NPA managed to bounce back during the watch of of then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, taking advantage of public discontent toward her through rapid organizing among the youth.

(READ: War with the NPA, war without end)

Sison and Duterte

Sison broached the possibility of coming home following the election of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, saying at the time, “The prospects (for peace talks) seem to be bright at the moment.” Sison was Duterte’s teacher at Lyceum University in the 1960s.

During the 2016 campaign, Sison and Duterte even had a video call and the two agreed to a ceasefire between government and communist rebels if Duterte won the presidency. The first few months of the Duterte presidency saw NDF consultants released from detention to join the peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway.

Duterte’s seeming romance with communist rebels was short-lived. By his second year in office, his government started the formal process of declaring the CPP-NPA as a “terrorist organization” (which a Manila court junked in September 2022). Later, he would ridicule Sison in public addresses, while Sison would call Duterte the “No. 1 terrorist” in the Philippines.

Vilification against the CPP-NPA was particularly revived during the administrations of Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Duterte administration had created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which led the crackdown on progressive groups by red-tagging them mostly on social media.

Human rights activists, students, journalists, and other critical voices have been red-tagged by the government in its anti-insurgency campaign, leading to killings of such individuals and a chilling effect on opposing forces.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/communist-party-philippines-founder-jose-maria-sison-dies/

Who is Joma Sison, the exiled leader of the CPP?

Posted to Rappler (Dec 17, 2022): Who is Joma Sison, the exiled leader of the CPP? (By MATTHEW G. YUCHING, JODESZ GAVILAN)

Sison was pivotal in the establishment of the modern communist movement in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Jose Maria Canlas “Joma” Sison, founder and ex-chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), passed away on December 16 in the Netherlands (Saturday, December 17, Manila Time), where he has been living as a political refugee since 1988. He was 83.

A key leader in the longest-running communist insurgency in Asia, Sison split from the ​​Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 and reorganized it into the current CPP.

Along with former members of the guerrilla Hukbalahap movement led by Bernabe Buscayno, the group founded the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the CPP that aims to consolidate political power and assist the “people’s democratic revolution.”

Sison was arrested and imprisoned by then-president Ferdinand E. Marcos from November 1977 to March 1986, when he was freed by the Corazon Aquino administration, not long after the overthrow of the dictator. He embarked on a lecture tour in Asia and Europe soon after.

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In a Newsbreak magazine interview with Sison in November 2002, he wanted to convey to then-president Aquino that he had no intention of returning to the Philippines.

Sison applied for asylum to the Netherlands in 1988, after his passport was revoked by the Aquino administration, based on the Anti-Subversion Law. After his application was rejected, he applied two more times in 1991 and 1997, and was again rejected. He was recognized as a political refugee in the Netherlands in 1992.

According to Sison’s website, the anti-subversion charges were dismissed in 1992 by a Manila court.

He had considered returning to the Philippines in 1998 to sign a peace treaty on condition that all political prisoners would be released, but the deal fell through. The US government had declared Sison and the CPP-NPA as terrorists in August 2002, freezing their assets and other properties in the US, while limiting business deals in the country.
Sison under Duterte

Sison and his group initially enjoyed having positive relations with the Duterte administration during its first few months. This was part of latest efforts for peace at the time, after five failed attempts under previous administrations.

Duterte, who openly called himself a leftist, once referred to the Communist Party of the Philippines as a “revolutionary government.”

The Philippine government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm that represents the CPP-NPA in negotiations, started the first rounds of talks in Oslo, Norway in August 2016. Prior to this, several high-ranking officials were also released from prison to participate in the talks, including Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who were first arrested in March 2014.

Sison, who previously engaged in tirades with Duterte, thanked the then-president for the release and called his conflict with Duterte a “glitch in our communications.” He also said that they “remain good friends.”

“Our friendship has a strong basis in long-standing cooperation and in a common desire to serve the national and democratic rights and best interests of the Filipino people,” Sison said in August 2016.

The ceasefire was short-lived as the CPP-NPA lifted its August 2016 declaration of unilateral ceasefire in February 2017, following continued clashes with the military. Two days later, Duterte ordered the termination of the six-month ceasefire from the government’s side.

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The talks eventually collapsed even if the armed group had hoped that negotiations would continue. Duterte said that “peace with the communists might not come in this generation.” He also repeatedly challenged Sison, who had been living in the Netherlands, to come home.

Sison eventually retaliated and tagged Duterte in 2017 as the “number one drug addict” and “number one terrorist in the Philippines.”

Since then, the Duterte administration has engaged in massive red-tagging as part of its intense crackdown on the communist movement.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/who-is-joma-sison-communist-party-philippines/

Joma Sison: Mao in Utrecht

Posted to Rappler (Dec 17, 2022): Joma Sison: Mao in Utrecht (By GLENDA M. GLORIA)

In a wide-ranging interview two decades ago, Jose Maria Sison talked about retirement, politics, his ex-comrades, and family

MANILA, Philippines – Jose Maria Sison led the world’s most stubborn communist rebellion, nearly four decades of that from thousands of miles away – in Utrecht, where he had been living in exile since 1987. He died on Friday, December 16, 2022.

We interviewed Sison on October 19, 2002 for Newsbreak magazine – at a time when the local communist movement remained in disarray and the European Union had just declared him a terrorist.

In the excerpts below, Sison talked about retirement, politics, his ex-comrades, and family.
What he has done

“At this point, you cannot even express regret. I have done my best. When I say that, assume may kahalong kahinaan, pagkukulang (there have been weaknesses, shortcomings), etcetera. Mga mali (mistakes). Part of the learning experience… part of doing better the next time. No regrets with shame. Not even if the movement failed to reach Malacañang.”
Growing old

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“Ang pamana kong natitiyak, ‘yung isinulat ko at kung ano ang ipagpapatuloy ng iba. Bahala na sila (The legacy that I’m sure about is what I had written and what others would continue. It’s up to them.) Even before, I knew how to enjoy life in so many ways.

I enjoy reading a good book, a good exchange of jokes. There are things that as a young person you didn’t like to do but probably would want to try now that you’re old. I can’t think of any now. Let’s say, I lost my wife. I suppose age has something to do with it, but at 60, you’ve become very close to each other. Should she be away for just three years, perhaps I’d have a heart attack, or I’d be screaming my heart out.

