Photo: 40 years of rebellion

From the Manila Standard Today (Apr 24): Photo: 40 years of rebellion



Supporters of the communist group National Democratic Front hold a lightning rally on a street in Santa Cruz, Manila, denouncing the government. The NDF celebrates its 40th foundation day today. Danny Pata

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/04/24/40-years-of-rebellion/

Sulu Sultan fears new KL attacks

From the Manila Standard Today (Apr 24): Sulu Sultan fears new KL attacks

The Sulu sultanate on Tuesday expressed fears the Malaysian government will renew its attacks on the sultan’s royal security force now in Sabah once the Malaysian election is over.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, said that although there is a lull in the fighting between the RSF and Malaysian troopers, they expect clashes to erupt soon, especially with the RSF beefing up its force with 1,000 fighters from Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.

“I expect clashes to happen soon. At the moment, the Malaysians are very busy with their upcoming election and do not want to disturb Sabah where there are more than 600,000 Bangsa Suluk residents and voters,” he said, referring to long-time Filipino Muslim residents of Sabah.

Although the Suluks are registered voters in Malaysia, they still maintain strong ties with Sulu, according to Idjirani.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is running for reelection in the May 5 Malaysian general election is afraid of offending them, Idjirani said. “It might cost him votes,” Idjirani said.

The sultanate earlier announced that at least 1,000 fighters from Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi have landed in Sabah to augment the royal forces and conduct guerilla warfare against the Malaysian forces.

Idjirani said the armed volunteers, mostly members of the Moro National Liberation Front, are fully-armed and some of them carry anti-tank weapons.

At present, Idjirani said the 400-strong RSF led by the sultan’s brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, remain mobile in Lahad Datu evading Malaysian security units.
“They have retreated a bit and have taken positions away from Kampung Tanduo and Tanjung Batu,” he said.

Idjirani said the Malaysian military have strengthened their positions at Tawau, which is Sabah’s third largest town after Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan to capture arriving reinforcements.

Hajib Mujaha Hashim, chairman of the MNLF’s Islamic Command Council earlier said the volunteer MNLF fighters are seasoned guerilla fighters.

“They (reinforcement) are experienced in guerilla warfare. They are there not officially as MNLF but we could not prevent MNLF forces from going there and reinforcing the royal army of the Sultanate of Sulu in the area,” Hashim said.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/04/24/sulu-sultan-fears-new-kl-attacks/

US Navy execs told to answer reef cases

From the Manila Standard Today (Apr 24): US Navy execs told to answer reef cases

The Supreme Court has approved a petition for a writ filed by a multi-sectoral group seeking higher penalties against and the criminal prosecution of the US Navy officers aboard a minesweeper that ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef on Jan. 17.

The writ, however, is procedural in nature and does not have the effect of a temporary restraining order. It only ordered the respondents in the case to answer the petition within 10 days of receiving it.

The high court also did not immediately issue a temporary environment protection order that was being sought by the petitioners on the UNESCO world heritage site.
But the Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals “for hearing, reception of evidence and rendition of judgment.”

The respondents in the case are Scott Swift in his capacity as commander of the US 7th Fleet; Mark Rice, the commanding officer of the minesweeper USS Guardian, the government officials led by President Benigno Aquino III, the military and the members of the Cabinet.

The USS Guardian damaged about 2,000 square meters of the Tubbataha Reef when it ran aground after its officers ignored the warnings of the reef’s minders that they were entering a protected site.

The ship was then removed piece by piece, and its last section was taken out on March 29. Its officers were relieved a few days later.

The petitioners in the case are seeking a fine against the United States that is 12 times the initial estimate of the Philippine government.

They say the just compensation for the damage to the Tubbataha Reef is between $16.8 million and $27 million and not $1.4 million, citing the $15 million that the US Navy paid to the state of Hawaii after the USS Port Royal went aground in 2009 and damaged a reef in Oahu, which is bigger but not a World Heritage Site like the Tubbataha. They say the Tubbataha’s biodiversity concentration is 2.3 times more than the Oahu reef’s.

The petitioners also want to prosecute the respondents in the case, saying the US Navy cannot invoke immunity under the Visiting Forces Agreement. They also want the Supreme Court to stop the military exercises between the Philippine and US forces.

