Lumad students long for peace in their schools

From the pro-CPP online publication Bulatlat (Nov 8): Lumad students long for peace in their schools

“The soldiers came and burned our school. They said it was a school of the New People’s Army.” – Epoy, 19, a Manobo from Mindanao

Manobo student Epoy, 19, has been running away from militarization since childhood. He and his family have moved from one town to another, hoping to get away from soldiers and their hostility. But their effort was in vain.

“From the mountains of Bukidnon, we fled to the mountains of Compostela Valley. We helped build a school there. It was just a hut so that somehow, children could learn. But the soldiers came and burned our school. They said it was a school of the New People’s Army (NPA),” Epoy said in an interview with Bulatlat.com.

“I thought the military is supposed to serve and protect the Filipino people. But they are the ones who do harm on the people,” he said.

Epoy’s situation has not changed up to now. He once again fled the mountains of Compostela Valley and came to the hinterlands of Talaingod, Davao Del Norte, only to find himself caught in the middle of another military operation, which subjected their school to harassment and disrupted their classes.

 

Students of the Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center, Inc. (STTICLCI), teachers and community leaders have traveled from Davao Del Norte to Manila to redress their grievances to the government. (Photo by A. Umil/ Bulatlat.com)

 

Epoy and 12 of his Manobo classmates of the Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center, Inc. (STTICLCI), teachers and community leaders have traveled from Davao Del Norte to Manila to redress their grievances to the government. For a month, they will hold a cultural caravan entitled “Og Iskwela Puron (To school… I wish)” which highlights their journey of hope and struggle for their right to education through a showcase of their traditional arts and culture.

A kick-off activity was held on Nov. 5, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon, City where the Teatro Salugpongan, a cultural group of the Manobo children, performed a stage play depicting the violence inflicted by the soldiers and how they stand up to fight for their right to education.

In March this year, constant military operations and military encampment in or near schools and households and other human rights violations, drove them to evacuate their community for more than a month.

Just this October, drunken soldiers under the 68th IBPA, who encamped no more than 50 meters away from the school, successively fired at some STTICLCI classrooms and school farm. Epoy and other residents have kept their ground but the military presence has kept them anxious.

In the nearby region of Caraga, school children are among the 1,783 Lumad residents who evacuated from 16 hinterland communities to evade militarization in the bordering towns of Lianga, San Agustin and Tago. Since Oct. 27, they have been staying at the barangay (village) center of Diatagon, Lianga.

Seven community schools in the three towns stopped classes, affecting 569 students.

Right to education

Indigenous people in far-flung areas have little or no access to the government’s social services like education. With the help of the people’s organization, schools were built for the children of the indigenous people who have to travel for hours to go to school in the town center.

Epoy and his classmates were grateful to the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines for taking the lead in building their school. When they were beginning to fulfil their dreams, state security forces arrived.

“How can we study peacefully? How can we help our parents and the community if the soldiers are building their camps in our school? We are here today to seek your support so that we can continue with our studies and we could go back to our peaceful lives,” Lando, 15 years old said.

“Hayaan ninyo kaming sumayaw sa saliw ng aming katutubong musika, hindi sa tunog ng mga bala (Let us dance to the rhythm of our indigenous music, not to the sound of gunfire)!” he said.

 Roland Dalin, 15, dreams to be a people’s lawyer someday, to fight those who have consistently violated their human rights.

“I want to be a lawyer when I finish school so that I can defend the indigenous people from the soldiers. I want to defend their right to education,” Dalin said in an interview with Bulatlat.com.

Madella Santiago, Save our Schools (SOS) Network spokeswoman said Lando’s plea is only one of the lumad children’s many pleas for help. She said there 39 cases of military attacks on schools – encampment, threats and intimidation of students and teachers – that have been documented by the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in southern Mindanao alone.

“This is quite alarming as these alternative schools, borne out of the efforts of lumad organizations and support groups and aims to provide education services for indigenous children, are under threat by the government who have long neglected them and deprived them of basic social services like health and education,” Santiago said.
Based on CRC’s documentation, since July 2, 2010 to October this year, there were 52 cases of attacks on schools, and the perpetrators are soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Commitment

During the program, Manobo children presented the “Kulintas sa Paghagit” (Necklace of Challenge) to the legislators, members of non-government organizations and individuals, who vowed to support their struggle for the right to education.

 

(Photo by J. Ellao / Bulatlat.com)

 

Rep. Nancy Catamco of the second district of North Cotabato also expressed support for the struggle of her fellow indigenous people. Catamco, who belongs to the Bagobo-Manobo tribe, chairs the House Committee on National Cultural Communities.

“I, too, have witnessed the oppression and violence being inflicted on the indigenous peoples since I was a child. My uncle, also an indigenous people, would go to our house and hide from the soldiers because he is being hunted by them. I also knew that whenever the soldiers and the members of the NPA have an encounter, the indigenous people are the ones who bear the brunt of the soldiers’ anger,” Catamco said who became emotional during the program.

“I really thank the Makabayan bloc who really stands up for the rights of the indigenous people, because without them, I could not do this alone,” she added. She also vowed to bring the Manobo children to the House of Representatives to share their stories.

Gabriela Women’s Partylist Luz Ilagan said there is also a need to bring the struggle outside the halls of Congress.

“Let us also mobilize in the streets so that the people would know the experiences and hardships of the indigenous people in the countryside,” Ilagan said in the program.

At the end of the program, the legislators, the Lumad students and their supporters joined the community dance, to the rhythm of bankakawan, an indigenous musical instrument consisting of a hanging percussion beam.

http://bulatlat.com/main/2014/11/08/lumad-students-long-for-peace-in-their-schools/

Stopping the ‘Abu Sayyaf’

Posted to the Star Online (Nov 9): Stopping the ‘Abu Sayyaf’

WHEN the two Germans being held by an armed group in Sulu were released on Oct 17 after six months in captivity, a Philippine military spokesman announced that the foreigners were freed because of the pressure exerted by the military and that, in keeping with government policy, no ransom was paid to the kidnappers.

The kidnappers quickly countered by saying that the Germans were released after 250 million peso in ransom money was delivered.

As if to rub salt into the wound, the bandit group posted a video clip showing their armed members hovering around bundles of crisp 1,000-peso bills.

Why? Is this just their way of sneering at the military’s failed effort to free the hostages? What did they hope to gain from showing the world how much money they reaped from their predatory activities?