Better to be widowed early in life.” [Laughter]

Place of retirement

“I’m old enough to think of retirement, but I don’t have the answer because I have not defined the answer. I let go of that thought. The old mindset was, you stay with whoever of your children agrees to have you. Or you go where you have grandchildren…but even the grandchildren are also growing old.”

Away from politics

“I sing, usually Spanish songs, the ’60s. I dance – chacha, samba, salsa. Singing, that’s been my relaxation for the past two years. I don’t want to sing in public because my timing isn’t good. But shame flies off the window whenever there’s a karaoke. At home, I sing alone. Sometimes, I force Julie [Sison’s wife] to sing with me.”
A changed world

“Europe has changed a lot. Indeed, the whole world has changed – the corrosion of socialist countries, the blatant call for privatization, [the rise of] the revisionists, those who appear to be socialist but whose values and ideals change, using the free market. You have to have a wide historical view…. I don’t believe that history would end at any point, even if it reaches communism. The deterioration of the capitalist system continues.”

Lessons from history

“Before, there was this siege mentality – it was a social democratic critique, this rush to socialism and being oppressive [once in power]. You can draw a lesson from that.

Because of the technology available, you cannot even try to clamp down on expressions of opinion anymore. Malulusutan ka na (They’ll slip through). Anyway, communists are so good when they are underdogs, when persuading people. So why can’t they – when they’re in power – take a more open attitude? When you are the underdog, you talk against intolerance. When you’re in power, be ready to be tolerant, so long as you’re not threatened violently.”

The bitter CPP split in 1991

“Mahirap silang kausapin noon (it was difficult to talk with the other side) because of the problem of time and money. Because of sheer distance, gagastos ka sa telephone conversations pero hindi mo pa rin malubos. Iba kapag kaharap mo (you’ll spend a lot on telephone conversation but it’s still not enough). Those are the things you give up when there’s [physical] distance. Bumilis na ang takbo. Alam na ni Popoy [the late Felimon Lagman] ang rectification campaign, uunahan na niya. (It sped up. Popoy knew the rectification campaign, he’d beat them to it).”
Party debate

“From 1977 to 1979, the rightist group [within the CPP] was impressed by the infrastructure in the countryside. Nag-theorize na sila na kaiba na ang conditions sa Pilipinas kesa sa China at Russia, na mas mataas na daw ang component ng industrialization. I was telling Bilog [Rodolfo Salas, CPP chair at the time], ang Pilipinas hindi abante sa China. Ang China, for thousands of years, feudal yan. Hindi mo masabi na lampas ang Pilipinas diyan.

(They theorized that the conditions in the Philippines are different from those in China and Russia, that there is a higher component of industrialization. I was telling Bilog, the Philippines is not ahead of China. China was feudal for thousands of years. You can’t say that the Philippines can surpass that.)

If you say poorly capitalist as a commodity system production or semi-capitalist, I might let you go, but please don’t tell me that’s the most exact way. And don’t give me the impression that the Philippines is industrial and tell me that peasants have become a minor part of Philippine society.”

Government peace panel

“Magulo sila. But there’s method to their madness. In the Arroyo government, may mga barumbado. Si [the late] Angelo Reyes…si Vic Corpus at Bert Gonzales, they’re dealing with the Americans. Sabi naman ni [Speaker Jose] de Venecia ‘I’m arguing against it [US terror tag]. [Silvestre] Bello is a good guy, hindi nagagalit. But he’s being bullied. They have a way of living together, a modus vivendi.”

(They’re disorganized. But there’s method to their madness. In the Arroyo government, there are hotheads. [The late] Angelo Reyes…Vic Corpus and Bert Gonzales, they’re dealing with the Americans. [Speaker Jose] de Venecia, for his part, said, ‘I’m arguing against it [US terror tag]. [Silvestre] Bello is a good guy, he doesn’t get angry. But he’s being bullied. They have a way of living together, a modus vivendi.)

Running for office

“I don’t see it [happening to me]. Even assuming there’s a peace agreement, I will just retire. Then write. I never had the chance to look back.”

https://www.rappler.com/nation/joma-sison-2002-interview-mao-in-utrecht/

Joma Sison’s death removes ‘greatest stumbling block to peace in PH’ – DND

From Rappler (Dec 17, 2022): Joma Sison’s death removes ‘greatest stumbling block to peace in PH’ – DND (By JAIRO BOLLEDO)

'Let us now give peace a chance,' the Department of National Defense says following the death of CPP founding chairperson Jose Maria Sison

MANILA, Philippines – Following the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairperson Jose Maria Sison, the Department of National Defense (DND) said his demise removed the “greatest stumbling block [to] peace” in the country.

“A new era without Jose Maria Sison dawns for the Philippines, and we will all be the better for it. The greatest stumbling block [to] peace for the Philippines is gone; let us now give peace a chance,” the defense department said on Saturday, December 17.

Sison, 83, died on Friday night, December 16, but his death was only announced by the CPP on Saturday. He died exactly 10 days before the 54th founding anniversary of the communist group.

The DND added that Sison’s death is a “symbol of the crumbling hierarchy” of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), adding that his demise caused the Filipinos to be deprived of justice for the so-called crimes of the communist rebels.

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CPP founder Joma Sison dies
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Joma Sison: Mao in Utrecht
In a wide-ranging interview two decades ago, Jose Maria Sison talked about retirement, politics, his ex-comrades, and family

Jose Maria Sison ‘home’ in July
Sison adds Philippine government and rebel emissaries are set to meet in Norway from mid-June to lay the groundwork for formal peace talks

The DND oversees the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which serves as the government’s main force in fighting rebellion.

“His death deprived the Filipino people of the opportunity to bring this fugitive to justice under our country’s laws. Sison was responsible for the deaths of thousands of our countrymen. Innocent civilians, soldiers, police, child and youth combatants died because of his bidding,” the agency said.

Vice President Sara Duterte, the country’s second highest public official, released a short statement, following Sison’s death: “May God have mercy on his soul.”

The vice president’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, held peace talks with rebels, which ended only a year into his presidency. In canceling the peace talks, Duterte claimed the communists “failed to show its sincerity and commitment in pursuing genuine and meaningful peace negotiations as it engaged in acts of violence and hostilities.”

After failing to solve the decades-long problem with insurgency and botching the talks, Duterte signed Executive Order No. 70, which sought a whole-of-nation approach against insurgency. But the order only worsened the red-tagging and crackdown on progressive individuals. 

(READ: Bloody Sunday: 9 dead, 6 arrested in Calabarzon crackdown on activists)

In a message to reporters, AFP spokesperson Colonel Medel Aguilar said that with Sison’s death, the CPP will “hopefully” make reforms “away from armed struggle.”

