CPP/News: Mga alaala ni Randall Echanis kay Fidel Agcaoili

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 13, 2020): Mga alaala ni Randall Echanis kay Fidel Agcaoili

NEWS STORIES
AUGUST 13, 2020

Natanggap ng PRWC ngayong araw ang pahayag na ito ni NDFP consultant Randall Echanis na naglalaman ng kanyang mga alaala kay Fidel Agcaoili. Ito marahil ang isa sa huling sinulat ni Ka Randy bago siya brutal na pinatay ng mga armadong ahente ng estado noong Agosto 10, 2020.

Sa Alaala ni Ka Fidel Agcaoili

Ipinaabot ko ang aking taus-pusong pakikiramay at pagdadalamhati sa mahal na pamilya, mga kamag-anak, kaibigan at mga kasama sa pagpanaw ni Ka Fidel.

Matagal ko na ring kakilala si Ka Fidel at masasabi kong naging malapit kami bilang kasama sa pakikibaka at kaibigan.

Marami na akong nababalitan tungkol kay Ka Fidel noong panahon ng Martial Law bilang isa sa mga lider at aktibong nanguna sa pakikipaglaban para sa karapatan ng mga bilanggong pulitikal. Mahigit sampung taon siyang ipiniit ng pasistang diktadurang US-Marcos. Naging inspirasyon at halimbawa sa akin ang militanteng paglaban at kapasyahang lumaya ng mga bilanggong pulitikal.

Si Ka Fidel ang unang kumausap sa akin matapos akong lumaya noong EDSA 1. Bandang Abril 1986 ng kausapin niya ako para isaayos ang pagbabalik ko sa pangunahing agos ng pakikibaka at sa magiging gawain ko. Sa mga panahong ito ay nagkasama kami sa mga gawain sa SELDA at sa paghahanda sa pagbubuo ng Partido ng Bayan. Madaling makagaanan ng loob si Ka Fidel dahil malapit siya sa mga kasama at palabiro habang masipag at seryoso siya sa kanyang mga gawain.

Mga 2000 ng muli kaming magkita at nagkasama ni Ka Fidel ng mapabilang ako na membro ng NDFP RWC-CASER. Kabilang noon si Ka Fidel sa NDFP negotiating panel kaya madalas kaming magkasama sa mga gawain. Naging malapit ako sa kanya laluna’t masipag siya sa pagtulong at pag-alalay sa aming komite na noo’y naghahanda kami sa muling pagbubukas ng usapang pangkapayapaan. Madali namin siyang nalalapitan para sa kanyang mga opinyon at mungkahi sa pagpapabuti at pagpapaunlad sa draft ng NDFP CASER at sa paglilinaw at pagbibigay ng updates sa itinatakbo ng usapang pangkapayapaan.

Sa mga panahon ng negosasyon ay matingkad ang kanyang kasipagan sa gawain at hindi napapagod sa pagbibigay ng tulong at gabay sa mga kasama. Malapit siya sa lahat ng mga kasama at maging sa GRP negotiating panel kung kaya tila nagsisilbi rin siyang “tulay” kapag may mga hindi napapagkasunduan at isinasaayos sa pagitan ng GRP at NDFP negotiating panels. Ang kanyang mahigpit na pagkapit sa prinsipyo at sa isang banda ay pleksibilidad sa mga lumilitaw na usapin ay kanyang naipamalas ng mahirang siyang tagapangulo ng NDFP Negotiating Panel.

Sa panahon ng mga usapang pangkapayapaan ay sa upisina ng NDFP ako tumutuloy at dito rin nakatira si Ka Fidel kaya madalas na nagkakasama kami at nakakakwentuhan sa mga gawain at maging sa pamilya. Naging malapit rin ako sa kanyang pamilya. Dito ko lalong nakilala si Ka Fidel bilang isang responsable, seryoso at masipag na kasama, madaling lapitan, mahilig makipag-kwentuhan at palabiro. Sa katunayan ang tawagan namin ay “brod” na aming biruan kaugnay sa tawagang “brod” sa fraternity niya na Sigma Rho.

Kapag nauuwi siya ay nakakasama ko din si Ka Fidel sa ilang mga pagtitipon tulad ng pagdalo sa mga peace forum at maging noong unang kausapin ng NDFP negotiating panel sa Davao si Duterte bilang nanalong pangulo at napag-usapan ang ilang mahahalagang usapin sa muling pagbubukas ng peace talks tulad ng pagpapalaya sa mga bilanggong pulitikal.

Mahabang dekada na ang buong puso at matapat na paglilingkod ni Ka Fidel sa rebolusyon at sa sambayanan. Sa mahabang panahon ay gumampan siya ng mga responsableng tungkulin at gawain bilang lider ng Partido. Hindi rin matatawaran ang kanyang mga ambag sa gawaing internasyunal ng Partido at NDFP. Ito man ay sa pagbubuo ng relasyon at kapatiran sa ibang mga Partido at organisasyon at sa pagsasaayos ng ating gawain sa mga migranteng Pilipino. Mahalaga din ang kanyang naging gawain sa pagbubuo at pagpapalakas ng ILPS. Masasabing sa maraming liko’t ikot ng pakikibaka at sa mga tagumpay na nakamit ng Partido ay naging bahagi si Ka Fidel at hindi matatawaran ang kanyang mga naging ambag.

Hindi natin malilimot si Ka Fidel. Hindi siya malilimutan ng sambayanang Pilipino. Mananatiling maningning na halimbawa sa atin ang kanyang ala-ala at diwa ng isang komunista na aktibo, walang kapaguran at matibay ang pasiya na isulong ang rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka para sa tunay na kalayaan, demokrasya at sosyalismo.

Pulang Saludo at taas-kamaong pagpupugay sa iyo, Kasamang Fidel!
Hindi ka namin malilimot at mananatili ka sa aming mga puso at kaisipan!
Mabuhay si Kasamang Fidel Agcaoili!

Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis
Member, NDFP RWC-CASER

https://cpp.ph/statement/mga-alaala-ni-randall-echanis-kay-fidel-agcaoili/

CPP/NPA-Masbate: Gawad pamamarusa ng Jose Rapsing Command sa kasundaluhan at kapulisan sa lalawigan ng Masbate na nagsasagawa ng Focused Military Operations

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 13, 2020): Gawad pamamarusa ng Jose Rapsing Command sa kasundaluhan at kapulisan sa lalawigan ng Masbate na nagsasagawa ng Focused Military Operations

AUGUST 13, 2020

Matagumpay na naisagawa ang hakbang pamamarusa sa isang konboy ng mga sundalo ng 2nd IBPA na nagsasagawa ng Focused Military Operations (FMO) sa ikatlong distrito ng probinsya ng Masbate.

Lulan ng apat na mga sasakyang pangmiltar ang mahigit 50 mga sundalo ng tambangan sila ng isang tim ng mga pulang mandirigma ng JRC BHB-Masbate gamit ang CDx. Agad na napatay sa lugar ang apat na sundalo kabilang ang dalawang opisyal at dalawang enlisted personnel. Nasira din ang dalawang sasakyan na tinamaan sa pagsabog. Nangyari ito bandang 8:30 ng gabi noong Hulyo 25, 2020 sa hangganan ng Brgy. Malinta at Usab, lungsod ng Masbate

Ang pamamarusang ito ay tugon sa kaliwa’t-kanang reklamong natatanggap ng JRC BHB- Masbate mula sa mamamayan hinggil sa mga pang-aabuso ng 2nd IBPA at PPO PNP Masbate at sa iba pang mga yunit nila. Mga kaso ng pagmasaker, pagpatay, panggigipit, pananakot, pagsira at pagnakaw ng mga pananim, pera at mga personal na gamit ng mga magsasaka. Ang 2nd IBPA, PPO PNP Masbate at mga yunit nila ay makailang beses nang nasasangkot sa pagmasaker sa buong probinsya ng Masbate. Pinakabago lang ay ang pagmasaker sa 3 katao sa Brgy. Bagacay, Mobo, habang ang nasundan nitong buwan ng Hunyo ay ang masaker sa Brgy. Mahayahay, Placer na ikinamatay ng 3 katao din.

Samantala, nito lamang Hulyo 25, 2020 sa magkatabing bayan ng Placer at Cawayan sa ikatlong distrito ng Masbate ay pinatay sa magkakahiwalay na lugar sina Julito Tibor Bolandrina at Nolito Maguilan. Ang 2 ay pinaratangang mga kasapi ng NPA. Sinuotan pa ng damit na may tatak ng JRC NPA si Bolandrina para palabasing miembro ito ng NPA.

Nabubuwang na ang rehimeng US,China-Duterte sa pagpapatupad ng kontra-mamamayang NTF-ELCAC at mas lalo pa itong pasasahulin sa bagong batas na Anti-Terrorsim Law. Alam natin na ang bagong batas na ito ay target na patahimikin ang mga kritiko ng reaksyunaryong gobyerno ni Duterte at ang rebolusyonaryong kilusan. Sa katunayan, bilang panimula ay sunod-sunod na ang mga patayan sa probinsya ng Masbate, panggigipit sa mga opisyal ng barangay at mga sibilyang pinaghihinalaan nilang may koneksyon sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa probinsya. Ngunit, sa kabila nito ay galit na galit at nasusuka na ang mamamayang Masbatenyo sa mga nangyayaring pang-aabuso ng 2nd IBPA at PPO PNP Masbate kung kaya naman natutuwa sila tuwing napaparusahan ang mga ito ng JRC BHB-Masbate.

Kung kaya wala nang dapat pagpilian ang mamamayang inaapi at pinagsasamantalahan kundi ang tumangan ng armas at tahakin ang armadong pagrerebolusyon para sa hustisya’t katarungan.

Sersoyo ang JRC BHB-Masbate sa sinumpaan nitong paglingkuaran ng buong katapatan at husay ang mamamayang Masbatenyo buhay man ay iaalay.

Nananawagan ang JRC BHB-Masbate sa mga makabayang Masbatenyo na ito ang panahon na di pwede kayong manahimik, lalo na’t nahaharap tayo sa pananalasa ng buwang na pangulo.

JRC BHB-Masbate, tunay na suldados san pobre!

Pagbayarin ng dugo ang pasista, berdugo at mamamatay taong 2nd IBPA at PPO PNP Masbate!

Mamamayang Masbatenyo, sampa na sa Bagong Hukbong Bayan!

https://cpp.ph/statement/gawad-pamamarusa-ng-jose-rapsing-command-sa-kasundaluhan-at-kapulisan-sa-lalawigan-ng-masbate-na-nagsasagawa-ng-focused-military-operations/

CPP/NDF-KM: Pulang Saludo, Ka Maymay at 4 pang kasama! Pagbayarin ang Pasistang AFP at PNP!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 13, 2020): Pulang Saludo, Ka Maymay at 4 pang kasama! Pagbayarin ang Pasistang AFP at PNP!

KABATAANG MAKABAYAN

KM-ILOCOS 

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 13, 2020

Pinakamataas na pulang parangal at saludo ang iginagawad ng Kabataang Makabayan (KM)- Ilocos kay Kasamang Pamela “Ka Maymay” Peralta at 4 pa nitong kasamang Pulang Mandirigma ng New Peoples Army (NPA) na nagbuwis ng buhay sa pakikipaglaban sa pasistang tropa ng pinaghalong unit ng AFP at PNP sa Brgy. Suagayan, Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur noong Agosto 8 ng hapon hanggang Agosto 9 ng umaga.