The petitioners in the case include Bishop Pedro Arigo of Puerto Princesa, Bishop Deogracias Iniguez Jr. of Caloocan, Frances Quimpo, the group Kalikasan Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna and the Kilusang Mayo Uno.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/04/24/us-navy-execs-told-to-answer-reef-cases/

NPA defy Aquino mandate, intensifies operations in Compostela Valley

From the Manila Bulletin (Apr 24): NPA defy Aquino mandate, intensifies operations in Compostela Valley

The New People’s Army (NPA) is seemingly testing the patience of President Aquino after renewing its tactical offensive by firing a grenade launcher on a police station and abducting a soldier in Compostela Valley.

This developed as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) ordered its armed wing, NPA, to intensify the conduct of roadblocks in an apparent taunt to Aquino’s instruction for a crackdown on all NPA checkpoints following the ambush on 78-year old Gingoog City Mayor Ruth Guingona, mother of Sen. Teofisto Guingona, on Saturday that left two of her civilian escorts dead and inflicted injuries on the lady local chief executive.

Senior Supt. Camilo Cascolan, director of the Compostela Valley police, said the first attack occurred at around 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday when communist rebels fired a grenade launcher towards the Mabini Police Station.

“The explosive hit the second floor of outside the building and its glass window,” said Cascolan, noting that the there was no reported casualty during the blast.
“The grenade launcher was fired at the time when there was a power outage in the area,” he added.

At around 7 a.m. Wednesday, a group of communist rebels engaged the operatives of the 71^st Infantry Batallion in Barangay Elizalde in Maco town.

There was also no reported casualty in the clash but Cascolan said another group of rebels abducted a soldier who was on the way to the public market.

“There were three of them but the two other soldiers were able to escape,” said Cascolan.

In a statement, the CPP said it has ordered the NPA to enforce the prohibition against the bearing of firearms by election candidates and their escorts while campaigning in areas within what it described as “jurisdiction of the people's democratic government”.

“The CPP dismissed Aquino's orders as empty bluster which the AFP and PNP are incapable of enforcing. The armed forces and police personnel of the reactionary government are thinly stretched and cannot possibly cover all areas under the jurisdiction of the people's organs of political power,” the statement read.

"In accordance with the policies issued by the people's democratic government, the New People's Army can setup checkpoints or roadblocks as part of its retinue of measures to maintain peace and order and ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of the masses against the dirty and violent conduct of the reactionary elections,” it added.

The 4,000-strong NPA has been waging more than four decades of armed struggle against the government, which in turn, has been encouraging the group to go back to the negotiating table. The recent peace talks, however, hit a snag.

http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=9064&sid=1&subid=5

PNP planning crackdown on NPA operations despite limited resources

From the Manila Bulletin (Apr 23): PNP planning crackdown on NPA operations despite limited resources

With limited personnel and resources, the Philippine National Police (PNP) wants to strategize operations against the communist rebels in eastern part of Mindanao.

And as far as he is concerned, PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima wants to make the police presence felt in areas where the New People’s Army (NPA) is getting its funds and other supplies.

“They are engaged in extortion activities and they would naturally go in areas where they get their resources like mining and plantations in eastern Mindanao,” said Purisima.

Purisima made the statement in reaction to the series of tactical offensives of the NPA in eastern Mindanao, from harassments of police and military detachments, ambuscades, to abduction of policemen and militiamen.

On Monday, no less than President Aquino ordered the crackdown on all checkpoints set up by the communist rebels in response to the ambush on the convoy of the mother of Teofisto Guingona III, Mayor Ruth Guingona, in Gingoog City that left two people dead and two others wounded, including the local chief executive herself.

Purisima, however, admitted the difficulty in tracking down the “checkpoint” set up by the communist rebels, saying the NPA checkpoints are usually being set up in areas and during the time that they know government troops could not easily catch them.

“Their so-called checkpoints are not permanent compared to the ones being set up by the PNP and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines). They usually do it in the absence of policemen and soldiers,” said Purisima.