“It’s an opportunity for his successor, if there will be, to chart a new direction in promoting reforms. Hopefully, away from armed struggle,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar said Sison’s death will also weaken the underground movement: “The loss of a ‘teacher’ and ‘guiding light’ leaves the organization with no purpose and clear direction. But the organization needs to have a good teacher and guiding light who will lead its members away from violence and destruction.”

Sison was among the political prisoners released by late former president Corazon Aquino shortly after the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986. While in Netherlands, his passport was canceled by the Aquino government after his relentless attack against the then-president.

Before he became a political refugee, he founded the Maoist CPP in 1969. Under the 1957 anti-subversion law, the CPP and any affiliation to it was illegal, but late former president Fidel V. Ramos repealed the law during his time as part of the peace talks with the NDF.
Sison’s legacy

Renato Reyes, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said Sison left two legacies: the exposition of society’s problems and a movement that will address them.

“What would be Prof. Joma Sison’s legacy? First is the profound understanding and exposition of the problems of [Philippine society]. Second is establishing a movement that would address those social issues. It was never enough to interpret the world. The point, always, was to change it,” Reyes shared in a tweet.

The progressive Makabayan bloc in a statement condoled with Sison’s family. The group, consisting of progressive party lists in Congress, called Sison a “patriot,” who stood with the Filipino people.

“Professor Sison was a patriot and revolutionary who stood with the Filipino people against oppression, exploitation, and fascism during the Marcos dictatorship, was jailed and tortured as a dissident but continued to side with the poor and marginalized until his death.”

The Makabayan bloc also called for the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the CPP-NPA-NDF.

“We take this opportunity to once again renew the call for the resumption of peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF and the implementation of genuine socioeconomic and political reforms so that the Philippines may attain a just and lasting peace,” the group said.

Former senatorial candidate and Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino president Luke Espiritu also reacted to Sison’s death: “Not farewell. Salute. And oh, I piss on all red-taggers.”

https://www.rappler.com/nation/reactions-statements-joma-sison-death-december-17-2022/

CPP/NPA-Kalinga: Hinggil sa engkwentro ng BHB at AFP sa Tinglayan, Kalinga

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 14, 2022): Hinggil sa engkwentro ng BHB at AFP sa Tinglayan, Kalinga (Regarding the NPA and AFP encounter in Tinglayan, Kalinga)

 


NPA-Kalinga

Ilocos-Cordillera Regional Operational Command (Chadli Molintas Command)

New People's Army

December 14, 2022

Disyembre 08, 2022, bandang alas-dos ng hapon naganap ang engkwentro sa pagitan ng isang tim ng mga Pulang Mandirigma ng Lejo Cawilan Command (LCC-NPA Kalinga) at isang yunit ng Philippine Army (PA) sa Sitio Balay, Barangay Tulgao West, Tinglayan, Kalinga. Hindi pa kumpirmado ang bilang ng kaswalti sa bahagi ng kaaway habang walang natamong anumang pinsala ang BHB.

Pagkatapos ng ilang segundong labanan, halos dalawang oras pang nagpaulan ng bala at pasabog ang PA kahit pa wala naman ng BHB sa nasabing lugar ng engkwentro. Bago pa nito dalawang magkakasunod na araw na nagpapalipad ng mga helicopter ang kaaway sa magkakanugnog na baryo ng Tulgao at Colayo. Disyembre 09, halos anim na oras na nagpalipad ng reconnaissance plane ang kaaway sa paligid ng nasabing mga baryo.

Ang nasabing engkwentro ay nangyari sa kasagsagan ng operasyon ng PA sa lugar kontra di-umano sa iligal na pagtatanim ng marijuana. Malaking kabalintunaan na silang mga nag-ooperasyon ang mismong pasimuno rin ng paglaganap ng mga taniman ng iligal na marijuana sa lugar. Panahon na naman ng pag-aani ng PA ng marijuana na pinsala at perwisyo naman ang dulot sa masa. Sa aktwal, maraming kalapaw at uma ng masa ang kanilang ni-reyd, ninakawan at sinira. Dalawang masa ang iligal na hinuli at idinetine ng kaaway ng halos tatlong araw at kinumpiska ang isang .22 calibre na riple na gamit ng mga ito sa pangangaso.

Ang lahat ng kalabisan at kalapastanganang ito ay nagdulot sa masa ng matinding takot hindi lang sa kanilang buhay ngunit maging sa kabuhayan nila. Hindi sila makapunta sa kanilang mga taniman upang magproduksyon, takot silang mangaso sa kagubatan dahil baka hulihin sila at gawing giya ng mga nag-ooperasyong kaaway. Labag din sa kanilang karapatan ang pagkakampo ng mga militar sa kanilang barangay hall, eskwelahan at simbahan.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/hinggil-sa-engkwentro-ng-bhb-at-afp-sa-tinglayan-kalinga/

CPP/CIO: Denounce Australia intervention in counterinsurgency

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 16, 2022): Denounce Australia intervention in counterinsurgency

 


Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

December 16, 2022

The Filipino people must expose, denounce and demand a stop to Australian military intervention. According to reports, the military forces of Australia, provided trainings to a special forces battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in “air to ground operations”, in other words, aerial bombing.

Being a subordinate of the US, Australia’s intervention in counterinsurgency in the Philippines forms an extension of US military intervention. The training provided by Australia will exacerbate state-perpetrated violence in the Philippines, particularly, the bombing of communities, farms and forests that have terrorized the people, and damage to the environment.

In line with US interventionist foreign policy, Australia is active in “counter-terrorism” operations, but in fact, is bringing terror to the Philippines.

The battalion trained in Australia, the 4th Special Forces Battalion, is now deployed in Samar. People in the Samar provinces fear they will be subjected to heightened aerial bombing campaigns with the deployment of the said Australian-trained battalion.

We will hold the Australian and US militaries responsible for any crime that will perpetrated by the 4th SFB in the course of its state terror operations in Samar. The blood of Filipinos will be in their hands.

