ASG member with P600-K bounty arrested in Basilan

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 23, 2024): ASG member with P600-K bounty arrested in Basilan (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

Google map of Isabela City, Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY – An Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) member involved in the infamous Lamitan siege in 2000 and with a PHP600,000 bounty for his capture was arrested by authorities in Basilan province, the police said Tuesday.

Brigadier General Bowenn Joey Masauding, Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula (PRO-9) director, identified the arrested ASG member as Mobin Kullin, who has been hiding for over a decade.

Masauding said Kullin was arrested in an operation on Monday in Barangay Tabiawan, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.

“The PRO-9, together with our partner agencies, are focused on arresting individuals facing cases, especially those involved in terrorism and kidnapping,” Masauding said in a statement.

He said Kullin had a standing warrant of arrest for the crime of kidnapping and illegal detention with no recommended bail issued by a court in Isabela City on May 6, 2002.

Kullin is also listed as one of the nation’s most wanted persons under the Department of National Defense-Department of the Interior and Local Government joint order with a reward of PHP600,000 for his capture.

Masuding said Kullin was also involved in multiple kidnappings, including the Golden Harvest Plantation raid in Barangay Tairan, Lantawan, on June 11, 2001, aside from the Lamitan siege in 2000.

During the raid, the ASG bandits seized 15 plantation workers and executed five of them. The rest either managed to escape or were rescued during military operations.

Further, police records indicated that the arrested suspect was a former member of the Abu Sayyaf Group under sub-leaders Ustadz Kalah, Khadaffy Janjalani, and Isnilon Hapilon, all of whom were once operating in Lantawan, Basilan.

Kullin is currently in the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Grouo-9 for documentation and proper disposition.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1234047

35 NPA rebels yield in E. Mindanao from March to September

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 23, 2024): 35 NPA rebels yield in E. Mindanao from March to September (By Che Palicte)

SURRENDER RITES. Thirty-five former New People's Army rebels are presented to the media at the 60th Infantry Battalion Headquarters in Asuncion, Davao del Norte on Monday (Sept. 23, 2024). The surrenderers, who also gave up 20 firearms, are from Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro and Agusan Sur. (PNA photo by Robinson Niñal Jr.)

ASUNCION, Davao del Norte – Thirty-five former members of the New People’s Army (NPA) turned themselves in between March and September this year, according to the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) on Monday.

During the media presentation at the 60th Infantry Battalion headquarters here, the surrenderers also handed over 20 firearms from various NPA units operating in Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro and Agusan del Sur.

Col. Jorry Baclor, Unified Command Staff chief, commended the former rebels for choosing peace.

“I urge you to encourage your former comrades to follow your lead and return to the fold of the law. This will significantly contribute to ending insurgency in Eastern Mindanao,” Baclor said.

Under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), the ex-rebels will receive socio-economic assistance and financial aid.

Most of the surrenderers were farmers or laborers, many of whom did not have the opportunity to complete basic education.

“Daisy,” a former medical officer of the NPA’s 2nd and 5th Pulang Bagani Command, was full of regrets. She hopes for a peaceful life with her family.

“I’m thankful to the government for giving us a second chance. I won’t return to the communist group,” she said.

The Davao del Norte Davao de Oro provincial governments also pledged to support the former rebels with livelihood opportunities, financial assistance and scholarships.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233980

Info drives boost government anti-insurgency efforts

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 23, 2024): Info drives boost government anti-insurgency efforts (By Liza Agoot)

LGU-FOCUSED. Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity-Cordillera Peace and Security head Edgardo de Leon (left) and Peace Program Officer Fr. Adonis Bringas attend the media orientation on localized peace engagement and transformation program in Baguio City on Monday (Sept. 23, 2024). De Leon said local governments and national government associations can help the government’s anti-insurgency campaign. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot)

BAGUIO CITY – Local and national government agencies have been tapped to help in the government’s anti-insurgency efforts, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said.

Maj. Gen. Edgardo de Leon (ret.), OPAPRU-Cordillera Adviser on Peace and Security, said during the media orientation on localized peace engagement and transformation program here Monday that information and education campaigns will reveal the real nature of insurgency.

“It is now the PLGUs (provincial local government units) and national governments’ approach while the security sector pursues the armed remnants,” he said.

De Leon explained that “once they (PLGUs) are assured that the masses, the voters are no longer supportive of the cause of the insurgents, they also start to end their support to the terrorists.”

He said communities have ended their support to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army with strong government presence felt even in far-flung communities and in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

He explained that former rebels also contribute to the anti-insurgency program because their information help local governments formulate programs.

“If we understand the problem, it is easier to take solutions,” De Leon said. “Our government has realized that the fight to end insurgency is not just the task of the security cluster but a whole of government acting (and) using resources from different offices and clusters.”

During the same event, OPAPRU-Cordillera Peace Program Officer Fr. Adonis Bringas said infrastructure, capacity building and livelihood provided by the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and Commission on Higher Education assure the communities and former rebels of the government’s desire to end insurgency and improve their lives.

“For 2025, (OPAPRU) Secretary (Carlito) Galvez (Jr.) has committed PHP600 million support fund to the Cordillera region to further help in improving the people’s lives,” Bringas said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233971

NPA member facing murder case nabbed in Masbate

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 20, 2024): NPA member facing murder case nabbed in Masbate (By Connie Calipay)

Police Regional Office - Bicol (PRO5) headquarters in Legazpi City (PNA photo by Connie Calipay)

LEGAZPI CITY – A New People's Army (NPA) rebel wanted for attempted murder was arrested in Masbate province on Thursday, the Police Regional Office-Bicol (PRO-5) reported on Friday.

Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib, PRO-5 spokesperson, said "Nathan," a member of the Special Partisan Unit, was nabbed in his house in Cawayan town after being served a warrant.

The recommended bail was PHP120,000.

Calubaquib said the rebel is under the command of Reynaldo Mollejon of Platoon 1, Kilusang Larangang Gerilya South, Sub-Regional Committee 4.

The operation was conducted by the police and the 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.

Calubaquib said the rebel is now in the custody of the Cawayan Municipal Police Station.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233804

11 anti-insurgency projects kick off in Northern Samar town

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 19, 2024): 11 anti-insurgency projects kick off in Northern Samar town (By Roel Amazona)

FIGHTING INSURGENCY. Officials lead the groundbreaking of projects under the Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) in Guba village, Catarman, Northern Samar on Thursday (Sept. 19, 2024). SBDP is one of the initiatives of the national government to end insurgency. (Photo courtesy of Catarman municipal information office)

TACLOBAN CITY – At least 11 projects under the Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) designed to end insurgency are now ongoing in the town of Catarman in Northern Samar.

Catarman municipal engineer Carlito Danque said key officials on Thursday led the groundbreaking of these projects, including a potable water system, farm-to-market roads, school buildings, and barangay electrification.

Each of these projects costs PHP2.5 million and is up for completion in 2025.

The projects have been identified by communities during the conduct of the retooled community support program (RCSP).

“My message to village officials is for them to become active in monitoring the implementation to ensure its quality and timely completion,” Danque said in a phone interview.

The potable water system projects will be installed in Cag-abaca, Cularima, and Liberty villages, while.school buildings will rise in Aguinaldo, Guba, and Bocsol villages.

