Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events: 06/22/24

Saturday, June 22, 2024

CPP/Ang Bayan: Rallies commemorate bogus independence day

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Jun 21, 2024): Rallies commemorate bogus independence day

This article is available in Pilipino

June 21, 2024

HERE AND ABROAD, national-democratic groups protested to condemn the continued US imperialist neocolonial rule in the country on June 12, the day of the country’s false independence.

They marched towards the US embassy on Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City and called on the Filipino people to expose and oppose US imperialism and fight for genuine freedom and democracy in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, democratic organizations from Southern Tagalog held a caravan in the towns of Cavite, including Kawit where the false independence of the Philippines was declared. In Cebu City, Bayan-Central Visayas also held a demonstration on Colon Street.

Various activities and actions were launched in San Francisco and Los Angeles in California, in Washington, Chicago and Oregon.

Meanwhile, chapters of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines from different regions and its allied organizations issued statements regarding the bogus independence day. They said attaining genuine freedom for the Philippines can only be achieved through the victory of the people’s democratic revolution.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/rallies-commemorate-bogus-independence-day/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Military kills 16-year-old student in Sultan Kudarat

This article is available in Pilipino

June 21, 2024

The 7th IB shot and killed 16-year-old student Eusibio Cranzo, also known as Kuni Cuba, on June 9 in Sityo Kiluding, Barangay Kiadsam, Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat. He was returning home with his brother and two friends when the murder happened.

Reports said Cranzo’s group chanced upon an operating unit of the 7th IB, when they were fired upon. Cranzo was immediately hit, while his three companions scampered to the adjacent cornfield. The soldiers falsely claimed having confiscated a Garand rifle from the victim and accused him of being a member of the New People’s Army.

Meanwhile, other cases of human rights violations have been recorded in recent weeks.

Bombing. An estimated 2,700 people were affected by the aerial bombing of the 54th IB under the 503rd IBde in Barangay Maling, Balbalan, Kalinga on June 7. Residents observed two helicopters circling and dropping bombs.

In Nueva Vizcaya, the 7th ID bombed Barangay Abuyo, Alfonso Castañeda eight times on June 20 in the early morning. Two attack helicopters also fired successively, while the AFP also used drones.

Arrest. Edison Yu was detained for ten days after he was arrested by the police on June 8 near the Israeli embassy in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City. Yu was supposed to participate in the protest against Israel’s genocide when he was arrested.

In Kalinga, the 54th IB arrested a certain Gap-idan Claver Bawit whom it accused of being an NPA fighter in Barangay Balantoy, Balbalan on June 6.

Harassment. In Bulacan, the 80th IB and police raided the house of peasant leader Ronnie Manalo in Barangay San Roque, San Jose del Monte City on June 18, while no one was there. Police claimed having retrieved firearms, grenades and other paraphernalia from the house. On the same day, soldiers went to the house of peasant leader Cecilia Rapiz in Barangay Paradise 3 in that city.

In Rizal, soldiers repeatedly harassed 80-year-old fisherfolk-leader Romy Antazo. In May, he was picked up by four soldiers and forcibly taken to the municipal hall for a “dialogue.”

In Negros Occidental, 94th IB soldiers and paramilitaries illegally broke in and ransacked seven houses in Sitio Cabagal, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City on June 7. The soldiers also harassed Evelyn Manait, a member of Ituman-Bukidnon, in Barangay Amontay, Binalbagan on June 13.

In the first week of June, state forces “visited” Mafel Macalanda and Lina Ladino, indigenous leaders in Cagayan Valley, at their homes in Baguio City and Cagayan to threaten them with arrest.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/military-kills-16-year-old-student-in-sultan-kudarat/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Correspondence//Rectification movement in Negros amid intense military operations

This article is available in Pilipino

June 21, 2024

Amid uninterrupted military terrorism and fascist repression in Negros, Party cadres and members in the island ardently carry out the Central Committee’s call in December 2023 to launch the rectification movement.