We urge the Filipino community, and progressive organizations in Australia to press the Australian government to stop military intervention and providing support for the brutal counterinsurgency campaign of the AFP that has resulted in widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/denounce-australia-intervention-in-counterinsurgency/

CPP/NPA-Northern Negros: NPA sanctions big comprador-landlord; 2 trucks of Tim Ballesteros burned down

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 16, 2022): NPA sanctions big comprador-landlord; 2 trucks of Tim Ballesteros burned down

 

This article is available in HiligaynonBisaya

Cecil Estrella

Spokesperson

NPA-Northern Negros (Roselyn Pelle Command)

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

December 16, 2022

The people of Negros, especially the sugar workers of northern Negros, celebrated the military action of Roselyn Jean Pelle Command – Northern Negros Guerilla Front of the New People’s Army (RJPC-NPA) against Teotimo “Tim” Ballesteros for failure of giving just wages, landgrabbing, using armed goons for threat and intimidation, among others.

The sanction, witnessed by almost a hundred sugar workers, was implemented by RJPC-NPA on December 14, around 9:30am in Sitio Proper, Barangay Tabun-ac, Toboso, Negros Occidental, paralyzing two (2) trucks used to transport cut sugarcane from field to milling factory. Residents of Barangay Tabun-ac are mostly Ballesteros’ workers.

Ballesteros, one of the largest big comprador-landlord in northern Negros, face numerous complaints of unjust wages and several complaints of land grabbing thru ariendo-palit scheme on which farm owners victims were made to sign papers of selling their land guised as agreements to the ariendo. A large chunk of his profit, from blood, sweat and tears of sugar workers, is used to fund the PMG detachment and its fascist elements stationed near his transloading station in Barangay Mabini, Escalante City. He also hires private goons, especially when conflicts between him and the farmworkers or farmer beneficiaries arise.

Since 2019, farm workers’ wage is increased only by Php10 per day. Daily wage of weeding is pegged at PhP 125. Plowing of fields by use of carabao is paid either Php1,000 per hectare or Php200 per day. Cane top cutting (pamatdan) is paid Php70 per thousand while planting of cane top is at P120 per thousand. The heavy workload of tapas-karga (cutting and loading) of sugaracane is at Php300 per ton. Admin workers are paid Php1,200 per week for enkargado and Php1,000 per week for ronda and kabo. The only time that Ballesteros’ sugarworkers received bonus is every December, in which, lately, when workers claimed their bonus, only received amount ranging from Php54 to Php2,700. No worker can explain what type of bonus they received, whether it is 13th month bonus or the Social Amelioration Bonus for sugar workers.

Wages received by farmworkers is far from Negros Occidental minimum wage for agricultural workers at Php410 per day and even far from living wage of P1,119 per day.

On the other hand, Ballesteros pockets not less than Php100,000 per hectare of clean profit from hard work of an estimated of around 5,000 farm workers in his 2,000 hectares of controlled land in northern Negros, either as direct owner, financer or ariendo. He also owns transloading stations, trucking services, among other legal businesses.

RJPC-NPA is not interested in subjecting Ballesteros’ business operation to collection of revolutionary tax due to complaints of labor issues and land disputes and his counter-revolutionary nature.

The action is a call for sugar workers to fight back against exploitation and for residents to fight back against militarization and rights abuses. The NPA is with you in your fight against exploitation and oppression.

BGen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commanding officer of 303rd IBde, claims falsely that Negrosanons do not support the NPA and that the NPA is now “on the run” due to heavy militarization. The sanction itself is a slap on Pasaporte’s face, where the NPA successfully mounted the military action on a broad day light in less than 100 meters from a cemented barangay road. The NPA implementing unit even conducted a mass meeting of sugar workers at the site to explain the current objective situation.

One sugar worker reacted to the incident and said, “Mas maayo nang ingon ana, para mabatian ang singgitan namo sa sweldo-benepisyo.” (It is better that it’s like that, for them to listen to our call of wage and benefits).

While NPA unit was in transit to the site, residents guarded the route while others were voicing out interest to join the implementation, jokingly saying “talagsa ra mi makakita ninyu, dili pamo magpakuyog” (It’s not every day that we see you, and you don’t even allow us to go). Knowing Ballesteros and the possible reactions, the said NPA unit kindly turned them down.

The successful sanction of NPA against Ballesteros is possible with the never-ending support of the masses and is, likewise, celebrated by residents and the sugar workers.

Makibaka, Huwag Matakot!
Makatarungan, Maghimagsik!

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/npa-sanctions-big-comprador-landlord-2-trucks-of-tim-ballesteros-burned-down/

CPP/NPA-Northern Negros: The immortal revolutionary spirit of Ka Joma will live on!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 17, 2022): The immortal revolutionary spirit of Ka Joma will live on!

Cecil Estrella

Spokesperson

NPA-Northern Negros (Roselyn Pelle Command)

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

December 17, 2022

The revolutionary forces and the Red commanders and fighters of Roselyn Jean Pelle Command – Northern Negros Guerilla Front of the New People’s Army (RJPC-NPA), give its highest tribute to the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (Marxism-Leninism-Maoism), Jose Maria ‘Ka Joma’ Sison, who passed away last December 16 at 8:40 in the evening.

The whole Filipino people, especially the people of northern Negros, mourns over the death of Philippine revolution’s greatest thinker and champion of proletarian revolution.

Only reactionaries wanting to maintain a society run by the imperialists (both US and Chinese), with the help of big comprador – landlord, and the bureaucrat capitalists, celebrate the death of a great proletarian leader.

Red commanders and fighters of RJPC-NPA and the revolutionary forces of northern Negros are one with the Filipino people in calling for the Government of the Philippines to allow the return of Ka Joma’s remains to his native land.

Ka Joma’s ideologies and guidance will forever live on. RJPC-NPA, together with the whole revolutionary movement, is with utmost confidence and vigor to carry forward until victory of the national democratic revolution, establish a socialist future and achieve a communist society.

Revolutionaries perish but their revolutionary spirit lives on.

Long live the immortal revolutionary spirit of Ka Joma!
Long live the revolutionary martyrs!
Viva CPP – NPA – NDF!
Long live the toiling masses!

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/the-immortal-revolutionary-spirit-of-ka-joma-will-live-on/

CPP/CNL: Revolutionary Christians pay the highest salute to Comrade Jose Maria Sison, a revolutionary proletariat and people’s hero

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 17, 2022): Revolutionary Christians pay the highest salute to Comrade Jose Maria Sison, a revolutionary proletariat and people’s hero

 


Ka Joma Lives
December 17, 2022

The Christians for National Liberation (CNL), the revolutionary political organization of Christians and allied member of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), pays its highest salute to Prof. Jose Maria “Ka Joma” Sison, founding Chair of the re-established Communist Party of the Philippines, revolutionary patriot, poet, writer, educator and proletarian internationalist who passed away on December 16, 2022, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. He was 83.