Recipients of renewable energy-based electrification projects are the villages of Salvacion, Cabayhan, Gebulwangan, Imelda, and Paticua.

SBDP, a flagship program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict bankrolled under the Local Government Support Fund, aims to address poverty and development in geographically isolated and disadvantageous areas that were once affected or influenced by the New People’s Army.

These projects are implemented in communities that are part of the RCSP, an inclusive program that addresses identified issues of the community by bridging it to the offices concerned, closing the governance and development gaps, ensuring sustainability, and promoting peace.

The recipient communities were RCSP areas of the Philippine Army’s 43rd Infantry Battalion in 2023.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233719

Galvez: Gov’t stands behind Cordillera’s quest for genuine peace

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 18, 2024): Galvez: Gov’t stands behind Cordillera’s quest for genuine peace

GENUINE PEACE. Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. joins the commemoration of the 38th anniversary of the Mt. Data Sipat (Peace Accord) on Sept. 13, 2024. Galvez said the national government stands behind the people of Cordillera in their quest for genuine peace. (OPAPRU photo)

BAUKO, Mountain Province – The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has certainly come a long way since the signing of the Mt. Data Sipat Peace Accord in 1986 and is expected to continue moving forward in its quest for greater peace, progress and autonomy.

Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said the national government stands behind the people of Cordillera as they lay the foundations where all their hopes and aspirations for their homeland will come into fruition.

“The national government remains steadfast in its efforts to support our Cordilleran brothers and sisters’ continued march towards long-lasting peace and sustainable development through the implementation of various peace programs, projects, and activities,” Galvez said in his keynote message during the commemoration of the 38th Anniversary of the Mt. Data Sipat (Peace Accord) on Sept. 13.

A clarion call for peace and autonomy

It has been almost four decades since the Philippine Government, under the administration of then President Corazon Aquino, and the Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army, led by Fr. Conrado Balweg, heeded the clarion call for peace that paved the way to the signing of a ceasefire agreement on Sept. 13, 1986.

The ceasefire ended the decades-long armed conflict between both parties and resulted in the issuance of Executive Order No. 220 s.1987 on July 15, 1987 that established the CAR.

According to Mountain Province Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr., ‘Sipat’ is one of the most precious documents for the people of Cordillera, as it embodies their aspirations for peace, progress, and development in the region.

In his message, Lacwasan encouraged his fellow Cordillerans to remain focused and not lose hope in their fight for genuine autonomy in the region.

“I hope that the 38 years of waiting will not discourage us [Cordillerans], on the contrary, I hope it will give us more reason to put our acts together,” the governor said.

Pag-asa Goldamir Balweg, a kin of the late Fr. Balweg, delivered a message of peace, as she called on her fellow Cordillerans to set aside personal interests, work together and further strengthen their commitment to support ongoing peace interventions.

“Let us be reminded of the fundamental reasons behind this commemoration... Autonomy is not just a political issue—it is about self-determination, about ensuring that we, the people of the Cordilleras, have the power to shape our own future,” Balweg said.

“It is about building on the peace we have secured and ensuring that our rights, culture, and identity are fully recognized and respected,” she added.

Meanwhile, Engr. Andres Ngao-I Sr., vice-chairperson of the Joint Evaluation and Monitoring Committee (JEMC) for the GPH-CBA-CPLA Peace Process, emphasized that the commemoration of the Mt. Data Peace Accord is a reminder to Cordillerans that they have achieved something significant–genuine peace–which those who came before them have fought hard for.

Congressman Maximo Dalog Jr., represented by Dionisio Wasdisen and CAR Regional Director Atty. Joshua Pablito, representative of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista also expressed their strong support to the Cordilleran’s march towards peace and development. Pablito noted that the Sipat Peace Accord “marked the end of hostilities and started an era of peace and development in the Cordillera, enabling them to pursue transport projects that improved overall mobility and connectivity in the province.”

Epicenter of peace and development

A day before the 38th commemoration of the Sipat Peace Accord, the governors, local government officials and representatives from various government agencies in Cordillera, together with Presidential Peace Adviser Galvez, participated in the Third Quarter Full Regional Development Council Meeting.

The meeting tackled updates on Cordillera’s fight for autonomy and on initiatives to further improve sustainable development in the region.

Galvez committed that, “Cordillera will not be left behind.”

He likewise recommended creating an Inter-cabinet Cluster on the Transformation of Cordillera to replicate what is being done at Bangsamoro and to ensure the successful implementation of peace and development initiatives in the Cordillera.

During the meeting, the governors and mayors of Cordillera expressed their commitment to fully support the autonomy of Cordillera as stated in the constitution.

This year, the OPAPRU has allotted almost 600 million pesos to support the socio-economic and development programs in Cordillera. For the upcoming CY 2025, it has allotted around 594,000 million pesos for the region, totaling to an estimated amount of 1.2 billion pesos for the two years.

The 38th anniversary celebration of the Sipat Peace Accord also marked another significant milestone in the province’s peace and development with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Balicanao-Am-am Provincial Road improvement project. This PHP25 million project will be carried out under the OPAPRU’s PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn (PAMANA) Program.

This will serve as a by-pass road or an alternate route to help the farmers of Mountain Province in bringing their products to other neighboring provinces. Mountain Province has been allocated 105 million pesos for CY 2024 and additional 212 million pesos for CY 2025, according to a news release on Wednesday.

“Since the signing of this [Sipat] historic peace agreement, we have seen sustained peace, development and progress take root in the Cordillera region, leading to the amazing transformation of the lives of former combatants, their families, and communities,” Galvez pointed out in his message.

He also reaffirmed the national government’s firm commitment to transform the region that once housed the first national battalion of the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army/National Democratic Front (CPP/NPA/NDF), into an epicenter of peace and development.

The peace adviser then called for the harmonization of efforts of all stakeholders— provincial and municipal local government units, national government agencies, civil society and the security sector.

He reminded the LGUs that the key in turning their project proposals into reality is to do complete staff work.

Galvez also vowed to support the Mountain Province State University that has been supporting the OPAPRU in promoting peace education in the region.

“Ang Cordillera ay tutulungan natin (We will help Cordillera) to change its atmosphere to be conducive for peace, reconciliation and unity notwithstanding its call for self-determination and its aspiration for autonomy,” Galvez said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1233681

CPP/CIO: Condemn US for reneging on promise to withdraw Typhon missile system

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 21, 2024): Condemn US for reneging on promise to withdraw Typhon missile system

 

Pilipino

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

September 21, 2024

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and all revolutionary forces condemn the US government and military for reneging on its earlier declaration to withdraw its Typhon missile system from the Philippines by September. The CPP also condemns Marcos and his defense officials for making excuses for the US’ failure to keep its promise.

Based on reports and satellite images, the Typhon system remains positioned at the Laoag International Airport in Laoag, Ilocos Norte. The airport is not even on the list of “agreed locations” under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The CPP condemns the US for using the Philippines as a strategic military base to deploy weapons that can be used for aggression and attacks against its enemies and rivals. This is a brazen display of contempt for, and a flagrant violation of Philippine sovereignty. This is similar to how the US used the Philippines to launch wars of aggression in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries in the past.

By strategically placing the Typhon missile system at the northern part of the country, the US is already using the Philippines to threaten China with strikes. The Typhon system is capable of launching cruise missiles with ranges exceeding 1,600 kilometers.This is in line with the US “first-island chain” strategy to contain China.