I think that if we look closely at the larger game being played here, we might get a clearer idea of the complex situation that is simplistically summed up as the “Abu Sayyaf” problem.

I prefer to put that notorious name between quotes because I do not believe we are dealing here with the same group associated with the late Abdurajak Janjalani, the founder and ideologue of the original Abu Sayyaf.

I think that the captors of Stefan Viktor Okonek and his companion, Henrike Dielen, have nothing to do with either the al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS).

I believe that the prominent display of the IS banner in their self-taken photos and videos is nothing more than a shallow attempt to wrap their brutal predation in politico-religious garments. These are neither militants nor radicals.

We are dealing here with bandits, plain and simple, who have converted their capacity for violence into a profitable enterprise.

We are not talking here of one gang, but of several groups operating in their respective domains. Some of these groups may even function as guarantors of order in their communities, where governmental institutions are weak.

For all the menacing weapons around their bodies, these are not full-time armies. Loosely structured, they tend to cluster around a battle-scarred key figure and his lieutenants.

Their rank-and-file members are unemployed or out-of-school young men, often in their teens or early 20s, who are in quest of easy money. As soon as they get their share of the ransom, they go back to whatever irregular jobs they may be doing in their villages.

Or they use the money to fund their exit from the impoverished communities in which they were born and raised.

Some may even resume schooling as if nothing happened – until the next “project” presents itself.

All this makes it exceedingly difficult to identify the individuals that constitute these groups. It would not at all be surprising that, when arrested, some of the leaders might claim membership in any of the separatist movements that have existed in Mindanao.

This pattern of predation has prompted some observers to refer to these groups as “lost commands”.

So, to go back to the original question: Why would it be necessary for the “Abu Sayyaf” group that received the ransom money from the German government to broadcast through social media the actual payment of the ransom for the release of its two nationals?

I can think of two reasons.

First, it is important to assure the local communities that harbour or provide support services to kidnappers during the long period of waiting between the abduction and the actual payment of the ransom that they will be amply rewarded for their cooperation.

The posting of photos and ­videos of the ransom money on social media is not mere bravura but an irresistible enticement for young Moros to take part in a crime that appears unstoppable.

Second, this prominent exhibition of the fruit of the crime may be a way of encouraging everyone who harbours any resentment against the established order to take the initiative by seizing target individuals who can be exchanged for ransom and turn them over to the “professionals” who will conduct the negotiations.

Foreigners from affluent countries are obviously the victims of choice.

Okonek and Dielen were seized from their yacht near Palawan while they were on their way back to Sabah. Their movement might have been monitored by criminal elements from the time they docked in Palawan.

It is also likely that the group that abducted them is different from the group that hid them for several months, and from the group that finally negotiated ransom.

The nodal points of this criminal network might be known if the police or military could follow the trail of the ransom money.

I think no one will be surprised if, at any point in this sordid episode, some local officials or policemen were found to have collaborated by looking the other way or by actually assisting the kidnappers.

Okonek and Dielen were kidnapped on April 25. There was no news about them until two weeks later.

On May 6, Mindanao State University professor Octavio Dinampo announced: “The two Germans are now with Radulan Sahiron.”

He even identified the men who brought them to Patikul, Sulu. How is it possible that no local official knew?

In a chapter he wrote for the fascinating book, Out of the Shadows: Violent Conflict and the Real Economy of Mindanao, Eric Gutierrez argued that local elites must be tapped as an important part of the solution to the problem.

“They are best placed to negotiate, bargain or add pressure on communities that provide refuge and support to bandits.

“They should not be excluded and instead turned as effective instruments for stable and inclusive community leadership.”

This goes against prevailing intuition about local elites, but I think he may be right. — The Philippine Daily Inquirer / Asia News Network

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Regional/2014/11/09/Stopping-the-Abu-Sayyaf-Expert-says-local-elites-must-be-tapped-as-an-important-part-of-the-solutio/

Manobo kids cry ‘SOS’ over disrupted schooling

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Nov 9): Manobo kids cry ‘SOS’ over disrupted schooling

While most students his age may now be counting the days till the holiday break, 15-year-old Roland Dalin has lost count of the days he had missed school this year.

Roland and 12 of his schoolmates from Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center (STTICLC), an alternative school for Manobo tribal folk living in the Pantaron mountain range in Mindanao, are in Metro Manila for a monthlong campaign that seeks to draw attention to their disrupted studies.

The Save Our Schools (SOS) Network, the organization that brought them to the capital, is pinning the blame on military operations against communist rebels in the countryside.

The eighth graders are part of an SOS-led “cultural caravan” calling on the government to pull out military and paramilitary forces in areas where schools catering to lumad or indigenous peoples are located.

The children’s campus is in Barangay Palma Gil in Talaingod town, Davao del Norte.

The caravan, which features presentations dramatizing the lumad communities’ plight, forums and a signature campaign, will run until Dec. 3 and take the children to various schools and government offices.

In an interview during the launch of the project dubbed Og Iskwela Puron (I wish to be in school) last week at Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, Dalin said his classes had been repeatedly suspended since January this year.

Last October, for example, soldiers and members of the paramilitary group Alamara occupied and fired their guns at one of the STTICLC schools in the barangay, the boy said. “The soldiers were drunk and said there were [New People’s Army rebels] in the mountains. But in our area they were not really looking for NPAs, just ordinary civilians.”

Brow furrowed, he recalled that a 75-year-old woman was tapped by the soldiers to serve as their “guide” in identifying alleged insurgents in their community.

In April, hundreds of residents had to be evacuated to Davao City for fear that they would be caught in the crossfire. They ended up staying in temporary shelters for a month, he added.

“We want the military out of our community. We just want to be able to live in peace. My family lives in fear because of the soldiers,” Dalin said.

SOS Network spokesperson Madella Santiago said there had been 39 cases of military encampments and harassment in southern Mindanao schools that were documented by the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC).

“This is quite alarming as these alternative schools, borne out of the efforts of lumad (indigenous) organizations and support groups and aimed at providing education services for indigenous children, are under threat,” Santiago said.

Riis Valle of CRC-Southern Mindanao said Dalin and his schoolmates were brought to Metro Manila to raise the issue to the national level, since regional government agencies had failed to act on their community’s concerns.

The caravan’s itinerary includes Barangka National High School, St. Therese’s College, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, the House of Representatives, the Department of Education main office and UP Los Baños in Laguna province.