CNL honors Comrade Joma for his tireless and unwavering commitment to the Filipino people’s just struggle against US imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism, and his invaluable contribution to proletarian internationalism, against modern revisionism, reformism and all forms of imperialist onslaught spanning over six decades of his life.

We salute him for his enduring commitment to the pursuit of just and lasting peace in the Philippines, always resolute in addressing the roots of the armed conflict and firm in adhering to previously signed agreements such as the Hague Joint Declaration, Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), and Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). The same held true for upholding the Geneva Conventions which form the core of International Humanitarian Law. As with the rest of the NDFP peace panel, he was steadfast in never allowing the NDFP to be placed in a position of capitulation and resisted the all-out war policy of US-backed reactionary regimes then and now.

Comrade Joma is among the greatest Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thinkers of the century. His contribution to the Philippine national democratic revolution and to the worldwide struggle of all oppressed and exploited people of the world against US imperialism and all reaction will live on. His sharp analyses on national and international issues, always from the lens of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, serve as a beacon in waging the national democratic revolution and paving the socialist future. His works on religion demonstrate the breadth of how these lens are applied.

In his opus, “Ideology and Religion in the Philippines” (2005), Ka Joma wrote that history has shown how Christians, liberals, and Marxists can live together, dialogue, and cooperate with each other for the common good of the people. In the Philippines, Christianity has had its positive and negative manifestations, and Marxists acclaim the secularization movement and Gomburza martyrdom, the partisanship of the Filipino secular priests to the Philippine revolution, the CNL, and the outstanding resistance of church people against the Marcos fascist dictatorship.

He always emphasized that “even as Christians and Marxists differ in belief and thought, they can complement one another and cooperate in the building of human societies where truth, justice, peace, love, equality, and liberation would exist for the economic, political, cultural and comprehensive development of the toiling masses of peasants, workers, and national minorities. We have seen the cooperation of Christians and Marxists in the people’s war as well as in the process of peace negotiations in promoting social, economic, and political reforms needed to lay the foundations of a just and lasting peace.”[1]

Ka Joma has always recognized the key role that the Catholic Church has played in social change in the Philippines, despite its being a tool of Spanish colonialism 500 years ago. He cited leaders of the church like Father Burgos who “inspired patriotic sentiments as they demanded respect for the rights of native secular priests and suffered injustice.” He also cited Father Aglipay who took an active part in the Philippine revolution as vicar general of the Philippine revolutionary army and active guerilla leader against the US war of aggression. “There is more than enough basis in Philippine history for Filipino priests to formulate and espouse a theology of liberation,” he wrote in 1986.[2]

We take heed of his words, “Social revolution will never occur through wishful thinking, praying or declaiming for the Christian humanism of every person. Neither can social revolution be achieved by solely or mainly restricting oneself or one’s party or movement to peaceful change within the exploiting society through such measures as “communitarianism” and “cooperativism” which merely, reinforce the political and economic power of the foreign monopolies, compradors and landlords.”[3]

Clearly, the path to genuine social transformation – where the proletarian class, in alliance with the peasant class, seizes the means of production and establishes their dictatorship – can only be attained through waging people’s war until victory to forge the socialist path.

Long live the revolutionary legacy and memory of Comrade Jose Maria Sison!

Long live the Communist Party of the Philippines!

Long live the National Democratic Revolution!

Join the New People’s Army! Advance the phase of the struggle to strategic stalemate!

Onward with the People’s War!

_______

[1] Postscript to “A Commentary on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church”, 2022

[2] The Role of the Church in Social Change, 1986

[3] Sophism of the Christian Social Movement, 1968

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/revolutionary-christians-pay-the-highest-salute-to-comrade-jose-maria-sison-a-revolutionary-proletariat-and-peoples-hero/

CPP: #KaJomaLives

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 17, 2022): #KaJomaLives

 


The greatest Filipino of the past century bereaved us peacefully last night.

Prof. Jose Ma. Sison, founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, passed away at around 8:40 p.m. (Philippine time) after two weeks confinement in a hospital in Utrech, The Netherlands. He was 83.

The Filipino proletariat and toiling people grieve the death of their teacher and guiding light.

The entire Communist Party of the Philippines gives the highest possible tribute to its founding chairman, great Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thinker, patriot, internationalist and revolutionary leader.

Even as we mourn, we vow continue to give all our strength and determination to carry the revolution forward guided by the memory and teachings of the people's beloved Ka Joma.

Let the immortal revolutionary spirit of Ka Joma live on!

December 17, 2022
#KaJomaLives

Tribute of the 2nd Congress to Comrade Jose Ma. Sison

The Second Congress of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) extends its profound appreciation and expresses deepest gratitude to Comrade Jose Ma. Sison for his immense contribution to the Philippine revolution as founding chair of the Party, founder of the New People’s Army and pioneer of the People’s Democratic Government in the Philippines.

Ka Joma is a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist extraordinaire and indefatigable revolutionary fighter. He applied dialectical and historical materialism to expose the fundamental nature of the semicolonial and semifeudal social system in the Philippines. He put forward an incisive class analysis that laid bare the moribund, exploitative and oppressive rule of the big bourgeois compradors and big landlords in collusion with the US imperialists.

He set forth the program for a people’s democratic revolution as immediate preparation for the socialist revolution. He always sets sights on the ultimate goal of communism.

Ka Joma was a revolutionary trailblazer. In his youth, he joined workers federations and helped organize unions. Ka Joma formed the SCAUP (Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines) in 1959 to promote national democracy and Marxism-Leninism and wage ideological and cultural struggle against the religio-sectarians and anti-communist forces among the student intellectuals. Together with fellow proletarian revolutionaries, he initiated study meetings to read and discuss Marxist-Leninist classic writings.

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CPP: Highest honors to Comrade Jose Ma. Sison

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Dec 17, 2022): Highest honors to Comrade Jose Ma. Sison

 


Great communist thinker, leader, teacher and guide of the Filipino proletariat and torch bearer of the international communist movement.

TRIBUTE
Second Congress 2016

Communist Party of the Philippines

February 10, 2019

Resolution of the Second Congress of the Communist Party of the Philippines
November 7, 2016

The Second Congress of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) extends its profound appreciation and expresses deepest gratitude to Comrade Jose Ma. Sison for his immense contribution to the Philippine revolution as founding chair of the Party, founder of the New People’s Army and pioneer of the People’s Democratic Government in the Philippines.

