CPP/NDF-CNL-Northern Luzon: Stop bombing national minority territories in the Cordillera, end the NTF-ELCAC, and use the people’s money for the free inoculation of the Filipino people

Posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Feb 15, 2021): Stop bombing national minority territories in the Cordillera, end the NTF-ELCAC, and use the people’s money for the free inoculation of the Filipino people

REV. FR. NEO PADRE AGLIPAY

SPOKESPERSON

CHRISTIANS FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION-NORTHERN LUZON

CHRISTIANS FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION (CNL)

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

FEBRUARY 15, 2021

For some days now, tyrant Duterte has continued “entreating the CPP-NPA not to disrupt the distribution of vaccines to farflung areas”, airing this out nationally through broadcast and social media. This is just another dirty and slanderous propaganda of autocrat Duterte to deflect the call of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to “the Filipino people to get Covid-19 vaccination and raise the demand for free vaccines to all”.

It is also a part of tyrant Duterte’s lie to parry the truth proclaimed by Comrade Marco L. Valbuena, the CPP Information Officer, who has told the Filipino people that “the NTF-ELCAC’s P16.4 billion Barangay Development Program does not address the basic economic needs of the people but is just pork barrel on steroids, and will only go to the pockets of contractors, government officials and the active and former officers of the AFP”. The Christians for National Liberation (CNL) here in Northern Luzon joins the CPP in calling the Filipino people to demand the end of the NTF-ELCAC and the use of the people’s money for the free inoculation of the Filipino masses, especially the health personnel, and the exploited and oppressed masses of workers, peasants, fisherfolks, urban poor and national minorities.

In particular, the CNL-NL is calling the local government units (LGUs) in the Cordillera to demand the AFP-PNP to end the NTF-ELCAC, and stop aerial bombings and helicopter machinegun strafings of the national minority territories. A total of thirty-nine (39) bombs have already been dropped; and the national minorities in the municipalities of Malibcong, Lacub and Tubo in Abra, and Besao in Mountain Province are pleading to stop bombing their ancestral territories. They accuse that their territories have been bombed by the reactionary and fascist armed forces as their shameless response to the defeat of the AFP-PNP in the three (3) tactical offensives launched by the Agustin Begnalen Command, NPA-Abra last January 4 in Malibcong and January 22 in Tubo, resulting to 16 fatalities of the fascist troops (11 KIA and 5 WIA) with no casualty on the side of the Red army.

For three (3) successive days from January 5 to 7, bomber planes dropped twenty-three (23) bombs in the forests and production areas of Barangays Pacgued and Mataragan in Malibcong and of Sitio Sap-al in Barangay Buneg in Lacub.

Then on January 24 and 25, fourteen (14) bombs were dropped in the hunting grounds and forested boundaries of Tubo and Besao. And just very recently last February 11, a bomber plane dropped 2 bombs and a helicopter strafed four (4) times the forested areas and hunting grounds of the Agawa tribe in Besao. Up to the present, joint combat and focused military operations are still being launched by the 54 1B, SAF, RMF and the 69 IB in the six (6) municipalities of Tubo in Abra; Besao, Sagada, Bauko and Tadian in Mountain Province; and Quirino in Ilocos Sur.

We vehemently condemn these aerial bombings as clear violations of the rules of war declared in the International Humanitarian Law. These aerial bombings have damaged the environment, hunting grounds, pastoral lands, production areas and upland farms of national minorities. These terror military campaigns, machinegun strafings and the combat and focused military operations of the fascist reactionary forces have caused psychosocial distress among the masses and great disturbance to the livelihood of national minorities amidst the continuing health and economic crises due to Covid-19 pandemic and Duterte’s tyranny.

We, therefore, call on the Filipino people to continue various forms of massive protest actions for the dismantling of the NTF-ELCAC because this satanic military instrument will surely fail and will never resolve the root causes of the armed conflict. The dismantling of this extremely vicious NTF-ELCAC has to be done so that the taxes of the people, uselessly spent by the pro-U.S. imperialist and fascist AFP-PNP for their anti-people NTF-ELCAC activities, would be used for the development of the agrarian reform, and for free health services and free education of the Filipino people, especially for the families of workers, peasants, urban poor, fishermen, national minorities, and informal employees. And for peace, justice and human rights to reign in the Philippines, we also call for the repeal of the ATA of 2020.

Furthermore, we call on the Filipino people to actively participate in the oust tyrant Duterte movement so that a new president, who would be willing to establish a patriotic and democratic government, would take over and resume the national peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP for the concrete resolution of the root roots of the more-than-a-half-a-century-old armed conflict. In relation to this, we call on the Congressmen and Senators, especially those who have faith in Christ the Redeemer, to help in the implementation of the already signed and approved peace agreements such as JASIG and CARHRIHL, and support the resumption of the national peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP peace negotiation panels in order to finalize CASER for the signature and approval of both panels and their respective principals, and draft and finalize agreements on political and constitutional reforms and on the end of hostilities between the AFP-PNP and NPA and the disposition of these forces.

https://cpp.ph/statements/stop-bombing-national-minority-territories-in-the-cordillera-end-the-ntf-elcac-and-use-the-peoples-money-for-the-free-inoculation-of-the-filipino-people/