SOS Network is a coalition that includes the CRC, Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns, Gabriela, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and the Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of Human Rights.

Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan of the Gabriela Women’s Partylist, Rep. Nancy Catamco and ACT party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio attended Wednesday’s launch in support of the caravan.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/649635/manobo-kids-cry-sos-over-disrupted-schooling

AFP conducts night raid vs Abus

From the Philippine Star (Nov 9): AFP conducts night raid vs Abus

Government forces launched an air strike against suspected Abu Sayyaf camps in Patikul, Sulu on Friday night with attack helicopters swooping down with machinegun fire, the military said yesterday.

Col. Allan Arrojado, Joint Task Group Sulu (JTGS) commander, said the night attack focused on the suspected hideouts of Abu Sayyaf subcommander Jul Mundi Asman Sawadjaan, a certain Commander Ikit and bandit group chieftain Radullan Sahiron at Sitio Datag Kan Masarin, Barangay Buhanginan in Patikul.

“The three Abu Sayyaf groups of around 200 men were consolidating in the area when our attack helicopters hit them at about 9:30 p.m.,” Arrojado said.

Last week, the military twice hit the bandits positions also in Patikul with rocket fire from attack helicopters.

Arrojado said one Abu Sayyaf was killed in the Friday evening air raid after his body was monitored by the military to have been returned to his family in Barangay Bud Bunga, Talipao town yesterday.

He said Modja is a follower of another Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, Arod Wahing, whose group is operating in Bud Bunga, also in Talipao.

The group of Sahiron, Ikit and Sawadjaan, according to Arrojado, were apparently plotting their escape plan from Patikul to Indanan when the air raid was launched.

Aside from one Abu Sayyaf confirmed killed, Arrojado said that he has yet to receive an update about the overall result of last Friday’s air operations.

The military has several battalions deployed in Patikul whose main mission is to confine and constrict the movements of the Abu Sayyaf just within the vicinity of Mt. Sinumaan, away from civilian-populated areas.

“Aside from our continuing ground operations, our intent in launching the air strike is to keep them running in order to deny them their good night’s sleep which we hope would result to the lowering of their guard to pave the way for us to launch decisive ground engagement with no collateral damage,” Arrojado said.

Authorities tagged the group of Sawadjaan as the ones behind the kidnapping of German couple Stefan Victor Okonek and Henrike Dielen.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/11/09/1389635/afp-conducts-night-raid-vs-abus

Special task group to probe MILF commander, kagawad

From ABS-CBN (Nov 8): Special task group to probe MILF commander, kagawad

A special investigation task group will be created by the Sultan Kudarat provincial police office to look into the killing of a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander and a barangay councilman in Barangay Romualdez, President Quirino town last week.

The victims were Manubaka Abdul, commander of the MILF's 108th base command, and a councilman in Barangay Mikonding in General Salipada K. Pendatun town in Maguindanao.

According to Sultan Kudarat provincial police director Sr. Supt. Rex Dela Rosa, local police investigators encountered difficulties in the conduct of their probe into the two killings.

Dela Rosa said the families of the victims were not cooperating with the police.
The area where the victims are residing is also a lair of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), making it difficult for the police to penetrate, he added.

Dela Rosa said the creation of the SITG will pave the way for assistance from other police units.

As of this time, police have yet to identify suspects and determine the motive behind the crime.

The MILF earlier said that they will help in the investigation to find out who the perpetrators are and give justice to the victims.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/11/08/14/special-task-group-probe-milf-commander-kagawad

Cellphone used as trigger device in bus blast

From the Sun Star-Cagayan de Oro (Nov 7): Cellphone used as trigger device in bus blast

THE improvised explosive device (IED) used in the bombing of a passenger bus in Barangay Dologon in Maramag town, Bukidnon on Thursday was activated by a cellular phone, authorities said Friday.

Maramag police deputy chief Jose Regner Sevilleno said investigation showed that the circuit board of a cellular phone that was attached to the improvised explosive device could be the bomb's triggering device.

Aside from a mobile phone’s part, Sevilleno said the police also discovered that the IED is made of 60 mm mortar, one of the most commonly used materials in an improvised bomb.

He said a task group has been created to focus on the investigation of the bombing incident. The group is composed of the Bukidnon Provincial Police, Maramag Police, Police Crime Laboratory, Explosive and Ordnance Division, and other law enforcement agencies.

Sevilleno said that two of the injured passengers underwent minor operation Friday to remove the fragments of the IED that hit them when the bomb went off around 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

Passenger Paquito Bijares, from Don Carlos, Bukidnon, had an IED shard removed from his left leg, while Daniel Sincero, from Kibawe, Bukidnon, had surgery on his back to extract the bomb fragment.

Bijares and Sincero were confined at the Valencia Sanitarium Hospital in Valencia City where they underwent surgery.

The other passengers, Diodola Fostanes, from Iligan City, and Ilyn Mancao, from Kibawe, were discharged Thursday after their wounds had been treated.

Meanwhile, Major Christian Uy, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID), said Friday that soldiers were sent to the crime scene following the incident and has deployed 23rd Infantry Battalion to the area to assist the police in the investigation and secure the civilians.

After knowing that the bomb used was an IED, Uy said 4ID chief Major General Oscar Lactao ordered all the military units under his responsibility to be extra vigilant and exercise extreme precautionary measures.

He added the 4ID command has also directed the troops to conduct checkpoints to preempt other similar attacks.

Uy said only the police investigators can determine the composition of the IED since they have the skill and expertise to trace the signature of the bomb that could point to the perpetrators behind the explosion.

He said the military is sharing its intelligence with the police to help fast-track the investigation.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2014/11/07/cellphone-used-trigger-device-bus-blast-375315

'Combat-exhausted' Army division commits anew to peace process

From the Philippine Star (Nov 8): 'Combat-exhausted' Army division commits anew to peace process



Lt. Gen. Fernando Iriberri, commander of the Philippine Army (right) receives a token from Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan of the 6th Infantry Division during Saturday’s 27th anniversary program of the division in Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. Philstar/John Unson

Military officials on Saturday renewed commitment to the Mindanao peace process and assured of their readiness to help foster normalcy in areas devastated by secessionist conflicts in decades past.

Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said the focus now of 6th ID is to strengthen the solidarity of Muslims, Christians and lumad sectors in Central Mindanao in support of the peace overture between Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Dozens of officers from different 6th ID units led by Pangilinan and Lt. Gen. Fernando Iriberri, commander of the Philippine Army, representatives from the Philippine Marine Corps and the Philippine National Police, gathered on Saturday at Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao to celebrate the division's 27th founding anniversary.