As such, the official wants to focus police operations and intelligence build up in the companies and establishments that are usually being victimized by the communist rebels in their alleged extortion activities.

Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo, Jr., PNP spokesman, said they are expecting the deployment of elite police forces to run after the communist rebels in eastern Mindanao.

On Monday, the military said a battalion of soldiers, composed of roughly 500 people, will be deployed in Misamis Oriental to track down and contain the movement of the local communist rebels. Gingoog City is in Misamis Oriental.

“We have forces dedicated for that job (operations against NPA) and these will certainly be tapped with the order of the President,” said Cerbo.

The official is referring to the Special Action Force and Public Safety Battalion and Company whose personnel are all trained in counter-insurgency operations.

The 4,000-strong NPA has been waging more than four decades of armed struggle against the government. The group reached its peak in the 1980s with some 26,000 members across the country.

http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=8934&sid=1&subid=2

Soldier honored

From the Manila Bulletin (Apr 24): Soldier honored

The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has honored and awarded a Filipino soldier with the UN Mission Service Medals at the UNMOGIP headquarters in Islamabad.

The award was bestowed on Major Ricado M. Lucero Jr. who served as UNMOGlP’s Chief Operations Officer and the third-in-command of the mission since February 2012. His tour-of-duty had been extended twice this year. UNMOGIP has a pending request for the further extension of the tour of duty of Major Lucero until August, 2013.

Major General Young Bum Choi, UNMOGIP’s Chief Military Observer and Head of the Mission, informed Philippine Ambassador to Pakistan Domingo D. Lucenano Jr. at the sidelines of the awarding ceremony that he has chosen Lucero as his “right hand man” because of the Filipino’s professional military training and competence. UNMOGIP has been operating in the Kashmir region for over 60 years.

http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=9010&sid=1&subid=2

Marines to Misamis Or.

From Malaya (Apr 24): Marines to Misamis Or.

Two battalions pitted vs. 70 NPAs

A BATTALION of Marines is being deployed to Misamis Oriental in the wake of last Saturday’s ambush of the convoy of Gingoog City Mayor Ruth Guingona, wife of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. and mother of Sen. Teofisto Guingona III.

The deployment followed the call of Sen. Teofisto Guingona Jr. for increased police and military presence in the province after the ambush staged by the New People’s Army, which left two bodyguards of the mayor dead.

The Marines will be in addition to the Army’s 58th Infantry Battalion which is currently deployed in the province.

A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the usual operational setup is “one on one,” or one battalion (about 500 men) per province. The exception is in high-risk areas like Maguindanao, Sulu and Basilan where several battalions are deployed to address threats which include the Abu Sayyaf.

In Misamis Oriental, the only threat group is the NPA, and only about 60 to 70 NPA rebels are operating there, the official said.

The deployment of the additional forces was apparently decided on by the military hierarchy on the request of Senator Guingona who belongs to President Aquino’s Liberal Party. “That would be the reason,” he said.

Senator Guingona has also asked the Commission on Elections to place the province in its list of election hot spots. His request has also been granted.

Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. said, “We already placed it as an area of immediate concern…That is a big deal already since it is the second stage.”

Based on PNP guidelines, there are four degrees of concern this election -- area of concern, area of immediate concern, area of great concern, and those needed to be placed under Comelec control.

“This is really a matter of the police and military. We just got involved a little since it involved a mayor,” Brillantes also said.

Guingona said Monday Brillantes had committed to consider the province an election hot spot.

The Marine battalion is arriving today or tomorrow in Misamis Oriental, according to Maj. Leo Bongosia, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. It will be placed under the operational control of the 4th ID.

He said the battalion is coming from Metro Manila, and part of the unit already arrived in Butuan City yesterday morning. He said the troops are undergoing orientation before their actual deployment.

The headquarters of the Marine Corps is based in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City where the 3rd Marine Battalion recently underwent mandatory retraining and refurbishing.

Bongosia said 4th ID commander Maj. Gen. Nestor Añonuevo described the deployment of the Marines as a “big boost to the present troops (in the province) in the conduct of security operations.”

He said there are few soldiers in the province, resulting in gaps in the operations, “so we have to fill in that gap.”