The Typhon missile system, along with all US military bases, vessels and facilities in the Philippines, are all magnets of attack. The Chinese and Russian governments have made explicit statements about this. This makes the Philippines a likely target of US enemies in the event of an armed conflict, which absolutely runs counter to the interests of the Filipino people.

The US military forces’ permanent presence in country the prevents the Philippines from pursuing an independent foreign policy. This hinders the country from establishing peaceful and friendly relations with China and all other countries based on mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty.

The CPP reiterates the Filipino people’s demand for the immediate withdrawal of the US Typhon missile system along with all US troops and weapons in the Philippines. All US military bases and facilities must be dismantled. The Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and all other unequal military treaties must be abrogated to allow the Philippines to stand up as a self-respecting sovereign country.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/condemn-us-for-reneging-on-promise-to-withdraw-typhon-missile-system/

CPP/NDF-CNL: Statement of the CNL on the 52nd anniversary of martial law declaration

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 21, 2024): Statement of the CNL on the 52nd anniversary of martial law declaration

 


Christians for National Liberation (CNL)

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

September 21, 2024

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. (GS 1)
Our situation

It is an irreconcilable fact to see a country endowed with immense natural wealth and a people with an impressive history of resistance, resilience, determination, heroism and faith witnessing groaning in excruciating pain brought about by unjust and oppressive systems and structures of the Philippine society. These state institutions and their legal machineries commit unjust violence against their constituents by preventing them from meeting their basic needs or fundamental rights.

The poorest 50% or some 13.7 million families, had monthly incomes of around Php 23,000 or less. Around 70% or some 19.2 million families, had monthly incomes of around Php 29,000 or less. However, the US puppet government of Marcos Jr deceived the people by presenting an unrealistic fact based on a low and unrealistic poverty threshold, thus manipulated.

Cases of extra-judicial killings, violence against international law and cyberattacks are on the rise with 180 EJKs, 42,456 forced evacuations, 107,444 bombings and indiscriminate firings, 3,419,044 threats, harassment and intimidation, and over 145 illegal arrests and detentions since Marcos Jr took office. All of them are poor and labeled as terrorists in the exercise of their democratic rights enshrined in the Constitution. But, the real perpetrators and killers are free and even in government positions.

Filipinos experiencing involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, increased to 14.2% in March 2024 from 12.6% in December 2023. 46% of Filipino families rated themselves as poor and 33% as borderline poor in March 2024. A country with more than 50% of the population engaged in the agricultural sector is experiencing hunger. Land monopoly has deprived the farmers of land ownership and tenure aggravated by the bogus CARP program which failed to distribute 92% of large private landholdings. Worse, it set up numerous corporatization schemes to accommodate landlord reaction and evicted legitimate farmers who asserted their rights to the land.

Record high of unemployment particularly among the youth, the energetic and productive sector with 1.02 million unemployed in July 2024, which is a 172,000 increase from 850,000 previously. With low wages, high inflation and unjust labor laws, millions will be deprived of a minimum standard of decent living. No wonder the number of self-rated poor families grew from 13 million in December 2023 to 16 million in June 2024.

The Filipino people must not be prevented by weaponized laws from asserting their rights to livelihood, decent wages, adequate standards of living, social services and protection, unionization, a healthy environment, self-determination, and the range of civil and political rights and of economic, social and cultural rights.

52 years had passed since the fascist regime of Marcos Sr declared Proclamation No. 1081 (Martial Law), the current situation of the Filipino people seems to be nailed to its past. Martial Law did not happen overnight. Marcos created the environment for it. He exaggerated threats and pointed to conspiracies while at the same time offered a golden future, a new society (Bagong Pilipinas of Marcos Jr. today) that can happen only if the communists and the dissenters were flushed out. Prior to its declaration, repressions were everywhere. The right to protest was stifled. Leaders were arrested. Citizens were jailed on the mere suspicion of being a communist.
What is at stake?

“Scrutinizing the “signs of the times” and seeking to detect the meaning of emerging history, while at the same time sharing the aspirations and questionings (…). Listening to the cry of those who suffer violence and are oppressed by unjust systems and structures and hearing the appeal of a world that, by its perversity, contradicts the plan of its Creator, we have shared our awareness of the Church’s vocation to be present in the heart of the world by proclaiming the Good News to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, and joy to the afflicted. (…) Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” (Justice in the World 1971).

What is at stake is our faith and witness. We, Christians, in particular church people, are reminded to remind the world of what it can be, of what it must be, of what it most wants to be—deep down, at its best, at its human core. We are called to live at the edge of society to critique it, at the bottom of society to comfort it, and at the epicenter of society to challenge it and move people to rise, resist and defeat evils. “An authentic Christian believes and lives in the praxis of loving the least of our brothers and sisters, accepting the challenge of our Christian faith to liberation and love even unto death if necessary, and serving others regardless of belief, race, and culture so that others may live and live fully.” (CNL).
Our call

If an unjust system and structure breeds violence by depriving its citizens to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights and the exercise of their civil and political rights, then it has to be overturned. “Authority must enact laws […] that correspond to the dignity of the human person and to what is required by right reason […] When, however, a law is contrary to reason, it is called an unjust law; in such a case it ceases to be the law and becomes instead an act of violence.” (St. Tomas Aquinas). When the enjoyment and exercise of those fundamental rights of persons are violated by structural violence perpetrated by a puppet regime sustained by its imperialist masters, one ought to defend and protect the sovereign, democratic and human rights of these people by just-violent means. “[…] violence of exploiters and oppressors is immoral and unjust; and the violence of the exploited and oppressed is morally warranted and just.”

War might be an obligation derived from the virtue of charity. Protecting the well-being of innocent persons from aggression was a requirement of the common good. “All wars of aggression were to be prohibited and that defensive war to repel aggression was reluctantly necessary.” (Pope Pius XII, 1956). Humanitarian reasons could justify armed intervention. If it is done in the name of protecting the human rights of others can be interpreted as fitting within the just cause of defending innocents against aggression. Our biblical history attests to a God who is a warrior (OT) who defended the orphans, widows, poor, landless, marginalized (anawim of God) and a revolutionary who introduced a new reign (NT) utterly contradictory to the Roman imperialism based on the Beatitudes.

As Christians, we are called to take up the challenge of our true Master, the God of the poor, to bring a just and lasting peace where each one participates in shaping society to promote the well-being of its members. It is in this act of participation that the essential dignity of the person is both achieved and revealed. We are called to creative engagement and shared responsibility in the world with and on behalf of the poor. Thus, we are called to a deeper conversion of the heart, that is, to be a Christian who is socially subversive (turnover) and works to transform the world by turning society from oppression to justice, from violence to peace.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/statement-of-the-cnl-on-the-52nd-anniversary-of-martial-law-declaration/

CPP/NPA-Central Negros/Negros Island ROC: US-Marcos Jr's criminal negligence puts the Negrosanon in peril

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 20, 2024): US-Marcos Jr's criminal negligence puts the Negrosanon in peril

 


Kanor Alpeche

Deputy Spokesperson

NPA-Central Negros (Leonardo Panaligan Command)

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

September 20, 2024

There’s nothing more burdensome for the Negrosanons than dealing with several socio-economic issues while the government officials who are supposed to serve them are busy with their personal pursuits.