Ka Joma is a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist extraordinaire and indefatigable revolutionary fighter. He applied dialectical and historical materialism to expose the fundamental nature of the semicolonial and semifeudal social system in the Philippines. He put forward an incisive class analysis that laid bare the moribund, exploitative and oppressive rule of the big bourgeois compradors and big landlords in collusion with the US imperialists.

He set forth the program for a people’s democratic revolution as immediate preparation for the socialist revolution. He always sets sights on the ultimate goal of communism.

Ka Joma was a revolutionary trailblazer. In his youth, he joined workers federations and helped organize unions. Ka Joma formed the SCAUP (Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines) in 1959 to promote national democracy and Marxism-Leninism and wage ideological and cultural struggle against the religio-sectarians and anti-communist forces among the student intellectuals. Together with fellow proletarian revolutionaries, he initiated study meetings to read and discuss Marxist-Leninist classic writings.

Under Ka Joma’s leadership, the SCAUP organized a protest action in March 1961 against the congressional witchhunt of the Committee on Anti-Filipino Activities which targeted UP faculty members accused of writing and publishing Marxist materials in violation of the Anti-Subversion Law. Around 5,000 students joined the first demonstration with an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal character since more than ten years prior. As a consequence, Ka Joma became a target of reactionary violence and survived attempts on his life. Unfazed, he and the SCAUP continued to launch protests against the Laurel-Langley Agreement and the Military Bases Agreement and other issues as land reform and national industrialization, workers rights, civil and political liberties and solidarity with other peoples against US acts of agression up to 1964.

He and other proletarian revolutionaries eventually joined the old merger Socialist and Communist Party in 1961. In recognition of his communist and youthful fervor, he was assigned to head the youth bureau of the old Party and appointed as member of the executive committee. He initiated meetings to study the classic works of Marx, Lenin, Mao and other great communist thinkers which challenged the stale conditions of the old Party.

He founded the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) in November 1964 and led its development as one of the most important youth organizations in Philippine history. As KM chair, and as a young professor and militant, he went on campus tours and spoke before students as well as young professionals to espouse the necessity of waging a national democratic revolution. His speeches compiled in the volume Struggle for National Democracy (SND) served as one of the cornerstones of the national democratic propaganda movement. The KM would eventually be at the head and core of large mass demonstrations during the late 1960s up to the declaration of martial law in 1972.

As one of the leaders of the old party, Ka Joma prepared a political report exposing and repudiating the revisionism and opportunism of the successive Lava leadership as well as the errors of military adventurism and capitulation of the Taruc-Sumulong gang of the old people’s liberation army. The old party had deteriorated as an out-and-out revisionist party.

Despite Ka Joma’s effort, the old party proved to be beyond resuscitation from its revisionist death. Gangsters in the old party would carry out attempts on his life to snuff the revolutionary revival of the Filipino proletariat.

As Amado Guerrero, Ka Joma led the reestablishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines on the theoretical foundations of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. He prepared the Party constitution, the Program for a People’s Democratic Revolution and the document Rectify Errors and Rebuild the Party and presided over the Congress of Reestablishment held in Alaminos, Pangasinan on December 26, 1968. In 1969, he authored Philippine Society and Revolution which presents the history of the Filipino people, analyzes the semicolonial and semifeudal character of Philippine society and defines the people’s democratic revolution. He prepared the Basic Rules of the New People’s Army and the Declaration of the New People’s Army and directed the Meeting of Red commanders and fighters to found the New People’s Army (NPA) on March 29, 1969.

He led the Party in its early period of growth. He wrote the Organizational Guide and Outline of Reports in April 1971 and the Revolutionary Guide to Land Reform in September 1972 which both served to direct the work of building the mass organizations, organs of political power, units of the people’s army and the Party, as well as in mobilizing the peasants in waging agrarian revolution. He authored the Preliminary Report on Northern Luzon in August 1970 which served as a template in the work of other regional committees.

While directing the development and training of the New People’s Army from its initial base in Central Luzon to the forests of Isabela in Cagayan Valley, he also guided the youth activists in waging mass struggles in Metro Manila against the US-Marcos dictatorship.

Ka Joma was ever on top of the revolutionary upsurge of the students and workers movement in 1970 and 1971. Chants of Amado Guerrero’s name reverberates in Manila and other cities in harmony with calls to join the people’s war in the countryside.

The CPP grew rapidly in its first few years under Ka Joma’s leadership. The Party established itself across the country and led the nationwide advance of the revolutionary armed struggle. He personally supervised the political and military training of Party cadres and NPA commanders in the forested region of Isabela from where they were deployed to other regions.

In 1971, he presided over the Central Committee and presented the Summing-Up Our Experiences After Three Years (1968-1971). He prepared in 1974 the Specific Characteristics of Our People’s War which authoritatively laid out the strategy and tactics for waging people’s war in the Philippines. In 1975, he authored Our Urgent Tasks, containing the Central Committee’s report and program of action. He served as editor-in-chief of Ang Bayan in its first years of publication.

In the underground movement, Ka Joma continued to guide the Party and the NPA in its growth under the brutal fascist martial law regime of dictator Marcos. He issued advisories to underground Party cadres and mass activists. Inspired by the raging people’s war in the countryside, they dared the fascist machinery and carried-out organizing efforts among students and workers.

The first workers’ strike broke out in 1975 preceding the growth of the workers movement. Large student demonstrations against rising school fees and the deterioration of the educational system were carried out from 1977 onwards completely shattering the terror of martial law.

Ka Joma continued to lead the Party in nationwide growth until 1977 when he and his wife Julie were arrested by the wild dogs of the Marcos dictatorship while in transit from one guerrilla zone to another. He was presented by the AFP to Marcos as a trophy. He was detained, subjected to severe torture, put under solitary confinement for more than five years interrupted only by joint confinement with Julie in 1980-1981, and later partial solitary confinement with one or two other political prisoners from 1982-1985.

While in prison, Ka Joma was able to maintain contact with the Party leadership and revolutionary forces outside through clandestine methods of communication. With the collaboration of Ka Julie, lifelong partner and comrade of Ka Joma, they produced important letters and advisories. In 1983, Ka Julie released the article JMS On the Mode of Production which served as a theoretical elucidation and clarification of the nature of the semicolonial and semifeudal social system in order to cast away confusion brought about by claims of industrialization by the US-Marcos dictatorship. It counterattacked claims made by pretenders to socialism who insist that the Philippines had become a developing capitalist country under the fascist dictatorship.