Bongosia said the deployment of the Marines is in compliance with a directive issued by higher headquarters Monday night. He said the plan was discussed right after the ambush of Guingona’s convoy.

He said the Marines would help secure the elections and the communities, and “perhaps negate any hostile plan of the NPA or any armed group that may (sow violence) in the elections.”

Senator Guingona has raised the issue of “checkpoints” being set up by the NPA, and asked why the military is “allowing” the practice.

In a statement issued Sunday, an NPA spokesman said the mayor’s convoy ignored an NPA “checkpoint” and fired at NPA rebels manning it.

Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz, newly installed chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said what the NPA put up was a “roadblock” and not a “checkpoint.”

He said a checkpoint is put up by the military and the police who flag down and check commuters passing by, and with no specific target.

“What the NPAs did was a deliberate roadblock. These (roadblocks) are designed to harass or ambush certain targets, whether politicians or military. They know who are passing in a certain area at a certain time so they put up the roadblock,” he said.

Cruz said the rebels apparently knew that Mayor Guingona went to the interior part of the city so they put up the roadblock. “They know that she is going to pass again that area so they waited for her (at the roadblock),” he said.

Asked how the military would prevent such moves by the rebels, Cruz said politicians should inform the military when going to certain areas “so that we will provide area security and route security in the area where they will pass.”

Brillantes said the Comelec believes the NPA should not be allowed to set up checkpoints.

“Even if it is not the elections, the NPA should not have checkpoints,” he said.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/29482-marines-to-misamis-or

Marantan breaks silence, says Atimonan massacre normal police operation

From the Daily Tribune (Apr 24): Marantan breaks silence, says Atimonan massacre normal police operation

Beleaguered police officer Hansel Marantan has formally denied the multiple murder charges filed against him and other police and military men before the Department of Justice (DoJ) for the killings of more than a dozen men in Atimonan, Quezon on Jan. 6.

In his 22-page counter affidavit Marantan echoed his earlier insistence that the deaths of businessmen Vic Siman and his group occurred in a “legitimate operational plan formulated to neutralize syndicated and organized groups in the region.”

His fellow respondent, former Region IV-A police director Chief Supt. James Andres Melad, made the same claim.

“I merely acted in the fulfillment of my duty as a police officer, or in the lawful exercise of a right or office… The death of the 13 occupants was never planned. It was a chanced occurrence,” Marantan said.

Marantan, who remains confined at the Philippine National Police General Hospital, also challenged the credibility of the three eyewitnesses that led the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into concluding the incident was a “rubout.”

Citing lack of ample evidence, he also belied allegation that there was conspiracy among the uniformed men to kill Siman and his group stemming from a supposed turf war on jueteng operations in Southern Tagalog.

“I specifically and vehemently deny the motive imputed to me in the NBI executive report. The conclusions in the report are actually conjectures or speculations without any iota of evidence or proof, testimonial or documentary, adduced to support the same,” Marantan stressed.

Finally, he questioned the active participation of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in the NBI probe, pointing out that she even “acted as movie director, so to speak, during the re-enactment.”

“If truth be told, Secretary De Lima has been after my neck from the time she became the chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights... in connection to a police operation sometime in 2005,” he alleged.

Marantan answered the charges before the DoJ despite his plea to suspend the preliminary investigation (PI) being conducted by a panel led by Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva.

In an urgent motion, he told the DoJ panel of a petition he filed with the Supreme Court (SC) last April 8 questioning the conduct of the NBI probe, which he said violated his constitutional right to due process.

He asked the panel to observe “judicial courtesy” and await the ruling of the high court on his petition before proceeding with the PI.

In his petition, Marantan asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order enjoining the DoJ from proceeding with the PI.

He cited an earlier statement of De Lima that the incident was “definitely no shootout,” which he said was a “prejudgment of the case.”

He believes the DoJ should instead pass the case to the Office of the Ombudsman for a fair and just investigation.

Melad appeared before the DoJ to also deny the charges against them. He presented Supt. Glenn Dumlao, head of the Regional Public Safety Battalion of Region IV-A, as witness and insisted the operation was legitimate and sanctioned by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

The charges were filed last month after fact-finding probe of NBI showed — based on accounts of three eyewitnesses and physical and forensic evidence — that some of the victims were already lying on the ground, slumped on the seat or ready to surrender but were still shot dead by operatives.