Nagluluksa ngayon ang buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan kasama ang mga kabataan, magsasaka, at buong mamamayan ng kanayunan ng Ilocos Sur sa pagpaslang ng pasistang armadong pwersa ni Duterte kila Ka Maymay at 4 pang kasama. Sasariwain ng mga kabataan ang alaala ng 5 martir ng bayan sa pamamagitan ng pagpapatuloy ng rebolusyonaryong pakikibakang tinahak nila.

Ipinapaabot namin ang taos-pusong pakikiramay sa mga kapamilya, kaibigan, kaklase, at mga naging kasama ng 5 martir ng sambayanan. Nais rin naming iparating ang lubos na pasasalamat sa inyo sa pagbabahagi ng inyong dakilang anak para sa buong-panahong paglilingkod sa masang anakpawis ng Ilocos.

Kabaliktaran sa nais palabasin ni Major Rogelio Dumbrique ng CMO Battalion at iba pang tagakahol ng AFP, hindi nasayang ang buhay ni Ka Maymay at 4 pang kasama sapagkat ang mga aral at insipirasyong iniwan nila Ka Maymay ay magpapasibol ng marami pang Ka Maymay at mga pulang mandirigma sa hanay ng mga kabataan at masang pinaglingkuran nya.

Dadakilain ng lahat ng kabataan ang alaala ni Ka Maymay bilang isang tunay na huwaran ng walang pagmamaliw na paglilingkod sa sambayanan. Nagpapatuloy pa rin sa kasalukuyan ang operasyon ng pasistang kaaway sa pinangyarihan ng pagkakapaslang kina Ka Maymay at sa mga karatig na baranggay. Sa harap ng malungkot at nakakagalit na pangyayaring ito, buo ang determinasyon ng mga naiwan nila Ka Maymay na akuin ang mga tungkuling nakaatang sa kanila.

Ang sakripisyo nila Ka Maymay at 4 na mga kasama ay mas lalo lamang magpapaalab sa rebolusyonaryong damdamin ng NPA-Ilocos Sur kasama ang buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan. Ang kanilang dakilang buhay ay inspirasyon ng buong masang aping lumalaban upang ipagtagumpay ang demokratikong rebolusyong bayan hanggang sosyalismo.

Pulang Saludo para kila Ka Maymay at 4 na kasama!
Pagbayarin ang pasistang AFP at PNP!
Kabataan, sumampa sa NPA!
Ipagtagumpay ang rebolusyong bayan!

https://cpp.ph/statement/pulang-saludo-ka-maymay-at-4-pang-kasama-pagbayarin-ang-pasistang-afp-at-pnp/

CPP/NPA-Southern Tagalog: Singilin ang AFP-PNP sa kriminal na pagpaslang kay Mario “Ka Jethro” Caraig!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 13, 2020): Singilin ang AFP-PNP sa kriminal na pagpaslang kay Mario “Ka Jethro” Caraig!

ARMANDO CIENFUEGO

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-SOUTHERN TAGALOG

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 13, 2020

Nagngingitngit sa galit ang Melito Glor Command-NPA ST sa pataksil na pagpaslang ng 1st IBPA, 2nd ID at PNP-Laguna kay Mario “Ka Jethro” Caraig, 57, na nasa katayuang hors de combat noong madaling araw ng Agosto 8 sa Laguna. Isa na naman itong kaso ng ala-Tokhang na pamamaslang sa tulak ng marahas na kontra-rebolusyonaryong gera na dapat panagutan ng mga mamamatay-taong heneral ng AFP-PNP, mga berdugong pasimuno ng NTF-ELCAC at ng punong pasistang si Rodrigo Duterte.

Malinaw sa estilo ng pagpatay kay Ka Jethro at sa iba pang NPA na hors de combat na wala nang sinusunod na makataong batas o batas ng digmaan ang rehimeng US-Duterte alinsunod sa 1949 at 1977 Geneva Conventions. Malubhang nasugatan si Ka Jethro mula sa labanan noong Agosto 4 sa Brgy. San Antonio, Kalayaan, Laguna, kung saan namartir din sina Dioscorro ‘Ka Termo” Cello, Rey “Ka Danny” Macinas at Alex “Ka Omar” Perdeguera na mga kasama niya sa yunit.

Nagresulta ang tama ng bala ni Ka Jethro sa pagkatanggal ng laman sa kanyang kaliwang braso. Nanghihina pa siya at hindi pa nalalapatan ng lunas nang salakayin ng mga pulis at militar. Tulog siya nang barilin ng mga kaaway. Hindi na rin niya magagawang lumaban dahil naiwan niya ang kanyang baril sa pinangyarihan ng naunang labanan.

Sa ganoong kalagayan ni Ka Jethro, ang katanggap-tanggap na hakbangin ayon sa Protocol I at II ng Geneva Conventions ay lapatan siya ng lunas bilang bihag-ng-digma. Ang brutalidad ng rehimeng Duterte at ang kultura ng karahasan at kawalang pagpapahalaga sa buhay ng tao na pinaiiral sa loob ng AFP at PNP ang dahilan ng malaganap na summary executions, extra-judicial killings na ala-Tokhang laban sa mga tinatakang kaaway ng reaksyunaryong estado. Ang brutal na pagpaslang kay Ka Jethro at sa iba pang katulad nyang hors de combat ay salaminan ng patakaran ng rehimen at AFP-PNP ng hindi pagkuha ng bihag sa lahat ng NPA—laluna sa mga lider ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan.

Ang pamamaraan ng pagpatay ng AFP-PNP kay Ka Jethro at iba pang maituturing na hors de combat tulad nina Kasamang Lorelyn Saligumba (Hunyo 4, 2020) at Ermin Bellen (Disyembre 5, 2019) ay pruwebang sagad na sa buto ang indoktrinasyon ng karahasan at kawalan ng respeto sa buhay ng mga pasistang sundalo’t pulis. Mundo ang kaibahan nito sa bakal na disiplina at mataas na pagpapahalaga ng NPA sa karapatang tao na itinataguyod kahit sa gitna ng kabi-kabilang pagbali ng GRP sa mga kasunduang CARHRIHL at mga protocol ng Geneva Conventions.

Lalong nakakasuklam ang pagpaslang kay Ka Jethro dahil tiyak na naging motibo ng mga pulis at militar ang P4.3-milyong patong sa ulo ng kasama. Tunay na bayaran ang AFP-PNP at walang maipagmamalaking dangal. Ang salaping matatanggap ng mga berdugong heneral mula sa pag-utas sa buhay ni Ka Jethro ay may katumbas na utang na dugo sa mamamayan at rebolusyon.

Sa kabilang banda, hindi matutumbasan ng anumang halaga ang buhay na buung-buong inialay ni Ka Jethro para sa rebolusyon at sambayanang Pilipino. Tatlumpu’t anim na taon siyang nagsilbi sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan at kalakhan nito’y inilaan sa Batangas, ang probinsyang kanyang sinilangan. Mahal na mahal siya ng masang kanyang nakapiling at nakasalamuha dahil naramdaman nila ang kanyang tunay na pagmamalasakit sa kanilang interes.

Kalagitnaan ng dekada ’90 nagsimula ang pagkilos ni Ka Jethro sa loob ng NPA. Naging matatag siyang giya ng mga yunit ng NPA na kanyang kinapalooban laluna sa gitna ng malulupit na atake ng kaaway. Nagpatuloy siya sa armadong pakikibaka sa kabila ng mga pisikal na karamdaman at kahirapan bunga ng kanyang edad, dahilan upang maging inspirasyon siya ng mga nakababatang Pulang mandirigma. Hanggang sa kanyang huling sandali, mahigpit siyang tumupad sa tungkulin bilang kadre ng Partido, upisyal ng NPA at proletaryong rebolusyonaryo.

Hindi nagtatapos sa malagim na pagpaslang ng AFP-PNP kay Ka Jethro ang kanyang maningning na rebolusyonaryong adhikain. Itatanghal ng mga Pulang mandirigma ng MGC ang kanyang alaala at diwang Komunista at gagamitin itong gatong sa higit pang pagpapalaab ng armadong pakikibaka sa rehiyon.

Titiyakin ng MGC at ng buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa TK na mabigyan si Ka Jethro—at lahat ng biktima ng karahasan ng rehimeng US-Duterte—ng rebolusyonaryong hustisya at mapagbayad nang mahal ang pasistang rehimen para sa lahat ng krimen nito sa mamamayan.###

https://cpp.ph/statement/singilin-ang-afp-pnp-sa-kriminal-na-pagpaslang-kay-mario-ka-jethro-caraig/

CPP/NPA-Palawan: Hingil sa Nangyaring Ambush sa Rescue 165

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 13, 2020): Hingil sa Nangyaring Ambush sa Rescue 165

SALVADOR LUMINOSO

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-PALAWAN

BIENVENIDO VALLEVER COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 13, 2020

Nang makarating sa kaalaman ng pamunuan ng Bienvenido Vallever Command (BVC) ang nangyaring ambus sa Rescue 165, kaagad na naglabas ng kautusan ito upang imbestigahan kung sangkot ang anumang yunit ng NPA-Palawan sa insidente.

Kaalinsabay, mahigpit na tatalima ang BVC sa direktiba ng Melito Glor Command bilang pinakamataas na otoridad ng NPA sa rehiyong Timog Katagalugan na magkaroon ng puspusan at malalimang imbestigasyon sa insidente at imbestigahan kung may nasangkot na yunit nito sa pangyayari.

Tinitiyak ng BVC sa publiko, sa pamilya, sa mga kaibigan at alyado na gagawin nito ang patas na imbestigasyon alinsunod sa mga proseso ng rebolusyonaryong sistema ng hustisya ng Demokratikong Gubyernong Bayan at Alituntunin ng NPA. Kung mapatunayang may yunit ng BVC na imbuwelto ay nakahanda itong magbigay ng indemnipikasyon sa mga napinsala at nasaktan.

Ang mahabang rekord ng NPA ang magsasalita na laging nasa unahang kunsiderasyon ng bawat yunit ang pagtiyak na walang madamay na sibilyan sa mga inilulunsad nitong taktikal na opensiba. Ang diwa ng taus-pusong paglilingkod sa sambayanan ang prinsipyong nasa likod at gumagabay sa bawat Pulang mandirigma at kumander na tiyaking hindi mapipinsala ang mga sibilyan at kanilang ariarian sa mga aksyong militar ng NPA. Gayunman, hinaharap nito ang responsibilidad sa mga kaso ng pagkakamali na maaaring lumitaw sa proseso ng pagpapatupad ng kanyang tungkulin militar.

https://cpp.ph/statement/hingil-sa-nangyaring-ambush-sa-rescue-165/

CPP/CPP=Southern Tagalog: Ka Jethro, magiting na anak ng Batangas, bayani at martir ng sambayanan at rebolusyong Pilipino!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 13, 2020): Ka Jethro, magiting na anak ng Batangas, bayani at martir ng sambayanan at rebolusyong Pilipino!

KOMITENG REHIYON

TIMOG KATAGALUGAN

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 13, 2020

Nagpupugay at iginagawad ng Komiteng Rehiyon ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas sa Timog Katagalugan (KRTK-PKP-MLM) ang pinakamataas na pagdakila kay Kasamang Mario Caraig, isang ulirang komunista, magiting na rebolusyonaryo at martir ng rebolusyon. Inialay nya ang mahigit 36 taon ng kanyang buhay sa pagtataguyod ng interes ng mamamayang api’t pinagsasamantalahan at simulain ng pambansang demokrasya.