A powerful upsurge of the anti-fascist mass movement followed the assassination of Marcos archrival Benigno Aquino in 1983. This was principally propelled by the workers and student movement which could mount demonstrations of 50,000 or greater from the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984, Ka Joma released the paper On the Losing Course of the AFP under the pseudonym Patnubay Liwanag to assess the balance of forces and to signal to or sway the Pentagon to better drop Marcos, which would entail causing a split in the AFP. In September 1984, the Pentagon acceded to the Armacost formula and decided to join the US State Department and other US agencies to drop him. By early 1985 Reagan signed the National Security Directive with definite plan to ease out Marcos.

Ka Joma also asserted the need to weaken the reactionary armed strength in the countryside and expand the people’s army to a critical mass 25,000 rifles and one guerrilla platoon per municipality as constructive criticism of the plan to carry out a “strategic counter-offensive.”

The anti-fascist upsurge culminated in a people’s uprising supported by a military rebellion of elements in the reactionary AFP. The Party’s persevering and solid leadership of the anti-fascist movement and revolutionary armed struggle created favorable conditions that led to the overthrow the US-Marcos dictatorship in 1986. Despite strong opposition by the US and reactionary defense establishment, the Aquino regime was compelled to open the detested gates of the Marcos dungeons allowing Ka Joma to be released.

He wasted no time resuming revolutionary work. In a few months time, he mounted a major lecture series to propound a critical class analysis of the Corazon Aquino regime and expose it as representative of big bourgeois comprador and landlord rule. The series of lectures which later comprised the volume Philippine Crisis and Revolution countered the “political spectrum” analysis of populists which pictured the Aquino regime as a bourgeois liberal regime to goad the revolutionary forces along the path of class collaboration and capitulation.

These populists as well as other charlatans carried out a campaign to undermine the basic analysis of classes and production system in the Philippines to justify the convoluted concept of a strategic counter-offensive wishfully thinking that the people’s war can leapfrog to strategic victory bypassing the probable historical course. A number of key leaders of the Party and revolutionary forces were drawn to the self-destructive path of insurrectionism and premature regularization and military adventurism. This would later bring about grave and almost fatal losses to the Party and the NPA, as well as to the urban mass movement.

Forced to exile in 1987 by the Aquino regime which canceled his passport and travel papers, Ka Joma sought political asylum in The Netherlands while on a lecture tour. He eventually resided in Utrecht and work with other comrades in the international office of the National Democratic Front. Although thousand of miles away from the Philippines, he continued to maintain close contact with the Party leaders in the country and provide advise and guidance to help them in their work.

Ka Joma served as one of the steadfast exponent of the Second Great Rectification Movement launched by the 10th Plenum of the CPP Central Committee in 1992. The Party leadership actively sought Ka Joma’s theoretical insights and analysis. In preparing the key document Reaffirm Our Basic Principles and Rectify Errors, the Party leadership referred to Ka Joma and the Party’s founding documents which he authored. With Ka Joma’s full support, the rectification campaign of 1992-1998 united and strengthened the Party to ever greater heights.

Ka Joma also played a key role in authoring the paper Stand for Socialism Against Modern Revisionism which illuminated the path of socialist revolution during the dark hours of the complete restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union in 1990 touted in the monopoly bourgeois mass media as the fall of socialism, a refutation of communism, and the “end of history” and final victory of the capitalist system.

Reflecting Ka Joma’s sharp Maoist critique of modern revisionism, the paper presented a clear historical understanding of the process of capitalist restoration in the USSR from 1956 onwards. This served as key to understanding the continuing viability of socialism and to inspiring the Filipino proletariat to persevere in the two-stage revolution and the international proletariat to carry forward the socialist cause.

Ka Joma’s Utrecht base eventually became a political center of the international communist and anti-imperialist resistance movements. He played an important role in the centennial celebration of Mao Zedong in 1993 which served as a vigorous ideological campaign to reaffirm Marxist-Leninist views and to proclaim Maoism as the third epochal development of Marxism-Leninism.

Up to the early 2000s, he also played a lead role in the formation of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations (ICMLPO) which serves as a center for ideological and practical exchange among communist and workers parties which stood for socialism and opposed modern revisionism. He provided valuable insights and practical assistance to numerous communist parties from Asia to Europe and the Americas.

Over the past decade, he has led the International League of People’s Struggles or the ILPS which has served as coordinating center for anti-imperialist movements around the globe. He authored the paper “On imperialist globalization” in 1997 which clarified that the proletariat remains in the era of imperialism and socialist revolution.

Because of his role in guiding the advance of the international anti-imperialist struggle, Ka Joma was put in the crosshairs of US imperialism. He was included in the US list of “foreign terrorists”, together with the CPP and NPA. At 68 years old, he was arrested in 2007 by the Dutch police and detained for more than 15 days.

Since 1992, together with the NDFP Negotiating Panel, Ka Joma has also ably represented the interests of the Filipino people and revolutionary movement in peace negotiations with successive representatives of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). He has been appointed as Chief Political Consultant of the NDFP Negotiating Panel and has deftly guided it in negotiations with the GRP over the past 25 years.

Over the past several years, Ka Joma continued to provide invaluable insights into the domestic crisis and the situation of the revolutionary forces. He continues to provide advise to the Party and the revolutionary forces in the Philippines on resolving the problems of advancing the revolution to a new and higher stage.

He has set forth critical analysis of the objective international conditions. He has put forward a Marxist-Leninist critique of the capitalist crisis of overproduction which is at the base of the international financial crisis and the prolonged depression that has wracked the global capitalist system. He has reaffirmed that we are still at the historical epoch of imperialism, the last crisis stage of capitalism.

Ka Joma is the torch bearer of the international communist movement. Through the dark period of capitalist restoration, he has kept the flames of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism burning and inspired the proletariat to take advantage of the crisis of global capitalism, persevere along the path of socialism and communism and bring the international communist revolution to a new chapter of revival and reinvigoration.

Resolutions:

The Second Congress of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) resolves to give the highest honors to Comrade Jose Ma. Sison, great communist thinker, leader, teacher and guide of the Filipino proletariat and torch bearer of the international communist movement.

In recognition of Ka Joma’s immense contribution to the Philippine revolution and the international workers movement, the Second Congress further resolves:
1. to instruct the Central Committee to continue to seek Ka Joma’s insights and advise on various aspects of the Party’s work in the ideological, political and organizational fields.