Revolution, the theoretical journal of the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the writings of Comrade Jose Maria Sison were used as practical references in gatherings, meetings, assessments, analyses and summings-up of inter-related revolutionary activities in all guerrilla fronts on the island. The entire revolutionary movement on the island achieved positive results from this. Identifying the weaknesses from the collective analysis of practical matters and revolutionary work was accelerated, especially weaknesses in the armed struggle that had a negative impact on overall progress.

In the first quarter of 2024, the Party in Negros reviewed the 22-year comprehensive summing-up of its revolutionary experience in the region from the Second Great Rectification Movement started up to 2016. This became the basis for the comprehensive summing up of the Party in the island for its ideological, political and organizational work for the year 2017-2022, and for identifying and rectifying various forms of errors and weaknesses.

In implementating the rectification movement, responsible Party cadres were assigned as instructors in the study movement. Amid heavy enemy attacks on guerrilla bases, collective studying of Party documents about the first and second rectification movements were continuously conducted. The active participation of students from younger and older cadres and members further vitalized the studies within New People’s Army units up to the local Party units. They collectively studied the Central Committee and Negros Island Regional Committee statements on the Party’s 55th anniversary.

A concentrated session in the Party’s Basic Course was also launched for NPA activists and new recruits. In the study of Imperialism, emphasis was given on the current crisis resulting in widespread wars instigated by the imperialist-US in its allied countries, especially in the intense US-China rivalry and its concrete impact on the Filipino people. In addition, the Party’s one-year program in each guerrilla front was assessed. Criticisms and self-criticisms, as well as individual assessments were conducted within the NPA.

Ka Marga said “in the revolution, we must be resolute in studying the basic principles, persevere in analyzing the objective situation and, above all, aiming for a breakthrough in the strengthening of tactical offensives to seize weapons from enemy.”

Ka Dayan, one of the instructors, said facilitating the studies further enhanced her knowledge of the Party’s basic principles. While Ka Victor, one of the senior cadres of the Party from the IDKP, said the rectification campaign made him recall events in the history of the Party and the revolution.

“We are urged by challenging times and contradictions. Dont’ be afraid. Genuine freedom is not a mere figment of our imagination, but can be achieved by arousing, organizing and mobilizing the masses to resist!” said Ka Yan, one of the younger student cadres.

The Party in Negros island also calls on all NPA units to persevere with recovery, consolidation and expansion work. We need to reach places we have long neglected, especially those places we have yet to reach. Party committees were also tasked to guide the dedicated advancemenent of the masses in anti-feudal and anti-fascist campaigns in the countryside and link and elevate it to the level of anti-imperialist and anti-fascist campaigns in the cities for them to achieve their democratic interests.

Above all, we must conduct successful tactical offensives and seize weapons from the fascist enemy using correct guerrilla warfare tactics, techniques and actions.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/rectification-movement-in-negros-amid-intense-military-operations/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Correspondence//Unwavering support for the revolution of the masses of Samar

This article is available in Pilipino

June 21, 2024

Generations may have passed, but the support of the peasant masses of Samar for the New People’s Army (NPA) remain unwavering. This was the message of the revolutionary masses in the province when they had an opportunity to meet the NPA after some time.

“Our parents raised me and my siblings having the high respect for comrades,” said Ka Amboy in a simple but meaningful celebration of the NPA’s 55th anniversary on March 29. Despite being unacquainted with most of the new fighters who came to them, he immediately became familiar and comfortable with the comrades. “I remember my father’s words, that wherever we go and meet the NPA, they are ours, because they fight for poor people like us.”

Ka Amboy always reminds his barriofolk that they achieved economic victories and measly benefits from the government because of the revolutionary movement. They confidently said that many people still support, cherish and join hands with the NPA in their village because of this.

Another farmer thanked the mostly young fighters. “You are continuing the struggle which my brother died for,” said Ka Ambon. His brother was martyred in a battle in 1987. He himself wanted to join the NPA but had many small children at the time. “Now, I can’t anymore because of my age and rheumatism,” he said. “I thank you for persevering. I may not be with you, but whenever you need me, my family and I are here to help.” He is also ready to support any of his grandchildren who would join the people’s army.