Mas kilala si Kasamang Mario Caraig sa tawag na Ka Jethro, Lemuel, Zilong at Igpaw sa mga kasama at masa ng TK. Brutal siyang pinaslang ng mga pasistang militar kahit isa nang hors de combat o wala na sa katayuang lumaban pagkaraang masugatan sa isang labanan noong Agosto 4 at habang nilalapatan ng lunas—isang kaso ng extra judicial killing (EJK) ng pinagsamang pwersa ng 1st IBPA at PNP-Laguna noong madaling araw ng Agosto 8 sa San Antonio, Kalayaan, Laguna.

Magiting at mabuting anak ng lalawigan ng Batangas si Ka Jethro. Ipinanganak siya noong Setyembre 24, 1962 sa bayan ng Nasugbu. Mula pagkapanganak, sa probinsya ng Batangas na siya lumaki, nagkaisip at nag-aral. Dito na din siya namulat sa pangangailangang baguhin ang lipunan sa ilalim ng diktadurang Marcos at kalauna’y niyakap ang rebolusyon, pumaloob sa kilusang lihim at lumahok sa anti-diktadurang pakikibaka. Hindi bababa sa 27 taon ng kanyang 36 na taong rekord sa rebolusyonaryong pagkilos ay iginugol nya sa pagpupundar ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa Batangas. Naging kasapi siya ng Partido noong Marso 1987. Dito na din siya nagbuo ng rebolusyonaryong pamilya.

Namulat at naorganisa si Ka Jethro noong 1984 sa panahon ng kasagsagan ng paglaban ng sambayanang Pilipino upang pabagsakin ang noo’y kinamumuhiang diktadurang US-Marcos. Bilang isang relihiyosong protestante, pinangunahan niya ang pag-oorganisa sa kabataang kristiyano at mga pagkilos laban sa diktadura ng panahong iyon. Dahil sa kanyang kasigasigan, naging panlalawigang tagapangulo siya nito sa Batangas at isa sa naging pangunahing opisyal sa antas ng rehiyon. Kalaunan, tumayo siya bilang isa sa lider masa sa hayag na demokratikong kilusang masa sa probinsya. Noong 1985, naging pangkalahatang kalihim siya ng isang progresibong alyansa sa lalawigan ng Batangas. Pinangunahan nila ang mga pagkilos ng mamamayan sa probinsya hanggang sa bumagsak ang diktadurang Marcos.

Ang paglalim ng kanyang paglahok sa anti-diktadura at anti-pasistang kilusan ay ibayong nagbukas sa kanya ng pinto na hindi makakamit ang tunay na panlipunang pagbabago kung hindi sa pamamagitan ng armadong rebolusyon. Nasaksihan nya na ang pagpapalit sa diktadura ng mula sa karibal na paksyon ng naghaharing uri ay hindi makabuluhang bumabago sa api at siil na kalagayan ng masang anakpawis. Nagpapatuloy lamang ang mapagsamantala at mapang-aping sistema sa ilalim ng nagpapalitang paksyon ng naghaharing uri.

Sa buong 36 taon ng kanyang rebolusyonaryong paglilingkod, hindi kinakitaan ng anumang panghihina o pagtigil sa pagkilos si Ka Jethro. Naging bahagi siya sa mga kamalian at paglihis noong huling mga taon ng dekada ’80 ngunit matapat niyang kinilala ang mga pagkakamali at marubdub niyang isinakatuparan ang pagwawasto sa ilalim ng Ikalawang Dakilang Kilusang Pagwawasto noong 1992 hanggang sa mga sumunod na taon.

Mula nang matalaga sa pagkilos sa larangang gerilya sa Batangas noong 1995, ginugol ni Ka Jethro ang mahigit sa 24 taon ng kanyang buong panahong rekord sa pagsusulong ng armadong pakikibaka sa probinsya at mga karatig na lugar.

Isa sa pangunahing namumunong kadre si Ka Jethro sa organisasyon ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) at Bagong Hukbong Bayan sa lalawigan ng Batangas. Mula sa pagiging Kalihim at opisyal pampulitika ng isang yunit sa gawaing masa, umangat siya sa katungkulan hanggang maging kalihim ng komiteng larangan, naging pangalawang kalihim ng komiteng probinsya at pagkaraan, naging kalihim nito noong 2017. Siya ang naging tagapagsalita ng Eduardo Dagli Command at nakilala sa pangalang Apolinario Matienza.

Sa kanyang kawalang pagod at mga pagsisikap, kasama ang kapwa niya kadre’t kasapi ng Partido, kumander at mandirigma ng BHB, katuwang ang mamamayang Batangueño, lumawak at lumalim ang rebolusyonaryong baseng masa sa Batangas nang walang kaparis sa kasaysayan nito. Sa kanyang pamumuno, nailunsad at naipagtagumpay ang pakikibaka para sa lupa, kabuhayan, panirikan at karapatan ng mga magsasaka, mangingisda, manggagawang bukid at iba pang aping uri. Magiting niyang pinamunuan ang pakikibaka ng mga mamamayan laban sa pinakamalalaki at pinakamakapangyarihang burgesya-kumprador at panginoong maylupa tulad ng mga pamilyang Sy, Ayala, Roxas, Ang at Campos. Ang mga ito ang numero unong kaaway ng mga magsasaka’t mangingisda sa lalawigan na pwersahang nagpapalayas, nangangamkam ng kanilang mga lupain at kumikitil sa kanilang kabuhayan.

Sa saklaw ng panahong ito, lumawak at lumakas din ang hukbong bayan at armadong pakikibakang inilulunsad ng NPA sa probinsya ng Batangas. Naisagawa ang mga taktikal na opensiba at iba pang aksyong militar na bumigwas sa kaaway ng mamamayan at nagbigay ng katarungan sa mga biktima ng inhustisya’t pang-aapi ng naghaharing uri. Pinakatampok sa mga ito ang matagumpay na reyd-pamamarusa sa armadong goons at ari-arian ni Henry Sy sa Papaya, Nasugbu noong Enero 29, 2017.

Kaya naman, walang pagsidlan ang galit ng mga naghaharing-uri kay Ka Jethro, sa PKP at New People’s Army na nagsilbing pinuno’t sandigan ng aping mamamayan sa kanilang buhay at pakikibaka. Ilandaang libong ektarya ang sinaklaw ng mga antipyudal na pakikibaka, libu-libong ektarya ang naipagtagumpay at libu-libong mamamayan ang nagtamasa ng mga tagumpay na ito. Upang hadlangan ang mga tagumpay ng kilusang magsasaka, ginamit ang buong makinarya ng panunupil ng reaksyunaryong estado para supilin at wasakin ang rebolusyonaryong paglaban sa lalawigan.

Sa kanyang ipinakitang katatagan, husay at determinasyon, nahalal siya bilang kagawad ng Komiteng Rehiyon sa TK (KRTK) noong 2012 at regular na kagawad ng Komiteng Tagapagpaganap ng KRTK noong 2018.

Kilala bilang mabait at magiliw sa mga kasama at masa si Ka Jethro. Madali siyang makapalagayang loob at lapitan hindi lamang ng kanyang kakolektibo kundi kahit ng mga karaniwang kasapi at mandirigma na kanyang pinamumunuan.

Kilala din siya bilang mahusay na propagandista’t ahitador. Marubdub at punong-puno ng ahitasyon kung siya’y magsalita at magpaliwanag sa mga kasama at masa. Palagi niyang inililinaw ang kawastuhan at kahalagahan ng rebolusyon.

Mababa ang loob at mapagpakumbaba si Ka Jethro. Maluwag siyang tumanggap ng mga kapunahan at nagsisikap na maiwasto ang mga kahinaan at kakulangan upang maging karapat-dapat na pinuno at modelong komunista.

Tapat sa Partido, sa rebolusyon at sa interes ng masa si Ka Jethro. Palagi niyang inuuna ang interes ng Partido kaysa sa kanyang pansariling interes. Bukal sa loob na tinatanggap ni Ka Jethro ang mga atas, gawain o disposisyon. Hindi niya alintana ang sakit na hypertension, diabetes at pagiging operado sa slipped disk. Para sa kanya, nakahanda siyang tupdin anuman ang atas ng Partido at saanman siya itatalagang lugar at gawain. Ito ang kanyang panuntunan laluna nang italaga bilang kalihim ng Komiteng Probinsya ng Batangas. Alam niya ang bigat at panganib na dala ng kanyang tungkulin at responsibilidad, ngunit walang pag-aatubili niya itong tinanganan dahil alam niya ang kahalagahan nito sa buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan.

Sukdulan ang galit ng sambayanan at ng buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa rehiyong TK sa karumal-dumal na pagpaslang kay Ka Jethro ng mga kaaway. Ninanais ng mga kaaway na ganap ng patahimikin si Ka Jethro at maghasik ng sindak sa mamamayan. Hinding-hindi kailanman masisindak ang rebolusyonaryong mamamayan at ang sambayanang Pilipino sa pasismo at terorismo ng rehimeng US-Duterte.

Ang buhay at pakikibaka ni Ka Jethro at iba pang mga kasamang martir ay magsisilbing apoy na magpapaalab sa naghihimagsik na damdamin ng sambayanan upang isulong ang digmang bayan at ang demokratikong rebolusyon ng bayan. Hindi kailanman magmamaliw ang diwa at alaala ni Ka Jethro. Sa brutal na pagpaslang sa kanya ng kaaway at sa kanyang huling hininga, mananatili siyang buhay sa puso ng mamamayan. Nakaukit sa bawat sulok ng lalawigan ang kanyang kadakilaan, sakripisyo, kawalang pag-iimbot at busilak na paglilingkod sa masa .

Aalalahanin at dadakilain ng sambayanang Pilipino ang buhay at pakikibaka ni Ka Jethro. Sa kabilang banda, lulunurin ng nag-aalimpuyong galit ng sambayanan ang rehimeng US-Duterte, ang kanyang mga kroni at mersenaryo’t pasistang AFP at PNP. Darating ang panahon ng pagtutuos at paniningil. Makakamit ng sambayanan at ni Ka Jethro ang rebolusyonaryong katarungan.

Mabuhay ang alaala ni Ka Jethro!

Ibagsak ang rehimeng US-Duterte!

Digmang Bayan, Sagot sa Terorismo ng Estado!

Mabuhay ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan!

Mabuhay ang National Democratic Front of the Philippines!

Mabuhay ang Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas!

Mabuhay ang rebolusyong Pilipino!

https://cpp.ph/statement/ka-jethro-magiting-na-anak-ng-batangas-bayani-at-martir-ng-sambayanan-at-rebolusyong-pilipino/

CPP/CIO: “Better normal Bill” violates rights in the guise of pandemic measures

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): “Better normal Bill” violates rights in the guise of pandemic measures

MARCO VALBUENA

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 12, 2020

The Filipino people should be vigilant against the curtailment of their basic freedoms especially in the face of the Duterte regime’s exploitation of the Covid-19 pandemic to institutionalize its fascist rule.

Masquerading as a public health measure, House Resolution 6864 otherwise known as the Better Normal Bill, is among the measures that are being railroaded by Duterte’s congressional supermajority to consolidate the regime’s tyrannical rule.

The seemingly innocuous bill puts into writing common and basic health measures that are, in fact, already in place and are being practiced by the people. However, alongside wearing of face masks and washing of hands, the bill bans public gatherings outright, a right which is considered inviolable even by the 1987 constitution.

This out and out fascist provision will not only impinge on the people’s right to protest and hold meetings, it will undoubtedly subject even family-oriented gatherings such as weddings, baptisms, reunions and the like to police and military control.