The 6th ID was touted as the Philippine Army's most combat-exhausted division for having fought bloody battles with MILF forces in Central Mindanao before the rebel group's peace talks with Malacañang gained headway in 2009.

The GPH-MILF negotiation began January 7, 1997 but challenged with security problems resulting in deadlocks and repeated outbreaks of hostilities. The incidents caused the dislocation of Central Mindanao's Muslim, Christian and indigenous highland folks.

Units of the 6th ID figured in intense encounters with MILF forces in 2000, 2003 and 2008.

Not a single Army-MILF encounter has occurred in the towns and provinces under the 6th ID's jurisdiction since 2010, paving the way for the influx of foreign capitalists putting up Cavendish banana and oil palm plantations in Maguindanao.

Pangilinan and Iriberri urged members of the 6th ID to engage in peace-building activities to reinforce the traquility experienced now in Central Mindanao ushered in by the government-MILF Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which both sides crafted on March 27, 2014 in Malacañang.

The commemoration of the 27th anniversary of 6th ID was capped off with a parade of the division's disaster and emergency response hardware, which soldiers utilize whenever floods ravage Maguindanao towns located along the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta.

In a message, Iriberri said the top leadership of the Army is keen on pursuing continuing modernization of its ranks.

Iriberri called on the MILF and all other stakeholders to the Mindanao peace process and the 6th ID's rank-and-file personnel to cooperate in dismantling the socio-economic, political and religious barriers separating Southern Mindanao residents to hasten the restoration of normalcy in areas now rising from devastation wrought by past conflicts.

"Let's help one another. Let's put down the barriers separating the local communities and let us build bridges to peace and understanding and harmony," Iriberri said.

Also present in the event were former 6th ID commanders, the now retired Generals Raul Urgello, Roy Kyamko, and Agustin Demaala, who is an incumbent member of the South Cotabato provincial board.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, chairman of the provincial peace and order council, said the shift in what he calls "service paradigm" of Army units in the province help improve the investment climate in its 36 towns.

RELATED: Army gives planeside honors to slain soldiers

"Maguindanao is more and more becoming very attractive to foreign investors because of the peace now reigning in the province as a result of the Mindanao peace process," Mangudadatu said.

Mangudadatu was one of the guests to the 6th ID's anniversary feast, which was also attended by officers of the 1st Marine Brigade and its component battalions based in coastal towns in nearby Sultan Kudarat province.

Mangudadatu said the provincial government has actively been supporting the humanitarian activities of the 6th ID in areas where there are MILF camps to bolster the cordiality between the division and Moro peasant communities.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/11/08/1389495/combat-exhausted-army-division-commits-anew-peace-process

New chief for north Luzon Naval Forces

From the Philippine Information Agency (Nov 7): New chief for north Luzon Naval Forces

The Naval Forces Northern Luzon is now headed by  Commodore Severino Vicente T. David succeeding Commodore Nodolfo V. Tejada.

Philippine Navy Chief Rear Admiral Jesus C. Millan presided the change-of-command ceremony, which was held on Wednesday, November 5 at Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar (NSEO) Grandstand here.

In his speech, Commodore Tejada said he is confident to leave the military service because he knows has contributed to the Philippine Navy's improvement.

Commodore Tejada served for almost 38 years.

He encouraged the men and women of NFNL to keep serving.

“Keep your patriotism with utmost motivation for we are called to serve for our country and the people,” Tejada said.

Tejada is a member of PMA Dimalupig Class of 1981 and a recipient of various military awards of valor.

Incoming Commodore David, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome of the NFNL fleet.

He also shared his plans which he will implement in his new command unit.

“I will continue the good work of Commodore Tejada particularly in enforcing optimum maritime security. This is to ensure that illegal activities in the coastline like illegal fishing, illegal intrusion and illegal logging will be prevented,” said David.

Meanwhile, Ensign  Bernard Sabado, designated information officer of NFNL said the whole troop is certain that with the turnover of command, Commodore David will be a good leader.

“Commodore David is a competent commander based also on his excellent service records,” said Sabado.

Prior to his assignment in NFNL, Commodore David was the Deputy Commander of Naval Station Sangley Point in Cavite City.

He is a member of the PMA Class of 1983 and was assigned to various positions in the AFP.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2711415268793/new-chief-for-north-luzon-naval-forces

BBL to assure implementation of government-MILF peace agreement beyond 2016

From the Philippine Information Agency (Nov 7): BBL to assure implementation of government-MILF peace agreement beyond 2016

Government peace-panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer assured that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic measure will be implemented even beyond the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

Speaking to reporters, she said the Bangsamoro Basic Law will institutionalize the arrangements in the peace agreement particularly the creation of the Bangsamoro government that will be implemented beyond 2016.

Coronel-Ferrer said the programs in line with the creation of the Bangsamoro government is gradually implemented by the Aquino administration.

“Whoever the next president be, I am sure that he will continue the programs especially if they are supported by the people,” she said.

Coronel-Ferrer said that once the proposed Bangsamoro measure becomes a law, it will institutionalize the all new features like the fiscal autonomy, power-sharing, wealth sharing   and political set up reached in the agreement.

She said the government is serious in addressing the peace and order condition inside the Bangsamoro areas.

“Once the peace and order, good governance and more socio-economic programs are in place, it will create a spill-over in other areas in Mindanao,” Coronel-Ferrer said.

Senen Bacani, member of the government peace-panel looked forward that with the improvement in the peace and order in the Bangsamoro areas, growth centers outside these areas like Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City and Zamboanga City will be benefited.

He said products from the Bangsamoro areas will go out to the growth centers.

“What is good for the Bangsamoro will be good for Mindanao and will be good for the  country,” he said.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2381415324136/bbl-to-assure-implementation-of-government-milf-peace-agreement-beyond-2016-

DavNor DepEd Chief pleads to army, NPAs to battle far from schools

From the Philippine Information Agency (Nov 7): DavNor DepEd Chief pleads to army, NPAs to battle far from schools

DAVAO DEL NORTE - - “Whatever your agenda are, leave the children and teachers out of your encounter.”

Josephine Fadul, provincial schools superintendent, appealed to the Philippine Army and the New People’s Army during the Kapihan ng Kapitolyo yesterday at the PIO Mini-studio, Tagum City.