The barriofolk thanked the NPA’s help in their farms. “Even when we weren’t there and without our knowledge, you continue to help us in the farm,” said Ka Huling. “We really thank you. Honestly, it is here with you that I felt the true joy of service. So I’m really happy when I’m with you. We really love you.”

The masses said they almost fell for the military’s claim that the people’s army had been driven away from their area since no NPA unit had visited them for a while. “When we heard comrades are here, our hopes were reignited,” said Ka Bining, who attended the gathering. But she said they were also cautious as they may just be masquerading as Red fighters. She was relieved when she mingled with the fighters.

“I know that the NPA will always be with us until we’ve won victory,” she said.

She said she never betrayed comrades. “I have not changed, despite the enemy’s prolonged stay, I did not surrender,” she said. “I kept secret what I know, until now.”

Apart from emotional words, the masses offered songs and other cultural performances, which entertained and raised the morale of the comrades. The comrades also thanked the residents for their brave and warm welcome and for keeping their presence and movements unknown to the military. While the masses and the people’s army are gathered in the area, at least 40 columns were conducting military operations in the barangays covered by the towns of San Jose de Buan, Gandara, San Jorge, Catbalogan, Motiong, Jiabong and Paranas in Samar and the villages of Can-avid and Dolores in Eastern Samar. About 80 barrios are under RCSP operations.

In that gathering, the Red commanders, fighters and revolutionary masses collectively affirmed their dedication and determination to advance the revolutionary struggle. Armed with the lessons of the past, they are determined to overcome the identified weaknesses and make every effort to respond to the call to set the armed struggle ablaze and advance with greater strength.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/unwavering-support-for-the-revolution-of-the-masses-of-samar/

CPP/Ang Bayan: US military bases and war games are threats to Philippine sovereignty

This article is available in Pilipino

June 21, 2024

THE COMMUNITIES AROUND the US military bases, or so-called “EDCA sites” and Balikatan 2024 venues saw widespread negligence, disinformation and repression by the reactionary government and US military. This is the conclusion of a fact-finding mission conducted by Bayan-USA and PINAS Peace mission in Central Luzon, Ilocos Norte and Marawi City. They publicized the results of their 3-week investigation on June 12.

Among the delegation’s findings were US stockpiling of suspected military equipment outside designated “EDCA sites” and American soldiers’ exploitation of the Cagayan people’s resources; collusion between private companies and the military; lack of notification to the Balikatan venues of Ilocos and Cagayan communities which traumatized and terrorized the civilian population; and militarization, harassment and Red-tagging against communities who were only defending their livelihoods. In Marawi City, local officials reported the disinformation regarding the military base and “economic zone” being built near ground zero using EDCA funds.

The delegation said all these are a threat to the freedom of Filipinos. The Marcos regime, as well as the US government under Joseph Biden, must be held accountable for the damage its militarism brings to the poorest sectors.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/us-military-bases-and-war-games-are-threats-to-philippine-sovereignty/

CPP/Ang Bayan: NPA-Western Samar snipes soldiers setting up camp in community

This article is available in Pilipino

June 21, 2024

SNIPERS OF THE New People’s Army (NPA)-Western Samar (Arnulfo Ortiz Command) fired upon soldiers of the 87th IB encamped in Sitio San Pedro, Barangay Poblacion 3, San Jose de Buan, Samar on June 9. The soldiers were erecting a fence in the sitio to enclose the area for their planned detachment

The sniping killed Corporal Marvin Calvintos of the 87th IB. Red fighters opened fire on the soldiers injuring a number of them.

In retaliation, soldiers targeted civilian communities. They fired artillery shells at mountains and farmfields near the said sitio, terrorizing the farmers. Most of the farmers were not able to work on their farms. Others were forced to evacuate for fear of being hit by the shelling.