The bill, in fact, paves the way for the institutionalization of the militaristic reign of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) over the FIlipino people, with all its mind boggling and often idiotic measures on “social distancing” courtesy of its fascist general Eduardo Año.

Duterte’s minions in the Senate and Congress are hellbent on passing a slew of measures to ensure his fascist reign.

This bill will definitely not bring about a “better normal” because, if enacted, it will only subject the Filipino people to even greater restrictions of more freedoms in the face of the regime’s failure to manage the pandemic.

https://cpp.ph/statement/%ef%bb%bfbetter-normal-bill-violates-rights-in-the-guise-of-pandemic-measures/

CPP/NDF-Ilocos: NDF-Ilocos: Justice for the brutally slain members of NPA-Ilocos Sur!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): NDF-Ilocos: Justice for the brutally slain members of NPA-Ilocos Sur!

KA ROSA GUIDON

TAGAPAGSALITA

NDF-ILOCOS

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

AUGUST 12, 2020

Achieve the broadest and strongest unity against the fascist Duterte regime!

Merely half a year after the brazen summary execution of three members of the New People’s Army – Ilocos Sur (NPA-Ilocos Sur), the 702nd Brigade bares yet again another display of atrociousness by murdering at least five members of the revolutionary army. On August 8, in Sta. Lucia, Ilocos Sur, government troops blatantly disregarded international humanitarian laws governing armed conflict and warfare by committing the worst acts of overkill against members of the NPA-Ilocos Sur. Truly, under the administration of the bloodthirsty Rodrigo Duterte, unparalleled barbarity and unprecedented disdain for human rights has become the brand of the Philippine Army (PA).

Cowardly Acts
The National Democratic Front – Ilocos (NDF-Ilocos) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the dastardly acts of the units under the PA. It is another clear violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Laws signed between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Government of the Philippines in March 1998.

Moreover, it is obvious that utter cowardice lies behind the PA’s excessive use of violence. Its fear of the systemic change espoused by the NPA, and the spread of its influence amongst the masses, drives it to employ the most heinous methods to snuff the life out of a revolutionary hero. Its greatest mistake is believing that revolutionary ideals die together with the revolutionary martyrs and denying the fact that fascism only serves to fan the flame of the revolutionary struggle.

State Fascism

While the PA never balked at any chance to exert extreme violence against the revolutionary army, Duterte’s own predilection towards brutality and condescension towards the poor only served as extra badge of approval. That loss of life and limb is so normalized under the present regime is evidenced by the estimated 7,000 killed under the supposed war against illegal drugs, by communities in Marawi wiped out in their entirety through aerial bombing and indiscriminate firing and by the abandonment of millions of Filipinos in the fight against Covid-19 through militaristic—rarely medical—measures against the virus. Fascism, coupled with class privilege, are the operative words under Duterte’s rule.

It goes without saying that the national democratic movement has earned the deepest ire of Duterte himself. Aside from periodically stating his irrational refusal to resume the talks for peace, Duterte has ordered the murder of a negotiator. On August 10, Randall Echanis died after suffering from multiple stab injuries and gunshot wound to the head. During his life of struggle and service, he has been an advocate of peace based on justice and committed through armed struggle, as well as an ardent activist for agrarian reform. His revolutionary ideals, like those of the slain NPA members, will continue to take root and flourish long after his demise.

The NDF-Ilocos joins the rest of the national democratic movement in mourning the deaths of these fellow warriors and revolutionaries. Their presence will be missed but their legacies will more than fill the gap they have left. Duterte and his blood-drenched army will do well to remember that history and the people will be their judge. The fall of tyrants and despots is just as inevitable and certain as the victory of the national democratic revolution. ###

https://cpp.ph/statement/ndf-ilocos-justice-for-the-brutally-slain-members-of-npa-ilocos-sur/

CPP/NPA-Batangas: Pinakamataas na pagpupugay kay Kasamang Mario ‘Ka Jethro’ Caraig: Bayani ng mamamayan ng Batangas, Bayani ng sambayanang Pilipino!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): Pinakamataas na pagpupugay kay Kasamang Mario ‘Ka Jethro’ Caraig: Bayani ng mamamayan ng Batangas, Bayani ng sambayanang Pilipino!

APOLINARIO MATIENZA

NPA-BATANGAS

EDUARDO DAGLI COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 12, 2020

Pinakamataas na pagpupugay ang iginagawad ng New People’s Army – Eduardo Dagli Command, NPA – Batangas kay Kasamang Mario ‘Ka Jethro’ Caraig, magiting na kadre ng Partido at Hukbo, mahusay na guro, mabuting tao at dakilang kasama na lubos na minahal, hinangaan, kinilala at naging inspirasyon sa libu-libong mamamayan ng Batangas.

Hindi kayang tumbasan ng anumang halaga ang dakilang buhay ni Ka Jethro. Humigit kumulang tatlong dekada ng kanyang ginintuang buhay ay inialay niya sa rebolusyon at pagpapalaya sa sambayanan mula sa labis na pang-aapi at pagsasamantala. Saksi ang mga kasama at masang kanyang nakilala, nakasalamuha at nakasama kung gaano kalalim ang paninindigan at dedikasyon ni K. Jethro sa pagtataguyod at pagsusulong sa interes at kapakanan ng mga uring inaapi’t pinagsasamantalahan.

Binata pa lamang nang mamulat at maorganisa si Ka Jethro. Mula sa uring peti-burges na nasa panggitnang saray, tinalikuran ni Ka Jethro ang layaw ng buhay at higit na piniling igugol ito sa paglilingkod sa mamamayan. Naging lider kabataan din siya ng kanyang kinabibilangang simbahang protestante.

Mula nang maorganisa, naging aktibo siya sa paglahok sa pakikibaka ng mga mamamayan ng Batangas at karatig probinsya ng Cavite para sa pagtatanggol sa lupa, kabuhayan at karapatang panlipunan. Naging organisador sa hanay ng kabataan, mga propesyunal at panggitnang puwersa, mga magsasaka at manggagawa. Masigla din siyang lumahok sa pagbubuo ng mga grupong pangkultura. Makabuluhan ang naging ambag niya sa pagbubuo ng mga malalawak na alyansa ng mamamayan na nagsusulong ng kanilang interes at kagalingan, kahit noong kasagsagan ng pananalasa ng puting lagim ng Batas Militar ng diktadurang rehimeng US-Marcos.

Nang magpasyang sumampa sa hukbo, nakilala si Ka Jethro dahil sa kanyang husay sa aspetong militar partikular sa husay sa paggamit ng pistola. Kinakitaan din siya ng husay at sigla sa gawaing propaganda-edukasyon na ibayong naglapit sa kanya sa puso ng masa. Magiliw sa masa, mainit sa pakikihalubilo kaninuman at walang sawa sa pakikipagtalakayan kahit abutin hanggang magdamag. Ganito laging maaalala ng masa at mga kasama si Ka Jethro. Diplomatiko itong kausap, maunawain at kung sa karaniwang termino ay ‘walang masamang tinapay,’ kaya’t sa anumang problema ng masa siya ang laging hinahanap-hanap para makausap at mapagdulugan.

Malaking bahagi si Ka Jethro sa mga maningning na tagumpay ng armadong pakikibaka at rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa lalawigan. Naging pundadores ito sa paglalatag at pagtatayo ng rebolusyonaryong baseng masa sa buong lalawigan. Susing kalahok at nanguna ito sa mga matutunog na taktikal na opensiba ng NPA sa Batangas, sa mga matatagumpay na paglulunsad ng rebolusyong agraryo laban sa mga panginoong maylupa sa lalawigan at sa mga pakikibakang masa para sa tirikan, kabuhayan at hustisyang panlipunan na hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay pinapakinabangan at tinatamasa pa ng libu-libong mamamayan ng Batangas. Punong-puno si Ka Jethro ng pagmamahal at nag-uumapaw na paghahangad na mapagsilbihan ang interes ng masa. Lagi itong nangunguna sa paghahapag ng mga pamamaraan kung paano lulutasin at haharapin ang problema ng masa, problema man ito sa kabuhayan, tirahan at kahit sa personal na aspeto. Kahit sa mga simple at maliliit na bagay ay laging ipinapauna nito ang interes ng masa. Mahigpit nitong tinatanganan ang Tatlong Pangunahing Alituntunin sa Disiplina at Walong Puntong Dapat Tandaan ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan.

Sa kabila ng pagtugis ng kaaway at pagpapatong ng malaking halaga, hindi kailanman nasilaw dito ang rebolusyonaryong baseng masa sa Batangas at bagkus ay walang sawa siyang minahal, itinaguyod at pinangalagaan dahil sa dakilang ambag niya sa mga tagumpay na hanggang ngayon ay tinatamasa at dinadakila ng mamamayan sa lalawigan.

Malapit at magiliw sa kasama si Ka Jethro. Kahit sa mas nakababatang kadre, nagsasanay na mga upisyal at mga mandirigma ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan. Matiyaga itong magturo ng kanyang kaalaman at kasanayan at kahit sa kabila ng kaabalahan sa trabaho ay laging may oras para sa mga kasama, lalo na sa mga kasamang dumadaan sa krisis at naghahanap ng kalinga at pagpapayo. Para sa lahat ng mga kasama, si Ka Jethro ay isang mabait, mahusay at mapagmahal na kasama. Punong-puno siya ng malasakit. Kailanman ay hindi siya kinakitaan ng anumang bahid ng arogansya o pagmamalaki sa sarili. Sa diwa ng puspusang pagtalima at paglulunsad ng kilusang pagwawasto ng Partido, buong pagpapakumbaba niyang tinukoy at pinuna ang kanyang mga naging bahagi sa kahinaan at puspusang inialay ang sarili para sa pagwawasto at pagsulong.

Higit sa anupaman, inspirasyon si Ka Jethro ng bawat kasama dahil sa kanyang katatagan at dedikasyon para sa rebolusyon. Sa kabila ng kanyang edad at pisikal na karamdaman na ininda ng mahabang panahon, hindi ito kailanman nakaisip na magpahinga o tumigil sa pagkilos. Matiyaga niyang tinanganan at tinupad ang kanyang mga tungkulin, kapiling ng mga kasama, sa pinaka-mahihirap na kalagayan at sitwasyon, sa gitna man ng gutom, sakripisyo o panganib. Hindi siya kailanman nag-alinlangan sa pagtupad sa kanyang tungkulin, kahit kaakibat nito ang mas malalaking hamon at sakripisyo na kanyang kinaharap hanggang sa huling sandali ng kanyang buhay.

Mariing kinukundena ng Eduardo Dagli Command – NPA-Batangas ang rehimeng US-Duterte at ang pasistang tropa ng pulis at militar ng 1st IB PA sa kasuklam-suklam na pagpapakita nito ng kawalang paggalang sa batas ng digma, sa hindi pagkilala sa karapatan ni Ka Jethro bilang ‘hors de combat’ o wala na sa kapasidad na lumaban at sa walang awang pagpaslang dito sa kabila ng kanyang kalagayan.

Muli lamang ipinakita ng pasistang militar at ng rehimeng US-Duterte ang maka-hayop nitong katangian at kawalang pagpapahalaga sa buhay at karapatang pantao. Sila ang tunay na teroristang kinatatakutan at kinamumuhian ng sambayanan. Si Ka Jethro, at ang kanyang mga kasamang nasawi sa naganap na labanan sa probinsya ng Laguna noong Agosto 4 na sina Ka Termo, Ka Omar at Ka Danny, ay marubdob na hinihirang ng sambayanan bilang mga bayaning hindi kailanman malilimutan at nakaukit na sa puso at isipan ng mamamayan.