Fadul plead to the two armed groups to engage their encounters far from schools after a series of armed conflicts disturbed the classes of a private school in Sitio Nasilaban, Brgy. Palma Gil, Talaingod on October.

Salugpongan Ta’ Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center, a private school in the sitio, sent a letter to various international and national agencies expressing their disgust on the alleged military malpractices including what they called a “firing free” that impeded their classes last month.

This was later answered by the military under the 68th Infantry Batallion denying all accusations and saying that it was their troops that suffered casualties from the attacks of the NPA.

To clear out the issues, the DepEd called a close-door dialogue between the school and the military yesterday morning at the division’s conference room, Mankilam, Tagum City.

Fadul disclosed that both the parties agreed the school will continue with their classes and the military’s camp will move further away from the school.

“Since we cannot control the other troops (referring to the NPA), we requested the army to move a little bit further so that the school will no longer be caught if ever there will be a cross fire again,” she added.

Fadul also pointed out that there were miscommunications between the two groups since the concern was brought by the school to the international and national level instead of settling it first in the local scene.

“In fact, it was our central office who knew about it first; so I told them to resolve it in the local with your LGU before bringing it to the regional, national or even to the international agencies,” she said referring to the private school.

Fadul also said that during the dialogue, it was a common point of all the parties to look into the welfare of the children.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2871415338078/davnor-deped-chief-pleads-to-army-npas-to-battle-far-from-schools

Soldiers help Mayon evacuees return home

From the Manila Times (Nov 8): Soldiers help Mayon evacuees return home

In classified red zone areas of Bicol, the presence of soldiers often sends fear to the villagers as it may trigger an exchange of gunfire with the rebels.

But for Mayon evacuees who are going back to their respective villages after almost two months of staying in cramped evacuation centers, the sight of soldiers gives them a calming presence.

After all, the soldiers have been assisting them especially in carrying their personal belongings, as they return to their houses.

As the Mayon evacuees outside the six-to-seven-kilometer radius permanent danger zone were sent back home a few days ago, soldiers helped out in the decampment of 10,797 families or almost 43,274 people.

Carlito and Marites Palermo and their five children were decamped and sent back home in Muladbucab Grande in Guinobatan town along with other evacuees by riding a military truck.

“Thank you for your help for bringing us back home safely,” Marites said as she bid goodbye to the soldiers.

Army Col. Raul Farnacio, commanding officer of the Army’s 901st Infantry Brigade and Task Force Mayon Team Army chief said that they are always ready to help the people.

More than 12,000 families were evacuated from the danger zone of Mayon in September 15, when Phivolcs raised the Alert Level to 3.

http://www.manilatimes.net/soldiers-help-mayon-evacuees-return-home/140237/

ASG member killed in Sulu air strike

From the Manila Times (Nov 8): ASG member killed in Sulu air strike

A MEMBER of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was killed by pursuing government troopers who conducted air strikes against the bandits in Patikul, Sulu over the weekend.

The military has been conducting hot pursuit operations against the Al-Qaeda linked group since the release of German hostages Victor Okonek and Henrite Dielen last Oc- tober 17.

Colonel Alan Arojado, military commander for Sulu, said an Air Force attack aircraft launched air strikes on the group’s lair in Sitio Datag Kan Masarin in Brgy. Buhanginan, Patikul, Sulu.

Arojado identified the slain ASG member as Sabri Modja whose body was immediately claimed and buried by his family shortly after the attack.

Arojado said Modja is a known follower of ASG sub-leader Arod Wahing based in Bud Bunga in Talipao, Sulu.

The military estimates that the ASG has around 400 members in Sulu and Basilan but government troopers are having a hard time arresting them because they could easily mingle with the civilian population.

http://www.manilatimes.net/asg-member-killed-sulu-air-strike/140248/

‘VFA key to quick US response after Yolanda’

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 8): ‘VFA key to quick US response after Yolanda’

An Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) official said that the quick response by United States armed forces following the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda November last year was made possible by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

Maj. Emmanuel Garcia, commander, 7th Civil Relations Group (7th CRG), Civil Relations Service (CRS-AFP), said the US military personnel were the first responders from the international community.

“Their (US) presence was really a big boost, especially in isolated areas in Eastern Leyte and Samar province,” he stressed.

Garcia emphasized that without the VFA and without the joint exercises with the US and other countries, the response time would have been slower and coordination between and among foreign military responders would have been difficult.

“Because of VFA with the US and other defense cooperation agreements with other countries such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, India, China, UK, Indonesia and Malaysia, international Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) efforts poured in rather easily without much bureaucratic procedures to uplift the plight of our countrymen devastated by the super typhoon Yolanda,” said Garcia.

Within 36 hours after the storm, US forces arrived in the country to deliver lifesaving emergency assistance to millions of people whose lives were devastated by the typhoon.

The first wave of American troops came in the form of 90 US Marines and sailors from 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade (3rd MEB). Led by Brig. Gen. Paul Kennedy, the Marines brought two KC-130J Hercules aircraft from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan on November 10, 2013.  The following day eight MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft joined relief efforts.

http://www.mb.com.ph/vfa-key-to-quick-us-response-after-yolanda/

CPP/NPA: Ang tumitinding karahasan ng AFP ay patuloy na magpapaalab sa armadong paglaban ng mamamayan

NPA propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Nov 6): Ang tumitinding karahasan ng AFP ay patuloy na magpapaalab sa armadong paglaban ng mamamayan

Salaknib Monteverde
Spokesperson
NPA Benguet-Abra-Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur Front Operations Command (Antonio Licawen Command)

 

Desperado ang 50th Infantry Batallion sa ilalim ng 503rd Brigade ng Philippine Army at mga PNP Regional Office 1 at Regional Office-CAR sa kanilang panaginip na durugin ang armadong rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa quadri-boundary ng mga probinsya ng Benguet-Abra-Mt Province-Ilocos Sur o BAMPIS na kinikilusan ng Antonio Licawen Front Operational Command ng New Peoples Army (ALC). Sa mga operasyong kombat, psywar at paniktik, at maging sa kanilang tinatawag na legal offensives, ay malaganap ang pangyuyurak sa mga karapatang tao ng mga sibilyang mamamayan sa BAMPIS tulad ng iligal na pag-aresto, pagsampa ng mga gawagawang kaso, tortyur, pwersahang pagpapa-guide ng mga nag-ooperasyong tropa sa mga sibilyan, at iba pang kahayupang lumalabag sa karapatang tao ng mamamayan ng BAMPIS.