Investigators, who pointed to “jueteng turf war” as possible motive behind the killings, also cited proofs of tampering of the crime scene.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/nation/item/13286-marantan-breaks-silence-says-atimonan-massacre-normal-police-operation

Reds dare Noy to remove all rebel checkpoints

From the Daily Tribune (Apr 24): Reds dare Noy to remove all rebel checkpoints

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) taunted President Aquino to make good his “empty bluster” to dismantle communist checkpoints all over the country as the rebel political group said neither the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) nor the Philippine National Police (PNP) is capable of carrying out Aquino’s order.

The CPP said in a statement the AFP and the PNP are incapable of enforcing the presidential order to get rid of checkpoints established by its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) in various parts of the country in the aftermath of the ambush of Gingoog City Mayor Ruth Guingona, wife for former Vice President Teofisto Guingona.

“Malacañang and its cohorts are only deluding themselves in making assertions that there is only one political authority in the country,” the CPP said in a statement.

“The CPP dismissed Aquino’s orders as empty bluster which the AFP and PNP are incapable of enforcing…the armed forces and the police personnel of the reactionary government are thinly stretched and cannot possibly cover all areas under the jurisdiction of the people’s organs of political power,” the CPP said.

Last Saturday, Mrs Guingona’s group was on its way back to Gingoog City proper after attending a barangay fiesta when NPA rebels fired upon her vehicle along Barangay Binakalan, Ginggoog City, resulting in the killing of three of civilians.

Mrs Guingona sustained minor injuries while a policeman-escort was also wounded.

The NPA, through Jorge Madlos, immediately admitted responsibility over the ambush and claimed that Mrs Guingona’s vehicle ignored an NPA checkpoint, prompting communist fighters to shoot.

Aquino vowed to find the armed group that attacked Guingona and her companions and bring them to justice.

In a speech during a meeting with local leaders and residents of Balingasag, Misamis Oriental near the ambush site, Aquino said he issued a directive to law enforcement agencies to pursue the group behind the violence.

The other day, Aquino instructed the AFP to dismantle road blocks set up by the NPA particularly in supposed areas they group control.

Deputy Presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said that while the government’s intention was to stop illegal activities of the rebel group, the AFP has limitations and doesn’t have the resources to guard all hot spots in the country.

“Given the limitations of the forces that we have, the military cannot be in all hot spots of the insurgents, that is the reason for our call to local candidates to provide us with information that would help the AFP in their operations,” Valte said.

The Palace official also appealed to candidates campaigning for the May 13 elections to reject the demand of the NPA for them to pay “permit-to-campaign” fees.

“We have consistently asked local candidates not to succumb to these demands and to report any of these—for lack of a better word—’requests for payments’ to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) so the proper response can be made in those particular areas,” she said.

Reports said the NPA has been demanding from candidates substantial fees for permission to campaign in the areas where the rebel group operates.

The government ordered the deputation of law enforcement agencies as well as the AFP to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible conduct of the May 13 automated national and local elections.

However, the CPP said the NPA will continue to set up checkpoints within its areas of operations as it reiterated its warning against politicians who want to campaign within their strongholds not to carry firearms.

“The CPP reiterated its order for the NPA to enforce the prohibition against the bearing of firearms by election candidates and their escorts while campaigning in areas within the jurisdiction of the people’s democratic government,” the CPP said.

The CPP said that the “NPA can set up checkpoints or roadblocks as part of its retinue of measures to maintain peace and order and ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of the masses against the dirty and violent conduct of the reactionary elections.”

The AFP deployed a battalion of Marines in Misamis Oriental following the ambush against Guingona that resulted in the killing of three of her aides.

Maj. Leo Bongosia, spokesman of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (ID), confirmed the deployment of an additional battalion of Marines in Misamis Oriental but claimed that the sending of fresh troops in the area was primarily meant for the upcoming May 13 elections and not specifically due to the ambush against Mrs Guingona.