Patuloy na minamahal at idinadambana sa puso ng sambayanan ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan at lahat ng rebolusyonaryong martir nito dahil batid ng sambayanan na tanging ito ang tunay na hukbong naglilingkod sa interes nila laban sa mga ganid at mapagsamantalang naghaharing uri at sa nabubuwang na pasistang rehimeng US-Duterte.

Mabuhay ang alalaala ni Ka Jethro at mga kasamang martir ng rebolusyon!

Ibaling ang pamimighati sa rebolusyonaryong katapangan!

Mabuhay ang Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas at Bagong Hukbong Bayan!

Mabuhay ang rebolusyong Pilipino!

https://cpp.ph/statement/pinakamataas-na-pagpupugay-kay-kasamang-mario-ka-jethro-caraig-bayani-ng-mamamayan-ng-batangas-bayani-ng-sambayanang-pilipino/

CPP/CPP-IB: People are enraged over Philhealth corruption amid pandemic

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): People are enraged over Philhealth corruption amid pandemic

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES

INFORMATION BUREAU

AUGUST 12, 2020

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today said recent exposés of corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) under the Duterte regime is enraging the Filipino people amid the continues bungling of the management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“While medical workers and the Filipino people suffer from a poorly equipped, ill-prepared and overworked health system, big bureaucrat capitalist officials in the Philhealth pocket funds that should be going to the people’s urgent medical needs,” said Marco L. Valbuena, Information Officer of the CPP.

Among the biggest sources of corruption in the Philhealth involves billions of pesos cash advances and reimbursements being released against ghost receipts prepared by syndicates inside the health insurance system. Top officials take advantage of their position to finance their high-style of living, junkets, and other extravagant expenses.

“Of course, everyone knows, these syndicates cannot operate their criminal activities without co-conspirators among the key officials of Philhealth,” said Valbuena. “People are justly indignant over how Philhealth is being bled dry by corrupt officials while people suffer from lack of funds amid the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Former anti-fraud officer Thorrson Keith said last week that Philhealth executives have pocketed P15 billion from its funds. He also exposed repeated overpricing in the purchase of IT equipment. In 2018, the Commission on Audit also exposed excessive and unauthorized expenditures by Philhealth officials. Last year, graft charges were filed against Health Sec. Francisco Duque III for renting land to Philhealth.

“Duterte is feigning ignorance about corruption in the Philhealth,” pointed Valbuena. “Duterte and the rest of his ilk know fully well that the Philhealth has long been a haven of corruption and criminal syndicates.”

“He is merely pretending to be against corruption when he promised to punish corrupt Philhealth officials, but only after widespread condemnation,” said Valbuena. “Contrary to his anti-corruption braggadocio, he is tiptoeing around Philhealth President Ricardo Morales, a former AFP general, worried that he might irk people in the military if he kicks him out. Takot si Duterte sa mga military backer ni Morales.”

“Duterte has used his power of appointment of officials to the Philhealth and other government corporations and agencies as a means of rewarding and cultivating loyalties in the military, as well as among his big business supporters,” added Valbuena.

“The Philhealth corruption furthermore exposes the systemic problem in neoliberal thrust of privatizing the health and medical insurance system, where people are shortchanged, while capitalists and bureaucrats enjoy endless streams of profits.”

https://cpp.ph/statement/people-are-enraged-over-philhealth-corruption-amid-pandemic/

CPP/NPA-Southeast Negros: Mga lumulopyo sa Bayawan gilingla aron makaapil sa rally batok NPA; DTI vouchers gigamit nga paon

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): Mga lumulopyo sa Bayawan gilingla aron makaapil sa rally batok NPA; DTI vouchers gigamit nga paon

ESTRELLA BANAGBANAG

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-SOUTHEAST NEGROS

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 12, 2020

Ang RMPC-NPA Southeast Negros mikondena sa gihimong pagpangilad sa 11th IB sa katawhan sa Barangay Nangka, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental ug paghimo kanila nga kahimanan sa ilang pasundayag atubangan sa midya.

Miaging Lunes (Agusto 3), gipahibalo ang mga residente sa Nangka pinaagi sa ilang Barangay Captain nga si Roel Cadalso nga ang Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) manghatag sa livelihood vouchers isip abag sa ilang matag adlaw nga panginabuhian.

Tungod sa ilang nasinating kalisdanan resulta sa pandemya ug mga neoliberal nga ekonomikanhong palisiya ni Duterte, ang sobra 100 ka residente miadto sa Barangay Hall sa tinguha nga makadawat sa alibyo nga hinabang gikan sa kagamhanan.

Sa dili maayong kalamboan, human sa pag-apod-apod sa voucher ang mga operatiba sa CSP (usa ka estratehiyang psyops nga dili haum nga gitawag og Community Support Program) sa 11th IB mao ang mikontrol sa aktibidad ug nagsugod sa pagpanghatag sa mga istrimer ug tarpaulin nga may nakasulat nga mga walay unod nga pagpangdaut batok sa rebolusyonaryong kalihukan. Dayon ang mga residente sa Nangka gipaatubang sa camera nga nagdala sa mga banner.

Klaro ug tataw, ang maong aktibidad gi-organisa sa militar ug wala kalabutan niini ang katawhan. Gigamit lang sila nga instrumento sa makinarya sa propaganda sa 11th IB.

“Ang mga propagandista sa 11th IB pabalik-balik naghambog sa maong makauulaw nga salida isip ebidensya sa “suporta sa katawhan” sa bangis nga kontra-insurhensyang kampanya ni Duterte nga gipatuman pinaagi sa NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict). Apan sukwahi niini ang kamatuoran. Ang mga tawo miadto dili tungod sa rally aron pagkondena sa NPA ug rebolusyon. Miadto sila tungod sa vouchers. Ang militar wala ulaw nga mipahimulos sa kalisod sa katawhan,” matud pa sa tigpamaba sa RPMC nga si Ka Estrella Banagbanag.

Gikastigo ni Banagbanag si 11th IB commander LTC Ramir Redosendo sa pagsulod sa maong ngil-ad ug makauulaw nga binuhatan sa pag-ilad sa katawhan aron makaangkon sa pipila ka pogi points. “Hilabihan siya ka desperado sa pagtugot sa iyang mga bata-bata nga mohimo sa maong imoral nga binuhatan. Hinoon masabtan ra man kini sa kahimtang sa nagkadakong popularidad sa rebolusyonaryong kalihukan sa kabukiran ug pagdagsa sa mga kabatan-onan sa bukid nga moapil sa NPA labi na karon panahon sa krisis”, dugang ni Banagbanag. ###

https://cpp.ph/statement/mga-lumulopyo-sa-bayawan-gilingla-aron-makaapil-sa-rally-batok-npa-dti-vouchers-gigamit-nga-paon/

CPP/NPA-Southeast Negros: Bayawan residents misled into joining anti-NPA rally; DTI vouchers used as bait

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): Bayawan residents misled into joining anti-NPA rally; DTI vouchers used as bait

ESTRELLA BANAGBANAG

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-SOUTHEAST NEGROS

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 12, 2020

The RMPC-NPA Southeast Negros denounced the 11th IB for defrauding the people of Barangay Nangka, Bayawan City, Negros Oriental and turning them as props of their photo-op spectatcle.

Last Monday (August 3), Nangka residents through its Barangay Captain Roel Cadalso were informed that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be distributing livelihood vouchers to help them in their daily living.

Having endured the hard times as the result of the pandemic and Duterte’s neoliberal economic policies, the residents numbering more than 100 showed up at the Barangay Hall hoping to get some relief assistance from the government.

Unfortunately, right after voucher distribution the 11th IB CSP (psyops strategy inappropriately called Community Support Program) operatives took over and started handing out prepared streamers and tarpaulins containing senseless diatribe against the revolutionary movement. Nangka residents were made to pose for camera carrying banners.

Clearly, the activity is military organized and the people have nothing to do with it . They were merely pawns in 11th IB’s propaganda machinery.

“11th IB’s propagandist drumbeat the ignominious theatrics as evidence of “people’s support” of Duterte’s brutal counter-insurgency campaign implemented through NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict). But the truth is the exact oppossite. The people came not because of the rally to denounce the NPA and the revolution. They came because of the vouchers. The military shamelessly exploited people’s poverty,” said RMPC spokesperson Ka Estrella Bangbanag.

Banagbanag castigated 11th IB commander LTC Ramir Redosendo for resorting to such outrageous and brazen act of decieving the people just to wrest some pogi points. “He must be that desperate to allow his subordinates to engage in such devious act. Its understandable though given the surging popularity of the revolutionary movement in the countryside and the deluge of rural youth enlisting in the NPA especially now in the time crisis,” Banagbanag added. ###

https://cpp.ph/statement/bayawan-residents-misled-into-joining-anti-npa-rally-dti-vouchers-used-as-bait/

CPP/NPA-Masbate: Dumarami ang namamatay na sibilyan sa lalawigan ng Masbate dahil sa kagagawan ng 2nd IBPA at PNP PPO Masbate dahil sa todo gerang kampanya kontra mamamayan at pagpapatupad ng Anti-Terrorism Law

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): Dumarami ang namamatay na sibilyan sa lalawigan ng Masbate dahil sa kagagawan ng 2nd IBPA at PNP PPO Masbate dahil sa todo gerang kampanya kontra mamamayan at pagpapatupad ng Anti-Terrorism Law

LUZ DEL MAR

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-MASBATE

JOSE RAPSING COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 12, 2020

Simula noong Hulyo 25, 2020, pinakatan ng pinagsamang pwersa ng AFP at PNP sa ilalim ng 2nd IBPA, 93rd at 91th SAB,SAF, RMFB 5, Masbate PPO, 96th MICO, RID 5, Masbate PIU, RIU 5, Cataingan and Placer MPS at 1st and 2nd Masbate PMFC ang walong(8) mga barangay sa bayan ng Placer, Masbate.

Di baba sa 100 daang pwersa ng sundalo at pulis ang nagsagawa ng Focused Military Operation(FMO) sa mga baryo ng Libas, Tan-awan, Puro, Sta.Cruz, Cabangcalan, Dangpanan, Calumpang at Mahayahay na nagdulot ng pagkatakot sa mga residente ng walong barangay.

Dahil dito ay pinatay sa magkakahiwalay na lugar sina Julito Tibor Bolandrina at Nolito Maguilan. Ang 2 ay pinaratangang mga kasapi ng NPA. Sinuotan pa ng damit na may tatak ng JRC NPA si Bolandrina para palabasing miembro ito ng NPA.

Habang inaresto at sinaktan naman ang mga sibilyang sina Charlito “Loloc” Tulingin, Brgy. Kagawad ng Brgy. Tan-awan, Placer, mag-amang Ronnie Remulta at anak nitong kapitan na si Ronron Remulta, Lontoy Sanchez, Oloy Verdida at Turong Compuesto. Ang mga biktima ay pawang residente ng Brgy. Tan-awan, Placer. Nakita din sa lugar na kasama ng mga sundalo at pulis ang nagtaksil sa kilusan na si Bonso na siyang nanguna sa pananakit at pagnakaw ng pera sa ilang biktima. Ilang mga residente din ang pansamantalang lumipat ng tirahan sa takot na sila naman ang mapagbalingang patayin, saktan at pagnakawan.

Tinangka ding dukutin si Fredo Antipolo umaga noong Hulyo 24, 2020 sa Brgy. Villahermosa, Cawayan ng tatlong armadong kalalakihan na sakay ng dalawang motor.