Recently, these have been aggravated by the danger brought about by the volcanic activities of Kanlaon Volcano which directly affected 903 families in La Castellana, Negros Occidental and 212 families in Kanlaon City, Negros Oriental. Making ends meet became more difficult when three consecutive typhoons namely Ferdie, Gener, and Helen wreaked havoc in the Philippines, intensified by the monsoon winds. To be particular in Negros Island, 100,335 residents residing in 174 barangays suffered the impact of the said natural calamities. The damage on agricultral sector amounted to P101,737,398 while damage on fisheries has climbed up to P1,781,361. Additionally, livestock worth of P1,421,309 was also reported part of the loss. This is based on the statistics provided by the reactionary government. A lot more remained unrecorded.

No one should be blamed for all of these other than Marcos Jr and his cronies. Noticeably, numerous neoliberal policies dependent on foreign capital, liberalization of import, increasing debts, and doubled taxes have been implemented under his administration. Thus, the entry of foreign corporations, responsible of destructive projects, in the country. It is irrefutable that destructive projects such as quarry and mining operations increase the risks caused by natural calamities. Along with that, the strengthening of typhoons in the country is also traceable to the activities of big companies contributing to climate change. The US-Marcos Jr regime committed criminal negligence for letting environmental and development aggression happen despite knowing its grave consequences.

Amidst all of these, the fascist administration ordered its killing machine, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), to conduct civil-military operations that do not provide sustainable solutions to the current dilemma of the people. Their “grooming services” do not alleviate the living condition of the Negrosanons.

As a matter of fact, civil-military operations pave the way for intensified militarization in the countryside. It further pushes the toiling masses one step nearer to their graves as the butcher AFP continues their Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) and imposed policies that hinder their livelihood such as enforcing curfew and hamletting. Furthermore, focused military operations (FMO) cause human rights violations to become more rampant with the presence of the US-Marcos Jr puppets.

On the other hand, we call on our fellow Red fighters and the rest of the revolutionary force to conduct immediate action for the urgent needs of the Negrosanons. The necessity of mobilizing thousands of working and toiling masses is enormous as they seek accountability from the reactionary government.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/us-marcos-jrs-criminal-negligence-puts-the-negrosanon-in-peril/

CPP/CPP-Cebu PC: Revolutionary salute to Ka Jude Rimando: Highest tribute to his life as a leading cadre of the revolutionary urban mass movement in Cebu

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 20, 2024): Revolutionary salute to Ka Jude Rimando: Highest tribute to his life as a leading cadre of the revolutionary urban mass movement in Cebu

 

CPP Cebu Provincial Committee

Communist Party of the Philippines

September 20, 2024

July 26, 2024 | The revolutionary forces in Cebu pay the highest tribute and warmest salute to Ka Jude Rimando, one of Central Visayas’ leading revolutionary cadre whose life was dedicated to the service of the people and the revolution.

Ka Jude, known to comrades in Cebu as Ka Bing, answered the call for deployment from Luzon to Central Visayas in his mid-30’s armed with the revolutionary daringness and fervor that he is known for. A big part of his revolutionary life was spent in the region as a leading cadre of the revolutionary urban mass movement in Cebu. He led with enthusiasm as he pointed out areas for improvement and emphasized key-links as decisive factors for advancement. Ka Bing’s contribution to the region’s revolutionary practice will forever stay in our hearts and minds as an inspiration and a lesson.

Some 20 years ago and new to the region, he learned the bisaya language fast and eventually became fluent that one can never surmise that it is not his native tongue. He would engage in lengthy conversations with the masses about their life, their difficulties and how they survived. He knew the language of the masses and he immersed himself by living in communities of the poor.

In lieu of his underground mode of operation, he was stricter than most in observing security measures and would extend that discipline to other comrades. Ka Bing took to heart the importance of secrecy and fluidity in the urban setting thus evading the vicious enemy while he persist in his revolutionary tasks.

As a leading cadre in the peasant movement, he was instrumental in the recovery of areas that play an important role in Cebu’s task of supporting nearby islands. Ka Bing was likewise instrumental in various campaigns that pave the way to new organizing opportunities, expansion of new areas and the development of cadres and mass leaders. As a leading cadre of the revolutionary workers movement, he was a key figure in the successful nationally coordinated strike whose political gain is best seen in the number of workers who decided to do full-time organizing work after the strike. In a breakthrough experience post second rectification movement, he and his fellow organizers formed a party branch in one of Cebu’s strategic industry. It was a positive lesson of painstaking mass work that eventually led to union transformation which peaked with an overwhelming yes to strike. Ka Bing and his fellow organizers had planted seeds for the raising of the workers’ class consciousness from which succeeding organizers can take-off from.

To many comrades in Cebu, Ka Bing will be remembered as a comrade who towers because he is tall and big but not at all intimidating nor difficult to approach. He had his ways of making comrades comfortable in his presence, urging them to unleash their initiative and gain confidence in actual revolutionary practice. He was not the spoon-feed type. In fact, sometimes one would struggle to understand what he was saying. But there is always something in the way he formed a question or uttered a remark that would prompt comrades to ponder and assess or re-assess their practice. He facilitated learnings by always explaining the principles behind his observations and suggestions. Those who have worked with him find themselves referring to a conversation or an explanation that Ka Bing shared years ago that up to this day, facilitated a clearer and deeper understanding of revolutionary principles and practices. He is a mentor to many and had trained successors of the revolution who are now leading cadres.

With sadness, we grieve over Ka Bing’s death. We extend our condolences to his wife, his children and siblings. We hold the fascist state responsible for his death and will vow to hold liable all those with blood-debts against the people and the revolution.

To all of us, let us be reminded of death as described by comrade Jose Ma. Sison’s “What Makes A Hero”

“It’s not the manner of death
that makes someone a hero.
It is the meaning drawn
From the struggles against the foe.
There is the hero who dies in the battlefield.
There is the hero who dies of hunger and disease,
There is the hero who dies of some accident,
There is the hero who dies of old age.
Whatever is the manner of death,
There is a common denominator
A hero serves the people
to his very last breath.”

Salamat Ka Bing sa kinabuhi na imong gihalad sa masang nilupigan. Salamat sa imong dakong tampo sa rebolusyonaryong praktika sa Cebu. Bayani ka, dili ka malimtan.

With revolutionary fervor, we will transform Ka Bing’s death and those of other heroes into utmost resolve to advance the revolutionary work in Cebu and contribute to greater victories for the entire revolutionary movement.

Long live the heroes of the revolution! Onward with greater victories!

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/highest-tribute-to-his-life-as-a-leading-cadre-of-the-revolutionary-urban-mass-movement-in-cebu/

CPP/NPA-Central Negros/Negros Island ROC: Punish the criminals behind the Escalante Massacre and all other state-sponspored violence!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 20, 2024): Punish the criminals behind the Escalante Massacre and all other state-sponspored violence!

 


Kanor Alpeche

Deputy Spokesperson

NPA-Central Negros (Leonardo Panaligan Command)

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

September 20, 2024

39 years ago, during the dwindling years of the then US-Marcos dictatorship, thousands of farmers, sugar workers, and fisherfolks along with students, urban poor, professionals and church people, experienced the brutality of the then town Mayor Braulio Lumayno and former Congressman Armando Gustilo of Escalante, Negros Occidental. Placards of legitimate demands and militant chanting were met by automatic rifles and a .60 machine gun coming from the Regional Special Action Forces (RSAF), local policemen, Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF), and unidentified armed individuals, as commanded by Lumayno and Gustilo. The massacre claimed 20 lives and wounded other 30 individuals.