“That’s true. The AFP added troops in Misamis Oreintal but the reason behind that is not because of what happened to Mayor Ruthie Guingona but the primary thrusts given to the additional troops is for the incoming elections,” said Bongosia.

However, Bongosia admitted that the deployment of fresh troops in Misamis Oreintal was only decided after President Aquino’s pronouncement for the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to dismantle New People’s Army (NPA) checkpoints in various parts of the country.

“Not necessarily in response to the ambush but in general situation in Misamis Oriental,” said Bongosia.

Bognovia admitted that 4th ID troops are “thin in numbers” considering their deployment.

“There is some gap…so we have to fill in that gap,” said Bongosia.

The NPA admitted responsibility over the ambush against Mrs Guingona’s group last Saturday night along Barangay Binakalan, Ginggoog City. Three civilian aides of the mayor were killed while she and a policeman-escort were wounded.

The military spokesman stressed that the 4th ID welcomed the additional troops as huge boost for the conduct of security and development operations in the area and also for the maintenance of peaceful and orderly elections next month.

Bongosia said that a battalion of Marines will be arriving in Misamis Oriental by today or Thursday.

The Marines, Bongosia said, would be placed under the operational control of the 4th ID, led by Maj. Gen. Nestor Anonuevo.

Presently, the Army’s 58th Infantry Battlion (IB) is the one responsible over Misamis Oriental province.

For his part, Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) chief Maj. Gen. Ricardo Rainier Cruz urged political candidates to coordinate with government security forces when campaigning.

“Before they go to certain places, we should be informed beforehand and we will provide area security and route security along their route,” said Cruz, who has direct supervision over 4th ID.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/13289-reds-dare-noy-to-remove-all-rebel-checkpoints

CPP: CPP reiterates order for NPA to prohibit candidates with armed escorts

From the CPP Website (Apr 23): CPP reiterates order for NPA to prohibit candidates with armed escorts

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today reiterated its order for the New People’s Army (NPA) to enforce the prohibition against the bearing of firearms by election candidates and their escorts while campaigning in areas within the jurisdiction of the people’s democratic government as well as other policies concerning the conduct of the reactionary elections to ensure the protection of the people’s rights and welfare.

The CPP issued this pronouncement after Benigno Aquino III, president of the Republic of the Philippines, called on the state armed forces and police to dismantle the checkpoints being setup by the NPA in various parts of the country. The CPP said “Malacañang and its cohorts are only deluding themselves in making assertions that there is only one political authority in the country.”

The CPP dismissed Aquino’s orders as “empty bluster which the AFP and PNP are incapable of enforcing.” The CPP pointed out that “the armed forces and police personnel of the reactionary government are thinly stretched and cannot possibly cover all areas under the jurisdiction of the people’s organs of political power. As before, the NPA continue to operate in 90% of the Philippine countryside where the state armed forces and police are absent.”

“In accordance with the policies issued by the people’s democratic governnment, the New People’s Army (NPA) can setup checkpoints or roadblocks as part of its retinue of measures to maintain peace and order and ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of the masses against the dirty and violent conduct of the reactionary elections.”

“Commands of the NPA and Party committees at various levels can issue specific policies in order to ensure that these checkpoints and other similar forcible measures are conducted only against the most notorious armed political scoundrels who violently oppose the policies of the people’s government. Furthermore, the NPA can reach deep into its rich experience to employ a broad range of tactics to compel reactionary political candidates to abide by the policies of the people’s government without resorting to the use of armed force,” pointed out the CPP.

“The policies of the people’s government governing the conduct of the reactionary elections in the revolutionary areas have been largely enforced without resorting to armed force through the cooperation and coordination of the political candidates,” added the CPP. The CPP reiterated its call urging all candidates participating in the reactionary elections to coordinate with the local revolutionary forces and adhere to the prevailing policies.

While cautioning against setting up checkpoints that may become fixed targets of the enemy, the CPP said “the NPA can setup checkpoints and roadblocks as part of its strategy to lure in enemy military and police personnel to make them targets of ambuscades or draw them away from points of concentration to relieve pressure from other NPA units.”

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130423_cpp-reiterates-order-for-npa-to-prohibit-candidates-with-armed-escorts