Layon ng Focused Military Operation (FMO) na durugin ang BHB at baseng masa nito, ganundin para ipitin at hadlangan ang lahat ng porma ng paglaban at pakikibaka ng mamamayan para sa paggigiit ng kanilang mga demokratikong karapatan at kahilingan.

Sa kasalukuyan ay lomolobo na ang bilang ng mga pinapatay, sinasaktan at nasisirang kabuhayan sa buong probinsya ng Masbate, kahit pa may kinakaharap na problema ang mamamayan dala ng Covid19.

Samantala, noon namang Hulyo 21, 2020 sa Bo.ng Aurora, Uson ay tinipon sa plasa ng mga sundalo ng 2nd IBPA ang mga opisyal ng barangay at walong (8) sibilyan na sina Rene Valenzuela, Pancho Agustin, Moises Agustin, Jeffrey Dalanon, Ruel Bombales, Arnel Cabiles, Efren Tamayo at Elmer Rivero.Pinalalabas silang mga kasapi ng NPA at pilit na pinapasuko para linisin ang kanilang mga pangalan.

Ang ganitong mga diskarte ng 2nd IBPA at PNP PPO Masbate na palabasing mga NPA ang mga inosenteng sibilyan ay matagal ng gawain para makurakot ang perang nakapaloob sa ECLIP na pangunahing programa ng pasista, berdugo at tiranikong rehimeng US, China-Duterte.

Makatwirang naisin ng mamamayan na humulagpos sa pang-aapi at pagsasamantala ng mga burukrata kapitalista , panginoong may-lupa at pasista . Hangad ng mamamayang api at pinagsasamantalahan na isulong ang armadong pakikibaka bilang pinakamataas na porma ng paglaban at kamtin ang lipunang walang nagsasamantlala at pinagsasamantalahan.

Nananawagan ang JRC BHB Masbate sa lahat ng mamamayang Masbatenyo partikular sa mga pamilya ng mga biktima ng pagpatay at pang-aabuso ng mga sundalo at pulis na magkaisa tayong labanan ang atake ng mga pasista at berdugo.

Hinihikayat ng JRC BHB Masbate ang mg kapamilyang biktima na sumampa sa Bagong Hukbong Bayan.Walang ibang magtatanggol sa atin kundi ang ating pagsasama-samang lakas na labanan at durugin ang pananalasa ng mga berdugo at pasistang sundalo at pulis sa ilalim ng uhaw sa dugong pangulo ng bansa.

LUZ DEL MAR
Tagapamahayag
Jose Rapsing Command
BHB Masbate

https://cpp.ph/statement/dumarami-ang-namamatay-na-sibilyan-sa-lalawigan-ng-masbate-dahil-sa-kagagawan-ng-2nd-ibpa-at-pnp-ppo-masbate-dahil-sa-todo-gerang-kampanya-kontra-mamamayan-at-pagpapatupad-ng-anti-terrorism-law/

CPP/NPA-Negros Island: AGC-NPA: AFP are the ones preying on innocent civilians

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Aug 12, 2020): AGC-NPA: AFP are the ones preying on innocent civilians

JUANITO MAGBANUA

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-NEGROS ISLAND

APOLINARIO GATMAITAN COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

AUGUST 12, 2020

In yet another display of their senseless tirades, the 303rd Brigade of the AFP claimed that the “Protracted war has taken its toll on innocent civilians”. While baseless, this claim also shows how far these murderers go to deny their doings and pawns while they bask in corrupted money and continue to commit crimes against the people.

The NPA only carry out partisan operations based on the decisions of the people’s revolutionary court, against persons who have committed crimes against the masses and the revolution, such as intelligence assets and informants that disrupt livelihoods and communities. They are therefore legitimate targets of the NPA.

The AFP are quick to deny that these people are their assets who are their local aids in counterinsurgency efforts. They could note this in various news releases and statements in our various social media platforms, where the target’s crimes are mentioned and the partisan operations justified in accordance to the sentence of the revolutionary people’s court.

This outrageous claim of should instead be used to describe them, as the AFP are the champions of human rights violations on innocent civilians, especially farmers, in the island. Since June, AGC has accounted for at least 5 extrajudicial killings, 29 illegal arrests, 7 cases of torture, 1 case of warrantless search, 250 enforced surrenders (in the guise of livelihood programs baited into fake ‘peace rallies) all over Escalante, Murcia, San Carlos, Guihulngan, Canlaon, La Libertad, Himamaylan, Kabankalan, Ilog, Hinobaan, Bayawan, and Santa Catalina, due to intense militarization in these areas.

The AFP’s failed E-CLIP and RCSP have only exposed themselves as corrupt schemes and cash cows for the top brass of the state mercenaries. They have stolen millions from the Filipino people, indulging in their decadence even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their unquenchable greed and fascist crimes have preyed on countless innocent blood, and the NPA in Negros vow to intensify tactical offensives to seek justice for the people. ###

https://cpp.ph/statement/agc-npa-afp-are-the-ones-preying-on-innocent-civilians/

Lead Inspector General for Operation Pacific Eagle-Philippines I Quarterly Report to the United States Congress I April 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020

Posted to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General (Aug 11, 2020): Lead Inspector General for Operation Pacific Eagle-Philippines I Quarterly Report to the United States Congress I April 1, 2020 - June 30, 2020

Aug. 7, 2020--Publicly Released: August 11, 2020

This Lead Inspector General (Lead IG) report to the United States Congress is the 11th quarterly report on Operation Pacific Eagle–Philippines (OPE-P), the overseas contingency operation to support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) fight against ISIS–East Asia (ISIS-EA) and other terrorist organizations. This report summarizes significant events related to this operation and describes ongoing and planned Lead IG and partner agency oversight work, and covers the period from April 1 through June 30, 2020.

This quarter, ISIS-EA, the Philippine faction of the terrorist group, sought to capitalize on the Philippine government’s deployment of military assets to assist with the response to the coronavirus disease–2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While ISIS-EA carried out its most deadly attack in 15 months, the levels of violence in the Philippines were similar to previous quarters.

With U.S.-provided support, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) continues to conduct counterterrorism operations that keep ISIS-EA from spreading. In June, Philippine security officials disrupted an ISIS-EA cell near Manila, outside the terrorist organization’s traditional area of operations. While that raised questions about whether ISIS-EA is expanding its reach, United States Indo-Pacific Command said that ISIS-EA strategy and capabilities had not changed.

This quarter, the Philippine government instituted strict quarantine measures in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. These restrictions on commerce and travel fueled social tensions, and the Defense Intelligence Agency stated it was possible that ISIS-EA was attempting to take advantage of the resulting popular unrest and the AFP’s redirection of resources from counterterrorism to quarantine enforcement.

The Philippine government suspended its termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which was set to enter into effect in August. The termination of the agreement would alter, and possibly end, some of the support the Department of Defense (DoD) provides to the Philippines. The suspension, announced on June 2, is valid for 180 days, at which point the Philippine government can either extend the suspension or resume the termination process. The U.S. Embassy in Manila reported that the main reasons for this suspension were the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening economic trends, and recent aggressive behavior by the People’s Republic of Chinese.

This quarter, the Lead IG agencies completed six reports related to OPE-P, including an audit of DoD mobile medical team training and an audit of Department of State (DoS) anti-terrorism programs. Ten oversight projects related to the Philippines were ongoing, and one was planned, as of June 30, 2020.

Section 8L of the Inspector General Act of 1978 provides a mandate for the three Lead IG agencies—the DoD, DoS, and U.S. Agency for International Development Offices of Inspector General—to work together to develop and carry out joint, comprehensive, and strategic oversight. Each Inspector General retains statutory independence, but together they apply their extensive regional experience and in-depth institutional knowledge to conduct whole-of-government oversight of this overseas contingency operation.

See full report at the following URL:

https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/11/2002474708/-1/-1/1/LEAD%20INSPECTOR%20GENERAL%20FOR%20OPERATION%20PACIFIC%20EAGLE-PHILIPPINES%20APRIL%201,%202020%20-%20JUNE%2030,%202020.PDF

See one page summary at the following URL:

https://media.defense.gov/2020/Aug/11/2002474707/-1/-1/1/LEAD%20INSPECTOR%20GENERAL%20FOR%20OPERATION%20PACIFIC%20EAGLE-PHILIPPINES%20ONE%20PAGE%20OVERVIEW%20APRIL%201,%202020%20-%20JUNE%2030,%202020.PDF

https://www.dodig.mil/Reports/Lead-Inspector-General-Reports/Article/2308255/lead-inspector-general-for-operation-pacific-eagle-philippines-i-quarterly-repo/#:~:text=This%20Lead%20Inspector%20General%20(Lead,EA)%20and%20other%20terrorist%20organizations.

Pentagon: Counter-Extremist Efforts Have Hardly Eroded IS in Philippines

From BenarNews (Aug 12, 2020): Pentagon: Counter-Extremist Efforts Have Hardly Eroded IS in Philippines

Philippine soldiers guard a section of the southern city of Marawi six months after the end of a ferocious battle with Islamic State-linked militants, April 10, 2018.  Richel V. Umel/BenarNews

Efforts to combat militancy in the Philippines seem to have made no substantial dent against Islamic State-linked groups since the United States launched a multi-million-dollar program in 2017 to back Manila’s counter-extremist activities, the Pentagon said in a new report.

The regional branch of Islamic State and associated militant groups in the southern Mindanao region remain about the same in size and in strength, the report said. And in recent months, the Philippine IS affiliate tried to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic while the Philippine military was helping the government respond to the outbreak, according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Inspector General.

“[T]here has been little change in the capabilities, size, financing, and operations of ISIS-EA,” said Sean W. O’Donnell, the department’s acting inspector general, in the quarterly report to Congress on the U.S. military aid program to Manila, known as Operation Pacific Eagle – Philippines (OPE-P). He was referring to the East Asia chapter of IS and used a different acronym for the terror group.

“The group continues to carry out sporadic, mostly small-scale attacks,” he said.

In September 2017, the Pentagon launched the program to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) defeat pro-IS fighters who were battling government forces after the militants had seized the southern Philippine city of Marawi.

The U.S. deployed military advisers and drones that helped the Philippines retake the city, kill the top leaders of the militant siege and flush out their forces a month later. But IS-linked fighters and groups have lingered in the southern Philippines and carried out attacks, including a suicide bombing that killed 23 people at a church in southern Sulu province in January 2019.

“In general, efforts to reduce extremism in the Philippines do not appear to have made a substantial difference since the launch of OPE-P. ISIS-EA and the other violent extremist groups in the Philippines that either coordinate with or share members with ISIS, have remained about the same size and strength for the last few years,” O’Donnell said in the report released on Aug. 7 covering the second quarter of 2020.

“These groups continue to operate in the southern Philippines where separatist groups and extremist groups have existed for decades. [W]e have seen little progress in improving the economic, social, and political conditions in that part of the country.”

On Wednesday, Philippine defense and military officials did not immediately respond to requests from BenarNews for comment.

The 56-page document is the 11th quarterly report issued to Congress by the Defense Department’s lead inspector general on Operation Pacific Eagle – Philippines.

Under the program, the U.S. government has poured tens of millions of dollars in aid each year into supporting Philippine efforts to destroy IS and other violent extremist organizations that operate across Mindanao. The money, among other things, has paid for aerial reconnaissance and drone operations that assist the Philippine military in its efforts to hunt down IS militants, according to information gleaned from the report.

For the current fiscal year, the Pentagon has budgeted $72.3 million for the operation, according to the report. Costs for running the program in 2019 were estimated to total $108.2 million, according to an earlier quarterly report.