San Pedro has been militarized since 2024. A long list of human rights violations have been recorded in the area.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/npa-western-samar-snipes-soldiers-setting-up-camp-in-community/

CPP/Ang Bayan: US war of disinformation pushes the Philippines to war

This article is available in Pilipino Bisaya

June 21, 2024

It is crystal clear that US imperialism is no friend of the Filipino people. This was undoubtedly proven by how the US military’s exposed clandestine campaign targeted Filipinos during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The evil intent of the US was to poison the minds of Filipinos with disinformation about the Sinovac vaccine from China, to question its safety or efficacy, in order to favor US-made vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna. The US disinformation campaign seriously endangered Philippine public health, and is believed to have been a factor in the slow progress in the country’s immunization efforts.

The said disinformation campaign was led and funded by the US Pentagon or Department of Defense. It started under the former Trump administration, and continued in the early months of the current Biden administration. The US invested heavily in deploying soldiers and other personnel to create and operate hundreds of fake social media accounts to influence Filipinos with the slogan “China is the virus”.

This disinformation campaign was carried out by the US military in accordance with the “active combat” doctrine, that guides the US in its competition and conflict with its imperialist rivals, China and Russia. The US uses its military forces in “active combat” despite the absence of direct armed conflict. This is done in conjunction with economic pressure (such as sanctions or investment and trade restrictions), as well as the active use of military force to counter the growing power and influence of its rivals.

Such a disinformation campaign or information war is still being waged today by US imperialism in the Philippines. It targets the minds of Filipinos to portray the US as their “friend, partner and ally”, and China as their “enemy”. Together with its puppets in the Marcos government, as well as some senators and congressmen, US-funded “think tanks” and influenced people in the bourgeois media, the minds of the Filipinos are being shaped to make them accept the presence and dominance of American troops in and around the country.

They promote the perverted notion that the US is a “big brother” that will “defend” the “helpless” Filipinos, which contradicts the fact that US imperialism has twice waged war against the Philippines to take away the freedom won by Filipinos in their revolutionary struggles, first against Spanish colonialism, and second, against the Japanese occupation. It is now being claimed that, under the Mutual Defense Treaty, the US will “help” the Philippines against China, when in reality, the US will not act without prioritizing its own interests. The US is using its military agreements with the Philippines to use the country as a large military base to launch war provocations against China.

The US and the Marcos regime are now fanning Sinophobia, promoting hysteria, suspicion, fear or anger against China and all Chinese in the Philippines. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, they spread speculations about Chinese spies, infiltration and secret groups of Chinese soldiers in the Philippines. Marcos himself leads the pack, repeatedly insinuating that China is a major “external threat” to the Philippines over maritime disputes. While stories of “China’s invasion plans” are being woven, US military forces reign supreme and openly use the country’s land, air and seas for war exercises and preparations.

In collusion with the US, the AFP and the Philippine Coast Guard have repeatedly brought in construction materials to its “supply mission” on the Ayungin Shoal, which they know will irate China as this violates its previous agreements with the Philippines. The US and the Marcos regime are deliberately obstructing the path of dialogue or negotiation, which should be the way to peacefully resolve maritime disputes. Following the relentless provocations of the US-Marcos regime, China has become aggressive and hostile in dealing with the Philippines, and in its refusal to recognize the rights of the Philippines as affirmed by the international tribunal in 2016.

The US imperialism is relentless, persistent and pours unlimited resources to dominate all fields of the information war, to make Filipinos think like slaves and traitors. The voice of US imperialism can be heard daily speaking through various forms and personas on social media, in the news, from the very mouths of Marcos and his government officials.

The devious aim of US imperialism is to extinguish all flames of patriotism in the hearts of Filipinos and make the people feel like happy prisoners under its neocolonial rule in the Philippines. They want the people to accept how Philippine sovereignty is being trampled upon, and how the country is now being used by the US to provoke an armed conflict with China. They want Filipinos to close their eyes to the obvious fact that the country is now an instrument of US geopolitical strategy, aimed at imposing hegemony in various parts of the world and subjugating any opposing country or force.