“Today, we remember the tragedy that fell upon the victims of Escalante Massacre. Not only because it exposes the extent of brutality the government officials (of the reactionary state) are willing to do just to preserve their power and wealth, but also because after decades, the justice for the victims remain elusive,” Ka Kanor Alpeche, deputy spokesperson of Leonardo Panaligan Command-New People’s Army (LPC-NPA) pointed out, while recalling the events of Escalante Massacre and its aftermath.

It should be noted that only three low-ranked policemen were ruled guilty to take accountability of the massacre despite the charges against the other personalities involved in the crime. In 2007, they were released on parole. The rest of the criminals behind the massacre lives freely and were even promoted to a higher rank. Additionally, neither Lumayno nor Gustilo was summoned for trial.

“Letting the criminals enjoy their lives while the victims and their families continue to suffer is never a picture of justice prevailing. This is a common scene in a country of violence and impunity, of exploitation and oppression,” Alpeche added.

The monocrop industry of the island bears numerous land and labor issues. As such, the anti-feudal struggle and massive mass campaigns are inevitable. This is the reason why Negros continues to be one of the heavily-militarized regions in the country. Even up to this day, paramilitary and battalions of the military forces are deployed in the area to ensure that no one raises his fist against inhumane living conditions, and to protect the interests of the ruling class.

Every president of the reactionary state leaves a bloody trail behind. The recent ones were recorded during Duterte’s Oplan Tokhang which killed almost 40,000 civilians and his Oplan Sauron 1 and 2 which in which 20 farmers were killed and almost 100 farmers were arrested with fabricated cases. Thousands were also stucked in prison due to trumped up charges, including the Escalante 8 in 2019. The current fascist administration of Marcos Jr. is also responsible for the Jacolbe Massacre in Guihulngan City last 2022 and the Fausto Massacre in South Central Negros last year.

“Our dedication in serving the people includes giving justice to the victims of the reactionary state. The barrel of our guns will rightfully punish the criminals behind the state-sponspored violence,” Alpeche ended with conviction.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/punish-the-criminals-behind-the-escalante-massacre-and-all-other-state-sponspored-violence/

CPP/CIO: Justice for hors de combat NPA fighters killed by AFP in Cagayan

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 16, 2024): Justice for hors de combat NPA fighters killed by AFP in Cagayan

 

PilipinoPilipinoIloco

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

September 16, 2024

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns in the strongest possible terms the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the 5th Infantry Division and the cold-blooded fascist killers of the 502nd Brigade, for war crimes in the killing of three hors de combat Red fighters of the New People’s Army.

The Party condemns the AFP for the extrajudicial killing of Ariel Arbitrario (Ka Karl), Danielle Marie Pelagio (Ka Seed) and Erin Sagsagat (Ka Jorly) last September 11 in Barangay Baliuag, Peñabalanca town, Cagayan province.

Based on field reports, the three were part of a team of six Red fighters who were tasked to conduct consultations and meetings with the local peasant masses. They set up a bivouac outside the community. The claims of the AFP that they encountered a 17- or 20-man team of the NPA are false. In fact, the AFP carried out a planned attack at the break of dawn. The NPA team was quickly overpowered.

Arbitrario, who hails from Davao region, served as a peace consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) during peace negotiations in 2016-2017. He held a document of information under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

In their statements, the AFP claims Arbitrario’s remains were found only two days after the encounter. We have reason to believe that he was, in fact, already under military custody and held for at least one day, during which he was subjected to severe torture before being summarily executed. Despite acknowledging Arbitrario’s killing, the AFP has yet to release his remains.

The Party and the entire revolutionary movement extends its most profound sympathies to the families of Ka Karl, Ka Seed and Ka Jorly. We join you in mourning their deaths which weigh heavily on our hearts and the hearts of the broad peasant masses and minority Agta people of Cagayan Valley whom they loved dearly and served with all their lives.

The Party honors Ka Karl, Ka Seed and Ka Jorly as heroes of the Filipino people. The memories of their deeds for the people and the revolution will live forever.

At the same time, we raise our voices to express our strongest outrage and to demand justice for Ka Karl, Ka Seed and Ka Jorly. We urge the families, human rights organizations and peace advocates to help in seeking justice for their deaths. We urge them to conduct an investigation into the September 11 armed incident. They can seek a post-mortem autopsy of the remains to seek details of their deaths.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/justice-for-hors-de-combat-npa-fighters-killed-by-afp-in-cagayan/

CPP/CIO: Bureaucrat capitalism, corruption and crime under Duterte and Marcos

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 15, 2024): Bureaucrat capitalism, corruption and crime under Duterte and Marcos

 

Pilipino

Download here: PDF

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

September 15, 2024

The conflict between the rival Marcos and Duterte reactionary cliques, both stark representatives of the corrupt and criminal ruling classes, has become increasingly hostile and is rapidly intensifying. The conflict has arisen from the Marcos clique’s relentless pursuit to monopolize political power, even as the Duterte clique aims to shore up and preserve its old political power. These contradictions are intensifying with the approach of the 2025 midterm elections.

The following are key events that form part of the unfolding political situation:

a) For more than ten days, the Marcos regime amassed several thousand police and military forces in Davao City. They besieged the private quasi-religious compound of Duterte stooge and dummy Apollo Quiboloy to carry out his arrest and make him face charges of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and child abuse. Duterte and his cohorts, including his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte, and senators Bato dela Rosa, Bong Go and Robin Padilla, deliberately misled the police and attempted to shield Quiboloy from arrest.

b) Earlier, the Marcos regime also extradited and arrested Alice Guo, former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac. She fled to Indonesia to avoid testifying before the Senate where she is being depicted as part of the web of operations of Chinese criminal syndicates in the Philippines. The Marcos regime is trying to accommodate Guo in order to have her reveal the operations of the Chinese mafia and its links to the Duterte clique.

c) Sara Duterte, who resigned last June as education secretary, displayed outright belligerence when she faced the House Committee on Appropriations. She fended off questions regarding her questionable use of hundreds of millions of pesos in “intelligence funds.” She now faces the prospects of being impeached from office. She refused to appear the second time to apparently provoke the Marcos-dominated Congress into slashing her budget.

d) The so-called Quad committee of the House of Representatives has been investigating in the past weeks the wave of killings during the “war on drugs” under the Duterte regime. Some former Duterte officials have given testimonies that point to Duterte and his closest cohorts as directly responsible for the extrajudicial killings.

These events show that the contradictions between the Marcos and Duterte cliques are quickly coming to a head. It remains to be seen whether this will culminate in Marcos allowing the arrest of Duterte to face trial before the International Criminal Court where he is charged with crimes against humanity. If anything, the massive police and military operations against Quiboloy are an indication of the extent to which the Marcos ruling clique is ready to employ armed strength to crush the political machinery of its opponents. Of course, the Duterte clique will not stand for this, and will likely mobilize all possible resources to defend its political and economic interests.