Although the Philippine IS branch remains “organizationally fractured” and “largely isolated from the support of international terrorist networks,” it and various IS-aligned groups, including Abu Sayyaf, operate independently from each other, the latest quarterly report said.

An estimated 300 to 500 extremists who belong to the groups and profess their allegiance to IS remain, the report said.

The strength of these Islamic militant forces has not changed from previous quarters, the report said, citing information from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. Included among these fighters were “fewer than 40” foreigners, mostly citizens of neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Philippine government forces announced that they had captured five suspected Abu Sayyaf fighters linked with IS during a raid in Sulu province, but a bomb-maker they were hunting for, Mundi Sawadjaan, had escaped. He is related to Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the overall IS leader in the Philippines.

Militants and COVID-19

During the second quarter, pro-IS militants in the Philippines also “sought to capitalize on the Philippine government’s deployment of military assets to assist with the response to [COVID-19],” the defense department’s acting inspector general said.

As an example, the report cited how IS affiliates posted messages on social media calling for attacks on individuals who were obeying the government’s COVID-19 movement restrictions.

The militants also threatened to carry out attacks if mosques were not allowed to reopen during the pandemic, the report said.

“The Defense Intelligence Agency also assessed that it was possible that ISIS-EA was attempting to take advantage of the AFP’s shift of counterterrorism resources to enforce COVID-19 restrictions,” the report said.

Because of a new surge in cases, the Philippines leads all East Asian countries in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases. As of Wednesday, the country was closing in on 144,000 cases. Earlier this month, because of the new wave of infections, the Philippine government returned Metro Manila and other provinces on Luzon Island to a coronavirus lockdown.

“COVID-19 restrictions during the [second] quarter affected the type and amount of support that U.S. military advisers were able to provide to their Philippine partners,” the Pentagon said in its report.

Such restrictions, “coupled with force rotations, negatively impacted the amount of U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support provided to the AFP this quarter,” it said.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/pentagon-report-08122020170801.html

Piracy And Armed Robbery Against Ships In Asia

Posted to Hellenic Shipping News (Aug 13, 2020): Piracy And Armed Robbery Against Ships In Asia



OVERVIEW

In July 2020, six incidents of piracy¹ and armed robbery against ships² were reported in Asia. Of the six incidents, one was a piracy incident and five were armed robbery against ships.

There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah, Malaysia in July 2020. However, the abduction of crew for ransom remains a serious concern as demonstrated by the Warning issued by the ReCAAP ISC on 2 July that five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members were planning to conduct abduction of crew from ships passing by Tawi-Tawi and Sabah waters.

The ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the continued occurrence of incidents on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait. Three incidents were reported in July 2020. With these, a total of 19 incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait during January-July 2020 comprising 15 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), two incidents in the precautionary area, one incident in the westbound lane of the TSS and one incident just outside (south) of the TSS.

JULY 2020
NUMBER OF INCIDENTS

In July 2020, six incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported. Of the six incidents, five were actual incidents³ and one was an attempted incident⁴. All five actual incidents were incidents of armed robbery against ships, and the attempted incident was a piracy incident occurred in the South China Sea. All incidents have been
verified and reported to the ReCAAP ISC by ReCAAP Focal Points. Refer to the Appendix on pages 21-23 for the description of the incidents.

Graph 1 shows the number of incidents reported each month from July 2019 to July 2020



SIGNIFICANCE LEVEL OF INCIDENTS

Of the five actual incidents reported in July 2020, one was a CAT 3 incident and four were CAT 4 incidents.

The CAT 3 incident occurred on board an offshore supply vessel while anchored at a jetty at Kakinada, India. The duty crew sighted one perpetrator armed with a knife on board the ship. The perpetrator opened the generator door and tried to steal generator equipment using a spanner. The duty crew immediately reported the incident to the bridge. The
4 perpetrator jumped into the water and escaped after his presence was discovered. Nothing
was stolen and the crew was not injured.

Of the four CAT 4 incidents, three incidents occurred on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait, and one incident occurred on board a container ship while anchored in the vicinity of Manila Bay Quarantine Anchorage Area South Harbour, Manila, Philippines.

Chart 1 shows the significance level of incidents reported in July of 2007-2020.

Full Report

Source: ReCAAP

https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/piracy-and-armed-robbery-against-ships-in-asia-3/

Abu Sayyaf subleader Idang Susukan spotted with Nur Misuari in Davao City

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 13, 2020): Abu Sayyaf subleader Idang Susukan spotted with Nur Misuari in Davao City (The Star/Asia News Network)



A picture of MNLF leader Nur Misuari accepting the surrender of notorious Abu Sayyaf commander Indang Susukan at the MNLF base in Jolo Island sometime in April this year.

KOTA KINABALU — Regional security officials are concerned over the free movement of a notorious Abu Sayyaf sub-commander, Idang Susukan, in Davao City in the Philippines.

Idang, who is wanted by the Philippines and Malaysia for cross-border kidnappings in the east coast of Sabah and other criminal activities in Jolo Island in the southern Philippines, was spotted with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari.

Regional intelligence sources said Idang was allowed to move freely after he surrendered to Misuari in Jolo Island in April this year.

It is understood that Abu Sayyaf gunmen surrendering to Misuari do not constitute amnesty.

The gunmen, however, remained under MNLF protection within its base camp in Jolo Island.

Idang had been involved in a spate of cross-border abductions in Sabah’s east coast since 2013, among which were:

> Chinese national Gao Huayun and Filipina Marcy Darawan who were abducted at Singamata Reef Resort in Semporna waters on April 2,2014.

> Chinese national Yang Zai Lin who was kidnapped from Wonderful Terrace Fish in Lahad Datu on May 6,2014.

> Malaysian Chan Sai Chun who was snatched from his fish farm in Kampung Sapang in Kunak on June 16,2014.

> Sarawakian tourist Bernard Then and Sabahan restaurant owner Thien Nyuk Fan who were seized from Ocean King Seafood Restaurant in Sandakan on May 14,2015.
Idang was involved in many direct and indirect negotiations for the release of hostages kidnapped from Sabah waters over the years.

He was connected to the beheading of Then in Jolo Island on Nov 17, 2015.

Idang and Misuari arrived in Davao City – hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte – on Tuesday, heightening concern among security officials on both sides of the Philippines/Malaysia border.

According to regional intelligence sources, Misuari brought Idang to Davao to have him fitted with a prosthetic replacement for his left arm, which he lost during a gun battle with the Philippine armed forces in Jolo Island early last year.

The sources also said Misuari is expected to meet with Duterte in the next few days.

Misuari, whose MNLF base is in Jolo Island, is in Davao days after armed clashes between his faction and the rival MNLF group of Yusof Jikiri, who heads the MNLF council of 15. Misuari has pledged to Duterte to bring peace to the southern Muslim Mindanao region and crush the Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic State-related groups in the southern Philippines.

Misuari and Jikiri are part of the MNLF peace coordinating committee set up by Duterte.

But intelligence sources said the rivalry between the one-time comrades fighting for an independent Muslim Mindanao state in the 1970s and 80s is growing.

Jikiri, who is working closely with the Philippine security forces, has formed the MNLF-Anti-Kidnapping and Terrorism Task Force (MNLF-AKTTF) to act against the Abu Sayyaf. However, tensions have been growing between the Misuari and Jikiri groups.

Misuari has facilitated the surrender of notorious Abu Sayyaf members.

In contrast, Jikiri’s MNLF-AKTFF has joined forces with the Philippine military and police to hunt down Abu Sayyaf top leaders, including Radullan Sahiron @ one-armed commander and Hajan Sawadjaan.

According to intelligence sources, Misuari’s group was allowing Abu Sayyaf gunmen to seek shelter or protection in the MNLF camp in Jolo under the guise of surrender.

Misuari faces charges of rebellion and corruption but was given “temporary liberty” in October 2016 to allow him to participate in peace talks with the Duterte government.

In November 2001, Malaysian police arrested Misuari, who was wanted by the Philippines for an uprising in Jolo Island, in Sandakan. They sent him back to the Philippines.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/190238/abu-sayyaf-subleader-idang-susukan-spotted-with-nur-misuari-in-davao-city

Philippine Troops Catch 5 Suspected Abu Sayyaf Militants

From BenarNews (Aug 12, 2020): Philippine Troops Catch 5 Suspected Abu Sayyaf Militants

Philippine security personnel walk to the temporary headquarters of the army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, in Jolo, southern Philippines, to investigate the scene of a bomb blast, June 28, 2019.  Reuters

Government forces captured five suspected Islamic State-linked militants working under Abu Sayyaf bomb expert Mundi Sawadjaan during an operation this week in southern Sulu province, Philippine military authorities reported.

Intelligence information placed Sawadjaan in a heavily populated area called Bus-bus near downtown Jolo, the provincial capital, on Tuesday. Troops from the 35th Infantry Battalion and local police were dispatched to capture him, but he slipped through the security cordon, said Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, the local army task force commander.

“Five supporters of Mundi Sawadjaan were captured,” he said. “Troops were acting on a report received about the presence of Sawadjaan roaming around in Bus-bus accompanied by an armed group.”

Vinluan identified those captured as brothers Alsamer Kasim, 26, Sulmeser Kasim, 22, and Kasmer Kasim, 18, along with Kerwin Asjada, 25, and Denrasher Ahadan Avestruz, 18. The troops also seized high-caliber firearms.

Sawadjaan is a relative of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, the acknowledged leader of the Islamic State in the Philippines. Authorities have said Hatib Sawadjaan was the mastermind of the bombing of a Catholic church in Jolo in January 2019 that left 23 dead, including two Indonesian suicide bombers.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, the chief of Western Mindanao Command, praised efforts by members of the Joint Task Force Sulu, the Metro Jolo Inter-Agency Task Group and residents for the capture, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA).

“This is a clear manifestation that if we work together, we will surely reap better results. Rest assured that we will never stop supporting other law enforcement agencies in all their endeavors,” Sobejana told PNA, adding the suspects were turned over to police in Jolo.

Previous attacks

The arrests follow clashes last month that killed five soldiers and at least 16 Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern region.

Members of the 32nd Infantry Battalion were on the trail of Abu Sayyaf members in a remote jungle on Sulu island on July 31 when they were attacked by other militants. Three soldiers and at least six Abu Sayyaf fighters were killed, but only three of the militants’ corpses were recovered after their comrades removed the others from the battle scene, Vinluan said.

Two days earlier, two soldiers and at least 10 suspected militants were killed during a gun battle in Maguindanao province, the southern Philippines, as troops hunted for a senior leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a different militant group linked to IS. At least 13 soldiers were injured.

Meanwhile, at least six suspected communist guerrillas, a government soldier and a bystander were killed during an Aug. 8 gun battle in the northern Philippines, according to military officials. In addition, five soldiers from the army’s 702nd Infantry Brigade were injured in the clash with members of the New People’s Army (NPA) on the main Philippine island of Luzon.

The clash was the deadliest between government forces and suspected members of the NPA – the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines – since June 18, when a military unit killed five guerrillas during a shootout on Negros Island in the central Philippines.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/militants-arrest-08122020120829.html

20 former NPA rebels turn to farming

From the Manila Bulletin (Aug 13, 2020): 20 former NPA rebels turn to farming (By Mike Crismundo)

CAMP BANCASI, Butuan City – Former members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) who have surrendered to the government turned to farming so they can grow their own food.