The Filipino people must be vigilant, expose and reject the disinformation war being waged by the US and Marcos regime to control or influence their thinking, psychology and emotions. There is no other more effective way other than to conduct a study movement to learn from history, not from the bourgeois or US point-of-view, but from the perspective of the masses in resistance, to awaken and heighten the people’s patriotic spirit, as they march along the path of struggle for genuine national freedom.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/us-war-of-disinformation-pushes-the-philippines-to-war/

CPP/CIO: Stop serving as pawn to the US imperialist game of chess against China

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Jun 22, 2024): Stop serving as pawn to the US imperialist game of chess against China

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

June 22, 2024

The recent hostilities at the Ayungin Shoal are clearly the result of provocations (in the guise of “supply missions” carrying “construction materials”) being jointly carried out by the US government and the Marcos regime, and the increasingly aggressive and antagonistic reaction of China to these operations. The incidents, accompanied by acerbic exchanges, have further deepened mutual distrust on both sides.

Some militarists and war-mongers, jumped on the incident and called for “invoking” the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty to seek the US military to “come to the aid” of the Philippines. These jingoists, however, were frustrated that, despite their agitation, the Marcos government was advised by the US not to invoke the MDT—yet. Clearly taking its cue from the US, Malacañang said it was “not yet ready to classify this as an armed attack,” but promised to carry out more “supply missions” to Ayungin.

The truth is, the US imperialists will only enter the fray at its own time, in accordance with its own strategic military plans, and in line with its own self-interest. The Filipino people are being duped by the US imperialist in its repeated declaration of its “ironclad commitment to the Philippines” under the MDT. Presently, the US is busy in the Middle East, especially after telling Israel it is ready to support its planned war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Filipino people must stand firmly and demand a stop to the escalation of conflicts. Any intensification of these conflicts will only serve the interests of the US imperialists. There is absolutely no need for the Filipino people to engage China in armed hostilities to settle the maritime disputes between the two countries.

Their patriotic and progressive forces must firmly oppose the jingoists who want to “invoke the MDT”, who are practically asking the US imperialist to fight its war with China in the country’s backyard. In fact, these incidents underscore the need to abrogate the MDT, under which the country is being used by the US to drag the country into ITS wars. Pulling the country into the vortex of inter-imperialist wars will bring only grave sufferings to the Filipino people, especially at this time when they are burdened by widespread joblessness, dispossession, low wages and skyrocketing prices, under US-dictated neoliberal policies of the Marcos regime.

The Filipino people must raise their voices to demand the Philippine government to urgently call for a dialogue with China and put an end to US-directed provocations, in order to come up with amicable solutions to the Ayungin Shoal situation, as well as other disputes between the two countries. New agreements (to replace the old promise not to bring in “construction supplies”) can be forged in light of the 2016 decision of the international arbitral tribunal, and without prejudice to availing international diplomacy, legal filings and other options to assert the country’s rights under the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS).

Military forces of the US and its military allies have been carrying out war exercises and preparations in the Philippines, and the surrounding and adjacent seas. They are intent on igniting armed hostilities at some point in the future. This is part of the US economic competition against China, and the geopolitical strategy of the US to contain China’s growth as an economic and military power, and reassert US hegemony in the Philippines and Asia.

The US-dependent AFP and Filipino soldiers, as well as the US-trained Philippine Coast Guard, are being used as cannon fodder, in the overall US war preparations and provocations against China. Just one day before Filipino soldiers were dispatched to go on their so-called “supply missions” last June 17, US, Canadian, Japanese and Philippine naval vessels carried out “multilateral maritime cooperative activity” in nearby waters.

Also for three weeks, the Kasangga war exercises were carried out by US-allied Australian forces in the AFP’s 5th ID headquarters in Isabela province from May 15 to June 21. American soldiers also carried out the MASA (Marine Aviation Support Activity) war exercises in Ilocos, Zambales, Batanes and elsewhere on June 3-21. The US military also undertook the so-called “clearing” of the Basco port until June 7, to further reinforce the presence of American troops in the Batanes islands.

Taken as a whole, all these form part of what China perceives as threats to its security, and how the Philippines is being used as a pawn in the US imperialist game of chess against it. This is also known as the 2011 “US pivot to Asia” which started all the tensions in the region.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/stop-serving-as-pawn-to-the-us-imperialist-game-of-chess-against-china/