At any rate, there remains the prospect of this inter-factional conflict leading to an eruption of armed violence that could potentially rock the stability of the ruling Marcos regime, or lead to its further consolidation and monopolization of political power. The consolidation of the Marcos ruling clique, on the other hand, is bound to give rise to new contradictions among the different factions of the ruling classes, as well as among the rival bureaucrat capitalist interests within the Marcos ruling clique. Even now, the US imperialists are busy preparing their reserve horses of political groupings composed of former military officers and anticommunist groups, that are using the slogan of “clean governance” with the view of replacing the Marcos clique in 2028.

Whatever the case, the situation is indicative of the continuing crisis of the ruling system which is thoroughly exposing itself as moribund and rotten to the core, led by bureaucrat capitalists mired in corruption and crime.

The crisis of the ruling system continues to bring great suffering to the majority of the Filipino people. Even as they demand that Duterte and his cohorts be prosecuted and punished for all their crimes, they are fully aware that the system under Marcos is basically unchanged, except for the faces of the people that presently hold the reins of power, whose bureaucrat capitalist avarice knows no bounds.

In the face of unprecedented scale of corruption, accelerated crumbling of social services, rising prices, rapid deterioration of people’s living standards, and even worse forms of US-supported fascist barbarities, the people’s struggle for national democracy has become even more crucial and urgent.
Crime and corruption under the Duterte regime

The ongoing congressional and senate investigations and exposés are baring the extreme rottenness of the ruling system. Beyond the grandstanding of attention-seeking and power-tripping politicians and clowns, these hearings have helped expose how bureaucrat capitalism and criminal activities have melded, and how the reactionaries in power amass large sums of money from illegal drug trade and other nefarious operations.

With both the Senate and House of Representatives dominated by Marcos’ minions and sycophants, the hearings have been directed at exposing the direct involvement of Duterte and his cohorts in the extrajudicial killings of tens of thousands committed by police and criminal elements during his regime’s sham drug war. These hearings are also exposing his links to overseas criminal syndicates involved in the so-called “POGO” operations, which saw an explosion during the time that Duterte was in Malacañang.

The information that are now being publicly bared confirm what the Filipino people have long held: that Duterte’s so-called drug war was a sham and that his anti-drug rhetoric was a hoax to establish himself as the drug megalord. During his time, Duterte employed the police and military to stop the operations of local drug manufacturers to monopolize the supply of drugs, favor drug lords who knelt before him and paid for his protection, and punish those who refuse. He used his sham war on drugs for politics by linking political rivals to drugs to make them targets of assassinations, and used politics to expand his criminal empire.

Duterte and his cohorts have been in collusion with Chinese criminal syndicates who also controlled a network of “gaming operations,” which served as fronts for online scamming, prostitution and other nefarious activities. These illegal operations inside the “POGO hubs” thrived under Duterte’s protection. These criminal syndicates are intertwined with big business operations involved in land grabbing, human trafficking and slave labor, smuggling, illegal mining, land reclamation and others. They benefited from government contracts which covered them with the mantle of legitimacy.

Confirmatory information has come to light pointing to the direct personal culpability of Rodrigo Duterte and his cohorts to the killing spree and other crimes. These strengthen the Filipino people’s conviction to hold Duterte, as well as former police chief Bato dela Rosa, Bong Go and other cohorts, accountable for the innumerable crimes under their rule. These crimes were perpetrated during the course of his sham drug war, as well as in the anticommunist campaign of political repression against the patriotic and democratic mass movement, and the counterrevolutionary war of suppression.
Crime and corruption under the Marcos regime

The Marcos regime, installed through a manufactured “landslide victory” in the 2022 elections, is the biggest byproduct of Duterte’s criminal and bureaucrat-capitalist enterprise. The Marcos-Duterte “uni-team” in 2022 was a hoax, just as the sham drug war was. The façade of unity, however, crumbled just after a year because the greed for wealth and power of both sides is boundless and cannot be equally satisfied amid the crisis of the ruling system and the decreasing resources for sharing.

Since the second half of 2023, the Marcos and Duterte cliques have become increasingly hostile toward one another. Duterte demanded preservation of his military and political influence, economic interests and criminal operations, while Marcos pushed to consolidate, expand and monopolize political and economic power. With his influence and power quickly eroding, Duterte resorted to open antagonism and mobilized resources in an attempt to organize coups and uprisings.

Key military and police officers of Duterte were appointed by Marcos to important government posts, but would later be booted out and replaced with Marcos allies and loyalists. Marcos pretended to accommodate Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, appointing her as secretary of the Department of Education (although her original demand was to head the Department of Defense), and providing with hundreds of millions of pesos of “confidential funds” both as vice president and education secretary.

In the face of public censure of Duterte’s sham war on drugs, Marcos distanced himself by claiming that his regime’s war on drugs is “bloodless.” In fact, the number of people being killed by police and vigilantes continues to rise, according to news monitors. Marcos has mobilized his men to take over the illegal drug trade in the Philippines, which has slowly shifted from one international cartel to another, from the Chinese drug syndicate to the US-Mexico Sinaloa drug cartel, with smuggling going through the Clark Air Base.

Upon assuming power, Marcos secured US support by allowing the expansion of its military presence, increase its military bases, and fortify the Philippines as a stronghold in its strategic plan to “contain” China’s economic and military influence. Following US aims, Marcos cancelled China-funded government contracts for infrastructure projects including the ₱142 billion South Long-Haul railway project, the ₱82-billion Mindanao railway project, and the ₱51-billion Subic-Clark railway project, all of which Duterte contracted with promises of large amounts of kickbacks. Marcos has been assured by the Japanese Import-Export Bank and World Bank to finance those projects with the prospect of pocketing the kickbacks for himself.

Corruption under the Marcos regime has worsened with Marcos controlling several billions of pesos of “confidential and intelligence funds” which are not publicly audited, and other “unprogrammed funds.” Last year, Marcos spent at least 1 billion pesos for overseas trips, jet-setting from one country to another on the pretext of “inviting foreign investors.” Amid widespread poverty and hunger, Marcos and his family are living lavish lifestyles, spending hundreds of millions of pesos in private parties and concerts. He has his hands on the ₱550-billion Maharlika Investment Fund which he uses to favor business friends in exchange for political favors. Government contracts go to Marcos cronies such as Ramon Ang, Enrique Razon, the Aboitizes, the Villars and others, who rake in billions of pesos from so-called public-private partnerships.

One after another, five major criminal cases involving at least ₱202.1 billion against the Marcoses arising from plunder and accumulation of illegal wealth under the 1972-1986 Marcos dictatorship have been dismissed since 2022 (the recent decision of the Supreme Court declaring the 57-hectare Paoay estate in Laoag to be ill-gotten pales in comparison).
Bureaucrat capitalism brings untold sufferings to the Filipino people

The reactionary government of the ruling classes of big bourgeois compradors and big landlords is run by bureaucrat capitalists who use the vast powers of the state to serve the interests of their imperialist masters, their class interests, in general, and the economic and political interests of the ruling faction, and their dynastic, familial or personal interests, in particular.

These bureaucrats, especially high-level government officials, are capitalists because they run the state as a profit-making enterprise, or use the state to make vast amounts of profit for their businesses. They get kickbacks from government contracts or bribe money for favors or protection of illegal activities. The worst of these bureaucrat capitalists plunder hundreds of millions or billions of pesos and stash the money into their overseas bank accounts or other forms of assets. Big bourgeois compradors and big landlords have become bureaucrat capitalists themselves, deftly using executive power or legislation to favor the expansion of their economic empires.