The former rebels joined members of the CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) and People’s Organizations (POs) in a two-day Diversified Farming System training spearheaded by the troops of the 29th Infantry (Matatag Fighters) Battalion (29th IB) in partnership with the city government of Cabadbaran at the headquarters of the 29th IB, Barangay Del Pilar, Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte.

“This Diversified Farming System training is fully supported by the city officials of Cabadbaran led by Mayor Judy Chin Amante,” 29th IB Civil Military Operations (CMO) officer Capt. Miguel O. Borromeo told The Manila Bulletin on Wednesday.

Initially, 20 former NPAs, 10 CAAs and 10 POs participated in the training held on Aug. 6-7, 2020.

The said training covered swine and goat production and management, supplemented by lectures and practical exercises about JADAM organic farming.

“Those who benefited from the training were previously organized by the Matatag fighters,” Borromeo said.

After the training, the participant received various vegetable seed packs.

“I am grateful for this opportunity where we learned a lot of new things which will be of use to the company, my family and myself. This training is indeed very worthwhile for all of us especially in this time of the pandemic,“ former NPA member “Ka Nora” said.

“Indeed I am grateful not just for this successful training but most of all, for the continued partnership of the Army with various agencies of the government especially the Agriculture Office. We could not have accomplished such things without your help,” Lt. Col. Isagani O. Criste, 29th IB commander, said.

“I hope all of us will see and realize that the government is doing its best to serve the people, so each of us might as well try our best to do our part,” Criste added.

https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/13/20-former-npa-rebels-turn-to-farming/

PH Navy closely watching Sandy

From the Manila Bulletin (Aug 12, 2020): PH Navy closely watching Sandy Cay (By Martin Sadongdong)

The Philippine Navy (PN) is keeping an eye on Sandy Cay, a sandbar near Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), amid renewed claims that China is planning to build new infrastructures in the disputed waters.

Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, PN Flag Officer in Command, said no claimant country shall build new facilities on Sandy Cay in adherence to the 2002 Declaration of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

Philippine Navy (PN) Chief Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo
(Philippine Navy / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

“We are watchful. There are news that they may establish physical presence there by coming up with infrastructures but it will be a violation of the 2002 declaration,” he said.

Claimed by the Philippines and China, Sandy Cay is one of the three uninhabited sandbars near Pagasa Island in the Kalayaan Island Group or Spratly Islands.

The 2002 declaration, in which Manila and Beijing are both signatories, states that “no new structures shall be constructed in an uninhabited feature of South China Sea.”

According to the Navy Chief, China has sustained its presence near Sandy Cay with around six to seven fishing vessels frequenting near its waters every day.

He said this was evident when he visited Pagasa Island for the inauguration of a beaching ramp in June 2020.

“Indeed, there are [Chinese] vessels in the area of Sandy Cay but these are fishing vessels,” he stated.

The municipal government of Kalayaan has also reported that Chinese vessels were driving away Filipino fishermen whenever they try to go near the sandbar to fish.

The rumors about China’s plan to establish its presence on Sandy Cay first came up in 2019, when retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio claimed that the Philippines lost the cay to China under the administration of President Duterte.

This was denied by the Department of National Defense.

In a virtual forum just last month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana reiterated that Manila still claims Sandy Cay as part of its territory.

He bared that there were plans to establish a shelter’s port for Filipino fishermen on Sandy Cay in 2017 as part of government’s effort to assert its claims but it did not materialize when China objected to it.

For his part, Bacordo vowed to prevent China from establishing new infrastructures on Sandy Cay even as the navy continues to patrol the areas being claimed by the government in the tension-filled waters.

“If ever they will do that, it is a violation of the 2002 document and we will strongly object to that,” he said.

https://mb.com.ph/2020/08/12/ph-navy-closely-watching-sandy-cay/

Navy chief: It’s WESCOM’s call to send ships to Reed Bank

From the Business Mirror (Aug 11, 2020): Navy chief: It’s WESCOM’s call to send ships to Reed Bank (By Rene Acosta)

The chief of the Philippine Navy (PN) said on Tuesday he is leaving it up to the military’s highest commander who has jurisdiction over Palawan and its adjoining islands to decide whether he should send ships to check, or drive away, Chinese vessels carrying out “unauthorized” research in the Reed Bank, which falls under the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The reported oil-rich Reed Bank falls within the area of operations of the Armed Forces Western Command (WESCOM), one of the six area commands of the military that reports directly to the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“That is the operational commander’s call. But you have to base it on the availability of vessels, on current, the current disposition of vessels or aircraft and their present mission also,” said PN Flag Officer in Command Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo.

On Monday, Bacordo told foreign journalists that two Chinese research ships were at the Reed Bank, or locally called as Recto Bank, undertaking what they believed was research-related activities without permission from the Philippine government.

Since the Reed Bank falls within the country’s 200 nautical miles EEZ affirmed by the UN Arbitral Tribunal in its 2006 ruling over the maritime case filed by Manila against Beijing, any foreign undertaking within that territory should bear government approval.

“We have checked if they have any clearance to conduct survey in that area, and we found out that there is none,” Bacordo said, adding the vessels were moving at the speed of three knots, which are almost stationary movements.

“You are only doing that if you are conducting actual surveys,” he said without officially identifying the two Chinese research ships.

Since Bacordo’s timeline was two weeks, then the research ships were in the country’s EEZ and have been doing their research activities when President Duterte made his State of the Nation Address where he admitted he could not do anything against China and its activities in the West Philippine Sea.

Various reports, including from the US military identified one of the research vessels as Xiang Yang Hong 14, which left Guangzhou, China on July 22 and was spotted at the Reed Bank since August 6.

However, Bacordo said he was not certain whether the vessels were still in the area since he disclosed their presence on Monday, his basis of which was a military report dated August 9.

“Right now, I have not read an update,” he said, adding the ships’ presence were alternate. “It seems one of the ships would leave and the other would take over.”

The presence of the ships in the area was monitored by the military’s littoral monitoring stations.

Still, Bacordo doused off fears that China’s latest intrusion into the country’s maritime waters could lead into a shooting war, saying the military would not be swayed into such as scenario, which is a very “unpopular move.”

“You are provoked to take drastic actions,” the Navy chief said, adding this may have been the strategy of China as he cited past instances wherein Chinese military and paramilitary ships harassed Filipino fishermen and even military resupplies in the West Philippine Sea.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/08/11/navy-chief-its-wescoms-call-to-send-ships-to-reed-bank

In Duterte’s Mindanao, journalists get threats and terror tag

From the periodically pro-CPP online publication the Davao Today (Aug 11, 2020): In Duterte’s Mindanao, journalists get threats and terror tag (By KATH M. CORTEZ)



“Can’t remember the number of times,” says Julie Alipala, a veteran journalist based in Zamboanga about the threats she experienced for covering sensitive issues on human rights in Zamboanga, Sulu and Basilan areas.

“(There were) death threats verbally and through phone calls, an attempted abduction of my son, surveillance, phone bugging, banning me in coverages, online trolls attacking me , doxing, bullying, death threats, robbery at home (all my gadgets taken), and offering settlement money, etc.”

Alipala, who writes for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, has received these constant stream of threats since 2016. Covering issues such as peace, security and human rights in the region has earned her both trust and distrust.

It was one of her story in 2018, where she uncovered that the seven alleged Abu Sayyaf armed group killed by the military in Sulu were actually farmers, which made her a target online as she was accused as a paid propagandist of the ASG.

One Facebook page called “Huwag Tularan” (Don’t Emulate) even posted the photo of Alipala and labeled her a “terrorist”.

Alipala still remains unfazed, as she also takes to social media to engage the public on many issues.

Under siege since 2016

But the role of media as watchdog has been more under siege in President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration since 2016.

In the fourth year of the administration, the passage of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the attacks on members of the press from the shutdown of ABS-CBN and the libel conviction against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, shows the authoritarian course of the president that includes attacking the free press which has been critically reporting issues in his administration.

“It is not easy to be a journalist in the Philippines, much less be a good one. Even to be a niggling journalist requires self-confidence and courage,” says Nonoy Espina, chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), which has been at the forefront of defending members of media and their institutions.

Despite the commitment of the administration to ensure the safety of journalist by establishing the Presidential Task Force on Media Safety; Philippine journalists are less than convinced.

NUJP’s Safety office has now recorded 16 killings of media workers all over the country with most cases happened in Mindanao.

READ: In 2019, attacks vs journalists continue

CDO journalists tagged

The attacks on journalists went too far for Vicente “Cong” Corrales, associate editor of the Mindanao Gold Star Daily, the longest running local daily in Cagayan de Oro.

Corrales and even his family were subject to online attacks in Facebook pages that labeled him and even his family as leaders or members of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

It even went far to claims that there is a P1 million bounty for the death of Corrales and false information that he is facing a criminal case of rape with murder of a child.

“It would be hypocritical of me to say it hasn’t affected the way I report. When I was red-tagged, at first, I felt what the veteran reporters have been talking about – the chilling effect. As an editor, I would shy away from any reports that deal with the peace process in general and any news stories that report on either the state forces or the armed insurgents,” Corrales admitted.

Current and past officers of the NUJP Cagayan de Oro were also tagged in flyers and posters posted last year in the city and other towns in Northern Mindanao, which branded them as CPP members.

The NUJP chapter along with other local rights defenders who were also red-tagged held dialogues with the city mayor and councilors, demanding local government action against those spreading misinformation.

Another dialogue was held with military officers from the 4th Infantry Division who denied any involvement in this propaganda.

Repression during pandemic

Even during the pandemic, the attacks on the media community had not stopped.

Erwin Mascariňas, a photojournalist based in Butuan City, received a subpoena in June from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for a cyber-libel case complaint. The complainant was not identified except the law firm that filed the petition was the Uy Cruz Lo Associates Law Firm in Davao City.

The law firm is linked to similar subpoenas sent to other social media users. It was believed the complaint on Mascariňas stemmed from a Facebook post showing the senator with three celebrities distributing assistance to fire victims in Butuan City last March that did not follow quarantine protocols. The subpoena was bothersome for Mascariňas that he stopped his social media news blog for a month.

Media freedom is still threatened with a law granting the president ad-hoc emergency powers which resulted to charges against journalists. Two community journalists in Luzon, Mario Batuigas, owner of Latigo News TV, and Amor Virata, a vlogger were accused of spreading “false information on the Covid-19 crisis” and alleged violation of section 6(6) of Republic Act No. 11469 or the ‘Bayanihan to Heal as One Act’.

They are facing the possibility of two month imprisonment and paying a P1 million fine.

Committed journalists
The government has also gone after alternative media or the independent media groups in the regions exposing more human rights issues.

Online news outfits Bulatlat, Altermidya Network and Kodao Productions have come under numerous cyber-attacks for carrying critical sectoral stories under the current administration. Recently, police seized copies of the alternative Filipino language paper Pinoy Weekly in the urban poor community in Pandi, Bulacan and deemed it as “subversive”.

The attacks on alternative media in Mindanao include the abduction of Davao Today columnist Gingging Valle, the online harassment and red-tagging of another Davao Today columnist Leo XL Fuentes and the online news outfits Kilab Multimedia and Breakaway Media.

“To be a committed journalist means you also have to survive the risks presented by a corrupt and intolerant government and its agencies, and other enemies of press freedom,” says Espina to journalists who want to strive in this field.

NUJP continues to battle for the media people’s protection from attacks. It is one of the petitioners to the Supreme Court on the Anti-Terrorism Act for its provisions that stifle media and people’s freedom of expression. Corrales and other journalists are also individual petitioners.

http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/in-dutertes-mindanao-journalists-get-threats-and-terror-tag/