Noong Setyembre 23, 2014 ay iligal na inaresto ng magkasanib na pwersa ng mga pasistang tropa ng 50th IB at PNP-RO1 at PRO-CAR ang isang Malvarose Logang-a, 26 taong gulang at residente ng Gitlangan, Comillas Norte, Cervantes, Ilocos Sur at kinasuhan ng gawa-gawang kasong rebelyon dahil sa pagkakasangkot diumano ni Logang-a sa pag-ambush ng NPA sa ilalim ng Leonardo Pacsi Command sa humigit kumulang 95 na tropa ng PNP Regional Public Safety Batallion sa Tadian, Mountain Province noong June 28 noong nakaraang taon, at sa pagka-imbwelto niya diumano sa ambush ng Alfredo Cesar Command sa 16 na tropa ng 50th IB sa Bessang Pass, Cervantes noong June 2005. Pangatlong iligal na pag-aresto na ito ng AFP at PNP kay Logang-a. Inaresto siya noong 2008 at pinilit na ipa-surrender naman ng mga tropa ng AFP at PNP noong 2012 dahil sa akusasyong siya ay kasapi ng NPA.

Sumunod na iligal na inaresto naman ng mga magkasanib ding tropa ng AFP at PNP noong October 3, 2014 si Samuel Compalas sa Boguibog, Salcedo, Ilocos Sur sa parehong kasong isinampa kay Logang-a. Si Compalas ay dating kasapi ng NPA at iniwanan ang organisasyon noon pang 2006. Siya’y inaresto at kinasuhan ng murder at robbery noong 2009 pero ang mga ito’y nadismiss sa RTC sa Candon City, Ilocos Sur.

Tahasang pinapasinungalingan ng Antonio Licawen Command na isang kasapi, sa kasalukuyan at maging sa nakaraan, ng New Peoples Army o nakasama sa alinmang mga inilunsad na taktikal na opensiba ng NPA si Malvarose Longang-a. Walang katotohanan ang bintang ng AFP at PNP kay Logang-a. Sa katunayan, si Logang-a ay kasalukuyang estudyante ng Mountain Province State Polytechnic College at inaasahang magtatapos ngayong school year 2014-15 sa kursong BS Criminology!
Isang kahangalan ang pahayag ni Superintendent Edgar Allan Okubo, acting chief ng Police Regional Office 1 IntelligenceDivision, na ang NPA ay nagbabalak mag-impiltra sa hanay ng PNP sa pamamagitan ni Logang-a nang wala man lang pinipresentang kahit isang katiting na ebidensyang nagpapatunay sa akusasyon nito. Desperadong naglulubid ng kung anu-anong kasinungalingan ang mga opisyal ng PNP at AFP para lang makakuha ng puntos laban sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan at di mapahiya sa mga nakalipas nitong mga kabiguan sa larangan ng kombat tulad ng matagumpay na pag-ambush ng isang iskwad ng NPA sa humigit kumulang isandaang pulis noong nakaraang taon sa Tadian na nakasamsam ng 11 na malalakas na armas at mga marami-raming bilang ng bala at gamit militar. Nararapat lang na kagyat na pakawalan at palayain ng reaksyunaryong gubyerno ni Noynoy Aquino sila Malvarose Logang-a at Samuel Compala sampu ng humigit kumulang 300 na detenidong pulitikal na kasalukuyang dumaranas ng iba-t-ibang klase ng pang-aabuso at makahayop na pagtrato sa ibat-ibang piitan at pasilidad ng pulis at militar sa buong bansa, at itigil ang paglapastangan sa kanilang mga batayang karapatan.

Naging kalakaran na ng AFP at PNP na arbitraryong magdampot ng mga sibilyan sa panahon ng kanilang operasyon. Matatandaan noong Setyembre 23, 2011, habang nagpapatuloy ang serye ng mga labanan sa pagitan ng Alfredo Cesar Command at 50th IB sa Cervantes, Ilocos Sur, walang-awang hinuli ng 50th IBPA at Cervantes PNP ang apat na inosenteng sibilyan na sina Hilario Bantew at Edward Galao, at Lionesa Bonella at Joy Attiw. Nagresulta ang mga labanang ito ng 19 na KIA sa hanay ng 50th IBPA at dalawa namang KIA sa panig ng NPA. Magkasunod na kinasuhan ng multiple attempted homicide pagkatapos mapawalang-sala sa kasong rebelyon ang apat na sibilyan na tinuguriang “Cervantes 4.” Dumanas ng matinding pisikal at mental na tortyur ang Cervantes 4. Si Hilario Bantew ay isang sertipikadong mental health patient noong siya ay hinuli ng mga pasista. Hanggang sa ngayon, bagamat nakalaya na ang Cervantes 4, ay di pa rin nila nakakakamit ang hustisya sa dinanas nilang kahayupan sa kuko ng mga halimaw na pulis at militar na iligal na nang-aresto at nagpahirap sa kanila at sa kanilang mga pamilya sa loob ng mahigit dalawang taon.

Sa parehong serye ng mga labanan noong Setyembre 2011, matatandaang binaboy ng mga tropa ng 50th IB ang bangkay ni Benny Boy “Ka Likot” Aguilar at hinayaan namang mabulok sa ulan sa loob ng limang araw ang bangkay ni Ka Delfin “Ka Dindo” Gulayan nang hindi pinahintulutan ng 50th IB na i-uwi ng pamilya nito ang naagnas nang bangkay ng huli. Tradisyon na ng mga batalyon sa ilalim ng 503rd Brigade PA, ang 50th IBPA at 41st IBPA, na makahayop na tratuhin ang mga nahuhuli nilang mga sugatang mandirigma ng NPA tulad ng ginawa nilang kahayupan at brutalidad sa mga kasama sa Tineg, Abra noong October 2011 at Lacub, Abra ngayong Setyembre 5, 2014.

Nitong Marso 4, 2014 tinutukan, sinaktan at sapilitang pinag-guide ng isang kolum ng nag-ooperasyong 50th IBPA si Bagsiyaw Kidangen, isang magsasaka ng Barangay Tamboan, Besao, Mountain Province, 62 taong gulang at isa sa mga tribal leaders ng tribung Kinali sa kanilang baryo. Hinuli si lakay Bagsiyaw sa Mt. Matukbo at pinakawalan din pagkatapos dumaan sa matinding mental at pisikal na tortyur. Kinuha din sa matanda ang kanyang itak na ginagamit sa pagsasaka at pangangaso.