2. to endorse the five volume writings of Jose Ma. Sison as basic reference and study material of the CPP and to urge the entire Party membership and revolutionary forces to read and study Ka Joma’s writings.

The Second Congress of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is certain that with the treasure of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist work that Ka Joma has produced over the past five decades of revolutionary practice, the Party is well-equipped in leading the national democratic revolution to greater heights and complete victory in the coming years.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/highest-honors-to-comrade-jose-ma-sison/

Philippine Communist Party founder Sison dies in exile at 83

From the Mindanao Examiner (Dec 17, 2022): Philippine Communist Party founder Sison dies in exile at 83

Jose Maria Sison

MANILA - Jose Maria Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, whose armed wing has been waging one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies, has died. He was 83.

Sison died peacefully late Friday after two weeks of confinement in a hospital in Utrecht, the Netherlands, the party’s spokesman, Marco Valbuena, said in a statement on Saturday. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Sison had lived in self-exile in The Netherlands since then-President Corazon Aquino released him from detention in 1986, shortly after the “People Power” revolt overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the father and namesake of the current Philippine president.

Sison died 10 days before the party he founded in 1968 was marking its 54th anniversary on Dec. 26. Its armed wing, the New People’s Army, was established months later in March 1969, numbering only about 60 Maoist fighters armed with nine automatic rifles and 26 single-shot rifles and pistols. But the movement gradually grew and expanded across the impoverished nation.

Battle setbacks, surrenders and infighting, however, have weakened the guerrilla group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and remains a major Philippine security threat. The communist rebellion has left about 40,000 combatants and civilians dead. It also has stunted economic development, especially in the countryside, where the military says about 3,500 insurgents are still active.

Past administrations had engaged in on and off peace negotiations with communist rebels represented by the umbrella organization National Democratic Front of the Philippines, where Sison served as chief political consultant.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte ended peace talks in March 2019, and negotiations have not resumed.

“The Filipino proletariat and toiling people grieve the death of their teacher and guiding light,” the party’s statement said. “Even as we mourn, we vow (to) continue to give all our strength and determination to carry the revolution forward guided by the memory and teachings of the people’s beloved Ka Joma,” the statement added, referring to Sison by his nickname.

Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of the former president, issued a brief statement on Sison’s death, saying: “May God have mercy on his soul.”

The Department of National Defense said Sison was responsible for the death of thousands of civilians and combatants. It said his death “deprived the Filipino people of the opportunity to bring this fugitive to justice under country’s laws.”

A Manila court in 2019 ordered the arrest of Sison and 37 others for their alleged involvement in a massacre in 1985. A mass grave discovered by soldiers in Inopacan town on Leyte Island in 2006 supposedly contained skeletal remains of rebels killed by their colleagues on suspicion they were informants of the military.

Sison, in a Facebook post in September 2019, denied the accusations against him, saying it was a “fake plot” and that authorities had collected bones from cemeteries to frame him and the others. He said he and the other suspects were in jail at the supposed time of the killings.

Sison, a former youth activist and university professor before founding the Communist Party, played a key role in the bitter split in the ranks of the rebels in the 1990s over differences in strategies. A bloody internal purge left hundreds dead, further weakening the rebels whose numbers have dwindled from a peak of around 25,000.

“A new era without Jose Maria Sison dawns for the Philippines, and we will all be the better for it,” the Defense Department said.

The Communist Party gave no indication about a possible successor to Sison. (AP)

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2022/12/philippine-communist-party-founder.html

Death of 'Joma' shows crumbling CPP-NPA-NDF leadership

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 17, 2022): Death of 'Joma' shows crumbling CPP-NPA-NDF leadership (By Priam Nepomuceno)

MANILA – The Department of National Defense (DND) on Saturday said the death of 83-year-old Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison in the Netherlands on Friday would crumble the leadership of the remaining insurgents.

"The death of Jose Maria Sison is but a symbol of the crumbling hierarchy of the CPP-NPA-NDF (New People's Army-National Democratic Front) which he founded to violently put himself in power," the agency said.

The DND said Sison's death also deprived the Filipino people of the opportunity to bring this fugitive to justice under the country's laws.

"Sison was responsible for the deaths of thousands of our countrymen. Innocent civilians, soldiers, police, child and youth combatants died because of his bidding," it said.

With this development, the DND is calling on the few remaining believers of Sison who have unwittingly turned themselves into the enemy of the people and are still blinded by the deceased's duplicitous and failed promises, to turn their backs on the violent and false ideology of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

"Five decades of brutal and bloody aggression against the state and the Filipino people have led to nothing but destruction and strife for thousands of Filipinos. A new era without Jose Maria Sison dawns for the Philippines, and we will all be better for it. The greatest stumbling block of peace for the Philippines is gone; let us now give peace a chance," the agency said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson, Col. Medel Aguilar, for his part, said Sison's death is an opportunity for his successor to turn away from the armed struggle.

"It's an opportunity for his successor if there will be, to chart a new direction in promoting reforms. Hopefully, away from armed struggle," he said when asked about the possible impact of the CPP founder's death.

Also, Aguilar said there were only 2,112 insurgents as of last validation and this figure has declined since then.

He also expressed optimism that Sison's death will further weaken the underground movement.

"The loss of a 'teacher' and 'guiding light' leaves the organization with no purpose and clear direction. But the organization needs to have a good 'teacher' and 'guiding light' who will lead its members away from violence and destruction," Aguilar said.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Office (PIO) Chief Col. Redrico Maranan said Sison's death is a huge blow to the CPP-NPA-NDF.

While deaths are not causes of joy for anyone, Maranan said he is looking at this development at a "positive note" as a law enforcer.

"It is really a big blow to the CPP-NPA-NDF as they lost the person they are looking as a leader," he said.

The CPP earlier said the Netherlands-based Sison died around 8:40 p.m. Friday after two weeks of confinement at a hospital.

Sison's death came as the CPP would mark its 54th founding anniversary on Dec. 26. He founded the organization in 1968.

Sison was arrested during the time of President Ferdinand E. Marcos -- the father of the incumbent president -- in 1976, along with his wife. They were released from detention in 1986 after then President Corazon Aquino came to power.

In 1987, Sison went on a self-exile in the Netherlands after peace talks with the government stalled. Peace talks were on and off since then until President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the negotiations in November 2017.

The CPP is the political wing of the NPA.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1190985