Especially since 1986, the reactionaries have come up with more and more political parties reflecting their fractionalization, often, with the dominant or ruling clique organizing a new one. From the old Nacionalista Party and Liberal Party, they organized such parties as the PDP-Laban, the People Power Party, Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, Lakas-CMD, and now the Partido Federal and so on. These ruling classes are essentially no different from one another.

These parties all stand on the common ground of subservience to foreign economic and military powers, economic policies of liberalization, privatization and deregulation and maintaining the façade of democracy, but go after each other’s throats, in trying to get a bigger slice of the bureaucrat capitalist pie. Reactionary politicians jump from one party affiliation to another, with the ease of changing shirts. As the popular Estrada quip goes, “weather, weather lang.”

The broad masses of the Filipino people are oppressed under the bureaucrat capitalist state. They are overburdened with onerous taxes and innumerable fees and impositions, but do not get enough in terms of state-provided health care, free education, free public housing, or subsidies for production, unemployment, public utilities and other public services. These are instead privatized, commercialized and operated for profit, making people pay twice over, or denying them access to such essential utilities and services.

The big bureaucrat capitalists indulge in luxury in complete disregard of poverty and hunger that surround them. They depict themselves as serving the poor by handing out grocery bags during calamities or during elections, completely ignoring the glaring roots of the people’s suffering, and obscuring the fact that they themselves are responsible for the calamities besetting the masses.

Just outside their gated subdivisions, the vast majority of the Filipino people suffer grave hunger and hardships, while even more, live precariously on the threshold of poverty. They suffer from landlessness, grossly low wages, lack of income, widespread joblessness, economic dispossession, rising prices of goods and services. The living standards of the broad masses of workers, peasants, semiproletariat, the pettybourgeoisie are rapidly deteriorating, while the ruling classes and the bureaucrat capitalists accumulate more and more wealth.

When people organize and fight for their rights and well-being, the bureaucrat capitalists employ the coercive instruments of the state to carry out political repression and fascist suppression. Bureaucrat capitalism is the social and economic basis of fascism. State military and police forces direct their guns against the people and, without hesitation, pull the trigger against those who stand up and fight back. Military and police officers are themselves bureaucrat capitalists who line their pockets with money mulcted from the people.

The Marcos regime is presently the most concentrated expression of the bureaucrat capitalist, fascist and neocolonial state. The worsening forms of oppression and exploitation and the grave socioeconomic conditions under the Marcos regime underscore the necessity and urgency of the Filipino people’s fight to end imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism, and put an end to the semicolonial and semifeudal system.

Acutely aware that there is no future under the current rotten system, the democratic, progressive and revolutionary forces of the Filipino people are ever determined to resist with all their might. The broad masses of the Filipino people must be aroused, organized and mobilized to struggle for national democracy. A broad united front must be built to rally all anti-fascist and democratic forces to expose, isolate and fight the US-Marcos regime and its counter-revolutionary hangers-on. The national democratic forces are the solid and determined core and vanguard of the anti-fascist united front.

No amount of fascist repression can crush the Filipino people’s ardor to fight back against their oppressors and exploiters. They must continue to strengthen their organized strength and wage all forms of mass resistance from strikes to mass demonstrations. They must carry out revolutionary action, principally by waging armed struggle in the form of protracted people’s war, with the strategic aim of seizing political power and establishing the democratic people’s government.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/bureaucrat-capitalism-corruption-and-crime-under-duterte-and-marcos/

CPP/NDF-CNL: Statement of Christians for National Liberation (CNL) in response to Jonathan Malaya’s recent remarks on the GRP-NDFP peace talksReal test of sincerity in peace talks is addressing the roots of armed conflict

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 11, 2024): Statement of Christians for National Liberation (CNL) in response to Jonathan Malaya’s recent remarks on the GRP-NDFP peace talksReal test of sincerity in peace talks is addressing the roots of armed conflict

 

Christians for National Liberation (CNL)

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

September 11, 2024

Jonathan Malaya’s recent statement taunting the revolutionary movement to “prove its sincerity” by abandoning the armed struggle, reeks of hypocrisy and dishonesty. As a revolutionary Christian organization, Christians for National Liberation (CNL) is compelled to expose these blatant lies and double standards perpetuated by Malaya and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).

Demanding proof of the revolutionary movement’s sincerity is nothing more than an attempt to hide the GRP’s own evil intentions. As written in the Scriptures, “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive” (Romans 3:13). Was it not the AFP chief Romeo Brawner Jr. himself who said that their military operations will continue despite the signing of the Oslo Joint Statement last November 2023? Why is the GRP continuing its counterrevolutionary offensives while the CPP-NPA-NDF is asked to abandon armed struggle?

The basic assumption of a negotiation is that both parties are treated on equal footing, but Malaya’s statement reveals the opposite. He imposes on the revolutionary movement to lay down its arms while the GRP continues to bomb peasant communities and violate international humanitarian law, all the while attempting to avoid the substantive issues at the heart of the conflict: social injustice, landlessness, widespread joblessness, and the systemic oppression of the poor.

The Word of God reminds us of the perils of dishonesty and falsehood. As it is written in James 3:11, “Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring?” The answer, of course, is no. In truth, Malaya’s statement merely echoes the government’s desire to force the revolutionary movement to surrender.

We refuse to let Malaya’s lie go unchallenged. The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the entire revolutionary movement has always been clear: we are ready to negotiate peace, but it must be a just and lasting peace, one that addresses the root causes of poverty, exploitation, and inequality. But the GRP, under the mask of “peace and reconciliation,” continues to wage war against the people. Their demands for surrender are not peace negotiations. They are the demands of oppressors looking to crush legitimate resistance and struggle.

The GRP should cease this duplicity and hypocrisy, and to engage in honest, principled peace talks that focus on the fundamental issues that have driven this conflict for decades. Only then can we begin to move towards true and lasting peace, based not on surrender, but on justice.

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/real-test-of-sincerity-in-peace-talks-is-addressing-the-roots-of-armed-conflict/

CPP/Panay ROC/Panay RC: Extol and Etch in History the Memories of the 11 August Martyrs and Heroes of Panay!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Sep 11, 2024): Extol and Etch in History the Memories of the 11 August Martyrs and Heroes of Panay!

 

HiligaynonPilipino

Panay Regional Operational Command (Coronacion "Waling-waling" Chiva Command)

CPP Panay Regional Committee

September 11, 2024

August 30, 2024 | Highest honors and tribute are given by the Panay Regional Party Committee to Vicente Hinojales (Ka Hadjie/Ka LG/Ka Jorge), Concha Araneta-Bocala (Ka Jojo/Ka Unding/Ka Minay/Ka Marta/Ka Ling/Ka Tonya), Rewilmar ‘Vivian’ Torrato (Ka Mia/Kikay/Minerva/Mara/Moray) and to the eight other August Martyrs and Heroes in Panay. They were Party cadres, Red commanders and fighters who bravely fought against the fascist Marcos regime to defend and advance the democratic interests of the exploited and oppressed Panayanon and the entire Filipino people towards the genuine freedom and democracy.