Sa parehong araw at lugar, sapilitan namang hinarang at di pinayagan ng iba pang nag-ooperasyong kolum ng 50th IBPA na maglakbay si Letty Oloan, residente ng Beew, Barangay Alangtin, Tubo, Abra na umuwi sa kanilang baryo. Nanggaling si Oloan sa Tamboan, Besao para hatiran ng suplay na bigas at baon ang kanyang anak na nag-aaral sa Tamboan National High School. Ang Tamboan ay may layong isang araw na paakyat-pababang lakaran mula o galing sa Beew. Sa kabila ng pagmamakaawang makauwi ni Oloan sa mga pasistang tropa ng 50th IBPA, sa mabigat na kadahilanang naghihintay ang mga naiwang mga maliliit pang anak, ay walang-awang pinagkaitan siya ng mga sundalo ng karapatang malayang maglakbay. Matatandaang noong 2008, nai-ulat sa media na si Oloan at dalawa pang mga matatandang babae ng Beew ay hinuli ng parehong yunit ng 50th IBPA at isang araw at isang gabing ipiniit sa Mt. Layaban, Tubo, Abra. Si Olloan, sa panahon na iyon ay nagpapasusong-ina sa kanyang anim na buwang sanggol na bunso.

Samantala, sa Barangay Dilong, Tubo, Abra ay kinubkob ng mga nakagarisong tropa ng 50th IBPA sa loob ng baryo ang bahay na pinagpahingaan ng isang nagngangalang Kidasay, 33 taong gulang; at Henry Degay, 24 taong gulang, kapwa residente ng Barangay Lamag, Quirino, Ilocos Sur noong Mayo 2014. Sa simpleng hinalang mga mandirigma sila ng NPA, kinubkob ng isang iskwad ng 50th IB na pawang nakafull-battle gear ang dalawang sibilyan at isinalang sa interogasyon, psychological torture at pilit na pinapaaming mga kasama sila sa yunit ng NPA na nag-ambush sa mga pasistang tropa sa Kingking, Barangay Dilong, Tubo, Abra noong madaling araw ng Mayo 2, 2014 na nagresulta ng 23 na KIA sa hanay ng 50th IB. Pinakawalan lamang ang dalawang sibilyan nang pinanindigan ng mga mamamayan ng Dilong na mga sibilyan ang dalawa.

Sa Sitio Dandanac, Barangay Tamboan, Besao, Mountain Province pinagbantaan noong Abril 2014 ng mga lasing na tropa ng Charlie Coy ng 50th IBPA na imamasaker nila ang mga mamamayan ng Dandanac kung malalaman nilang may mga pumupuntang NPA sa baryo nila. Sa kabila ng panghaharass ng mga militar sa kanila ay matagumpay namang naiigiit ng mga mamamayan ng Barangay Tamboan na palayasin ang mga tropa ng 50th IB na nakakampo sa silong ng kanilang mga bahay, at umuokupa sa Barangay Hall at dap-ay (lugar kung saan nagpupulong ang mga matatanda ng tribu at simbolo ng katutubong pulitika at kultura). Dahil sa matapang na aksyon ng masa ay napilitang lumayas sa sentro ng populasyon ang mga pasista ngunit pinagpilitan pa rin nilang magkampo sila sa gilid ng baryo na malapit pa rin sa mga kabahayan. Sa parehong panahon, matagumpay ding napalayas ng mga matatanda ng tribu at mamamayan ng Barangay Tubtuba, Tubo, Abra ang mga tropa ng 50th IBPA na naglalayong magkampo sa gitna ng kanilang baryo.

Nagkakamali ang 50th IBPA at ang PNP RPSB ng Region 1 at CAR na sa pamamagitan ng walang habas na paglapastangan sa mga karapatang tao ng mamamayan ng BAMPIS ay mababali nila ang kapasyahan ng mamamayan na suportahan ang rebolusyonaryong armadong pakikibaka. Lalo sa ngayon na tumitindi ang kahirapang dulot ng bangkaroteng patakaran ng neoliberalisasyon ng ekonomya, partikular sa mga gulayan ng Benguet, at agresibong pagpasok ng mga dambuhala at mapanirang kumpanya ng mga dayuhang minahan at enerhiya sa malawak na erya ng BAMPIS ay siguradong lalawak at lalalim ang rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa BAMPIS.

Walang anumang kahayupan at matinding karahasan ang makakapigil sa pag-abante ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan na kamtin ang susunod na mas mataas na estratehikong yugto ng Digmang Bayan sa bansa. Tulad ng panahon ng pasistang diktadura ni Marcos, ang mga alaala at karanasan ng matinding pandarahas na sinapit ng mga kasama at mga masa sa kamay ng mga pasista sa kasalukuyang rehimen ni Noynoy Aquino ay ibayong magpapaalab sa rebolusyonaryong damdamin ng masa at mga mandirigma ng BHB na walang-alinlangang itaguyod at tahakin ang landas ng armadong pakikibaka hanggang sa tagumpay upang makamit ang tunay na karapatang tao, hustisya at kapayapaan.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20141106_ang-tumitinding-karahasan-ng-afp-ay-patuloy-na-magpapaalab-sa-armadong-paglaban-ng-mamamayan

CPP/NDF: In solidarity with the Yolanda survivors demanding the ouster of the Aquino regime

NDF propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Nov 8): In solidarity with the Yolanda survivors demanding the ouster of the Aquino regime

Fr. Santiago Salas (Ka Sanny)
Spokesperson
NDFP Eastern Visayas Chapter

 

 

[Video: Fr. Santiago "Ka Sanny" Salas on Yolanda's one year anniversary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVAwM5fvJic

 

The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas is in solidarity with the thousands of Yolanda victims currently marching in Tacloban. We are likewise in solidarity with the millions of people in Leyte and Samar, who like the people in other regions continue to suffer from hunger and deprivation and face a bleak future. It has been a year since Yolanda. We are one with the people in accusing the Aquino regime of criminally neglecting those who survived this calamity.