Ka Hadjie, Ka Minay and Ka Minerva together with Romulo Iturriaga Gangoso (Ka Reagan/Biboy/Pedik), Aurelio Bosque (Ka Zarco/Baijan/Rio), Jose Jerry Tacaisan (Ka Boy/Miller), Juvylene Silverio (Ka Porang/Inday/Kaykay), Benjamin Cortel (Ka Amor/Ruby/Mamang), Armando Sabares (Ka Nene/Kamlon), John Paul Capio (Ka Roling/Ronron), and Jielmor Gauranoc (Ka Doc/Tango/Baron), were killed in the series of alleged encounters against the forces of 12IB, 82IB, 61IB and PNP-RMFB last August 5, 7, 8, 15 in Calinog and Lambunao, Iloilo and last August 24 in Valderrama, Antique.

We give our special praise and tribute to Ka Hadjie, Ka Minay, and Ka Minerva. Ka Hadjie was a member of the Central Committee and served as the Secretary of the Panay Regional Party Committee since the latter part of 2016. He led the implementation of the Third Rectification Campaign and the 5-year Program of the Central Committee and untiringly imparted the advanced experiences of his region of origin in Mindanao. His unfamiliarity of Panay and the comrades did not hinder him to effectively perform his responsibility. He was an example of humility and steadfastness in the implementation of the decisions of the Regional Committee and of the higher organs of the Party. Ka Minay was the Second Deputy Secretary of the Regional Committee and was one the pioneers of the revolutionary movement in Panay since 1972. She led the Second Rectification Movement especially the drafting of the 13-year summing-up of the revolutionary movement in Panay from 1980 to 1993 and the struggle against the factionalism of the Tabara-Dumalaog clique. She was an example of boundless optimism and selfless devotion to the cause of the masses, the Party and the armed revolution. Despite her advanced age of 71 and the physical disability she suffered in 2021 when she almost got blind as a result of an eye stroke, she opted to remain in the countryside to continue leading the Party and the NPA. Ka Minerva was a member of the Executive Committee of Regional Committee and served as the secretary of the Front Party Committee in Central Panay and later in Southern Panay. She exhibited a boundless sense of responsibility, diligence, efficiency, and an unwavering determination in the face of hardships and sacrifices. Truly they were big losses to the Party leadership in Panay.

The Panay Regional Party Committee mourns with the families, all the Party cadres and members, Red commanders and fighters of the NPA, the allied organizations of the NDF and all the friends and supporters of the cause of the national democratic revolution on the loss of the 11 Martyrs and Heroes. The sadness that we felt in the death of the 11 Martyrs was heavier than Mt. Madyaas but our anger against the fascist Marcos Jr regime and his blood-thirsty brute military was even greater and heavier.

The Panay Regional Party Committee strongly condemns the 3rd Infantry Division and the 301st Brigade of the Philippine Army and the PNP Region 6 in the brutal death and violation of the human rights of the nine comrades, the Aglonok 5 (Ka Reagan, Ka Nene, Ka Zarco, Ka Kaykay and Ka Tanggo) and the Cabatangan 4 (Ka Hadjie, Ka Minay, Ka Minerva, Ka Miller) who were hors de combat during the 3rd ID’s alleged encounters last August 7, 8 and 15. They were starving for more than two weeks because of food shortage, were physically and mentally exhausted (tiredness and lack of sleep) due to several days of maneuver in the steep and rigid mountains, and majority of them were old and sickly (diabetic, hypertensive). Based on the preliminary investigation of the units of the NPA, the masses on the villages near the encounter site did not hear any exchange of gunfire. Some members of the families of the martyrs and some media personnel also reported that there were signs of torture and the wounds were numerous indicating “overkill”. The laws on the conduct of war based on the International Humanitarian Law and the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law states that the rights of the hors the combat or those who were incapacitated to fight should be guaranteed.

The 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army and the PNP-Region 6 have a long list of violations of Human rights—killing of the Tumandok kid Rodelyn Aguirre in 2012, Antique 7 massacre in 2018, Tumandok 9 massacre in 2020, killing of Rooosevelt, Tapaz Barangay Captain Julie Catamin in 2021, abduction and killing of Ka Blu and Ka Hope in 2022 and many more.

The 11 August Martyrs and Heroes of Panay were the recent mark of the hundreds of years of struggle of the Panayanons against the foreign and local oppression and repression dating back to the uprising against the colonial Spanish, the colonial wars of the Americans and Japanese up to the struggle against the fascist Marcos Jr regime and its predecessors.

The 11 Martyrs and Heroes who came from the four provinces of Panay and from Mindanao represent almost all classes and sectors of the Philippine society who were united on the principle of serving the people in the cause of the national democratic revolution through armed struggle. They stood on this principle and cause until their last breath. The cause and principles they have fought for must always remain fresh in our memories and we should enliven it in our daily practice. We should embrace and imbibe their characters of being strong against hardships and sacrifices, bravery in facing death, boundless optimism, tireless and selfless service to the people, and loyalty to the Party and the revolution. Through this we could implement the first step in giving justice to the death of the 11 Martyrs and Heroes and the thousands of others before them.

The Panay Regional Party Committee commands all units of the Party and the NPA in the island to hold tribute and memorial meetings for the 11 Martyrs and Heroes. We also call on the allied organizations of the NDF and other friends of the revolution to conduct similar activities. We encourage everyone to share other forms of tribute and reminiscence like statements in the PRWC, alternative media and mainstream media, poems, anecdotes and other cultural pieces. We will mark August 26 every year as the Day of the Martyrs and Heroes of Panay.

Above all, the Panay Regional Party Committee calls all those physically and mentally able especially those coming from the student-youth, workers and professional sectors to join the NPA. This is the time with utmost significance for you to contribute your talents and skills for the advance of the armed struggle as the primary and decisive form of the revolutionary struggle to ensure the victory of the national democratic revolution and socialism.

The statements of the commanders of the 3rd ID and 301st IBde of the Philippine Army that the death of the three top officials of the Panay Regional Party Committee is the mark of the end of the revolutionary movement in Panay were merely daydreams (purely illusions) and only shows their idiocy on the history and character of the revolution. The history of any society in the world has seen the birth and growth of revolutionary struggle of the people as long as the exploitation and oppression of the broad masses exist. History itself has also proven that for every fallen leader in the battlefield there are more that arise. In the case of the Communist Party of the Philippines, there is a system of a chain of leadership that whenever a position becomes vacant, another cadre immediately assumes the responsibility of the leadership.

The revolutionary forces in Panay will surely overcome whatever losses and setbacks they have faced these past years and will frustrate the illusions of the 3rd Infantry Division to end the revolutionary movement in Panay by the end of September and the year 2024. Through the guidance of the Party and the Rectification Movement that is currently implemented, the internal mistakes and shortcomings that were the roots of the losses and setbacks will be identified and thus will become guide to rise and advance again. The remaining cadres and members of the Party and the Red commanders and fighters of the NPA vow they will continue igniting the flame of the armed revolution until its victory.

Always remember the 11 August Martyrs and Heroes of Panay!
Long live the New People’s Army!
Long live the National Democratic Front of the Philippines!
Long live the Communist Party of the Philippines!
Long live the Filipino people!

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/extol-and-etch-in-history-the-memories-of-the-11-august-martyrs-and-heroes-of-panay/