We condemn the social injustice, the corruption, fascist repression and puppetry to the imperialists that mark the so-called “rehabilitation assistance for Yolanda” or “RAY-Aquino.” Long before Yolanda struck, the Filipino people were already reeling from the onslaught of the Aquino regime’s disastrous policies. The Aquino regime’s neoliberal standpoint translates to further opening the economy to foreign domination, the privatization of state institutions and allowing big business to control strategic sectors of the economy.

The people are hard put surviving on an average daily income of P49.00 in the face of widespread landlessness and unemployment. Despite its rich natural resources, the region’s economy, like those of other areas in the country, remains pre-industrial with backward agriculture that is import-dependent and export-oriented.

Supertyphoon Yolanda was able to wreak tremendous destruction for only a day. But the onslaught of the Aquino regime’s so-called “rehabilitation assistance” can be likened to supertyphoon Yolanda wreaking havoc day after day. It cannot form the basis of genuine reconstruction because its P360.9-billion budget corresponds to only 63% of the total damage caused by the supertyphoon, according to the government’s own estimates. Its only objective is to further impoverish the peasantry, with its agricultural reconstruction package costing a mere P18.7 billion in contrast to the Yolanda survivors’ estimate that agriculture suffered P64.5 billion in losses.

Meanwhile, the urban poor face demolition, not reconstruction, due to the “no build zone” and “no dwelling zone” policies designed to favor the entry of big business into coastal communities.

More than half of the reconstruction package has been allotted to a huge sector of housing and property developers tasked to repair 1.1 million damaged houses, leaving the vast majority without access to this fund. Instead of serving the people’s interests, “RAY-Aquino” favors the regime’s corrupt officials and friends in big business. At least nine corporations owned by a handful of wealthy families are planning to build their enclaves in the region.

It is but just for the people to despise the Yolanda reconstruction package. It is an insult to their anguish and bodes even further suffering. The people face even greater militarization and more violations of their human rights as the Aquino regime steps up political repression through Oplan Bayanihan. They are also bound to suffer the onslaught of US military intervention under the guise of “humanitarian assistance” and “disaster response” as provided for in the EDCA signed by the US and the Aquino regime.

Thus, the people of Eastern Visayas must be resolute. The struggle of the Yolanda survivors is very important, but it is just one of so many people’s struggles that must be launched. The NDF-EV salutes the Yolanda survivors and urges them to join ever bigger struggles for national freedom and democracy.

Let us oust the US-Aquino regime and the next puppet regime. Let’s rise up in arms to topple the reactionary ruling system at achieve national and social liberation.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20141108_in-solidarity-with-the-yolanda-survivors-demanding-the-ouster-of-the-aquino-regime

CPP/NDF: 9th IDPA, Makinarya sa Karahasan at Panunupil ng US-Base Laban sa Mamamayan

NDF propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Nov 8): 9th IDPA, Makinarya sa Karahasan at Panunupil ng US-Base Laban sa Mamamayan

Maria Roja Banua
Spokesperson
NDFP Bicol Chapter

 

Paulit-ulit na nangyayari ang “tortyur” bilang gawain na isang pasistang mukha at patakaran sa loob ng mersenaryong hukbo ng 9th Infantry Division Philippine Army at buong mersenaryong sandatahang lakas ng estado. Sariwa pa sa ala-ala ng karamihan ng mga mamamayan, ang isang tortyur bidyu na pinadala mismo sa account ni dating tagapagsalita ng National Democratic Front Ka Greg Banares noong 2011 na naganap mismo sa treyning na inilunsad sa Camp Elias Angeles sa Pili, Camarines Sur.

Naganap man ang huling “tortyur bidyu” na lumabas sa social media nitong nakaraang ilang araw, sa isang training camp o pangyayari sa alinmang detatsment ng 9th ID sa kabikolan ay nagpapatunay na isinasalaksak sa kamalayan ng mga treyni o sundalo ang pagsasagawa ng tortyur laban sa sinumang itinuturing nilang kalaban.

Hindi nakapagtataka na magkaroon ng datos na aabot sa 111 na kaso ng tortyur at 55 na kaso ng extra-judicial killings na karamihan ay dumaan muna sa matinding tortyur bago pinatay simula sa taong 2010-2014 sa ilalim ng panunungkulan ni Benigno Simeon Aquino. Sa kabuuan sa Bicol lamang, aabutin sa 1,424 ang iba’t-ibang kaso ng human rights violation na aabot sa 16,232 ang bilang ng mga biktimang sibilyan ayon sa human rights.

Sa panig ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan, isang kataas-taasang alituntunin ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB) ang pagsunod sa tatlong (3) pangunahing alituntunin sa disiplina at walong (8) bagay na dapat tandaan. Ang ika-8 sa bagay na dapat tandaan ay “huwag pagmalupitan ang bihag”. Ang mga bihag ay yaong mga sumuko, nadakip at nalagay sa sitwasyong na di makapanlaban sa proseso ng labanan. Kabilang din sa bihag iyong mga inaresto para parusahan o imbistegahan batay sa suspetsang may kontra-rebolusyonaryong kilos at anti-sosyal. Sa kabuuan, ang mga bihag ay palalayain, liban lamang doon sa mga napatunayang karapat-dapat parusahan ng kamatayan.

Pinatunayan sa maraming karanasan, na matapat na tinutupad ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan sa maraming pagkakataon at kaso ng pagkakaroon ng bihag ng digma ang mga alituntuning ito sa disiplina. Ilan lamang sa mga kasong ito ay ang pangangalaga at pagpapalaya sa mga bihag na sina 1st Lt Fidelino, PFC Nemenio 2004, Capt B at Cafgu Riquerey Neo (2014).

Kaya, nananawagan kami sa lahat ng kabataang anak ng mga magsasaka, manggagawa at iba pang uring inaapi sa lipunan na manindigan sa sariling makauring interes.

Gamitin ang talino, tapang at kakayanan para sa paglilingkod sa sambayanan at rebolusyonaryong pagbabago na tunay na hahango sa atin sa papatinding kahirapan at pang-aaping nararanasan sa kasalukuyan.

Para sa mga sundalong anak ng mga anakpawis at may kabutihan pang natitira sa kanilang puso at katinuan, talikdan ang serbisyo sa reaksyunaryong hukbong sandatahan na nagsisilbi lamang sa naghaharing uring nagsasamantala at nang-aapi sa ating mga magulang .

MABUHAY ANG REBOLUSYON!

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20141108_9th-idpa-makinarya-sa-karahasan-at-panunupil-ng-us-base-laban-sa-mamamayan