CPP-NPA has no respect for human life: Army official

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 4, 2021): CPP-NPA has no respect for human life: Army official

RETRIEVED CADAVER. Members of the Army’s 93rd Infantry Battalion and the Eastern Visayas Scene of the Crime Operatives exhume the cadaver of former New People’s Army (NPA) leader Eleazar Sabidalas in Barangay Caghalo, Carigara, Leyte on Saturday (April 3, 2021). Sabidalas, according to former NPA members, died due to the wounds he sustained in an encounter with military on July 18, 2015. (Photo courtesy of PA)

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and its political wing, National Democratic Front (NDF), have no respect for human life, a Philippine Army (PA) official said.

Brig. Gen. Zosimo A. Oliveros, commander of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, made this statement after members of the 93rd Infantry Battalion (93IB) and local police exhumed the cadaver of an NPA leader who was buried by his comrades in Barangay Caghalo, Carigara, Leyte six years ago.

“Malinaw sa ating lahat na ang teroristang NPA ay walang pagpahalaga sa kanilang mga kasapi. Balewala sa kanila ang maaaring mararamdaman ng mga naulila, mga magulang na nawalan ng anak, mga kabataang nasira ang kinabukasan at mga pamilyang kanilang winasak. Sa kabila ng lahat, bilang mga Pilipino na may paniniwala sa Panginoon, bigyan po natin ng halaga ang bawat buhay (It is clear to everyone that the terrorist NPA has no respect for their fellow members. They do not care what the bereaved, the parents who have lost a child, the youth whose future has been ruined and the families they have destroyed may feel. After all, as Filipinos who have faith in God, let us value every life),” Oliveros said in a news release on Sunday.

Oliveros said 93IB members received information from former NPA rebels that Eleazar Sabidalas alias Sangay, former commander of Front Committee Leyte in Eastern Visayas Revolutionary Party Committee, was wounded in an encounter with military on July 18, 2015.

“Sa kadahilanang hindi siya binigyan ng agarang at karampatang lunas, siya ay namatay at minadaling inilibing lingid sa kaalaman ng kanyang mga mahal sa buhay (Because he was not given immediate medical attention, he died and immediately buried without informing his relatives),” he said.

On April 3, he said the Scene of the Crime Operatives in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) conducted retrieval operation with the help of Carigara, Leyte police and 93IB.

He said former NPA members have positively identified the cadaver of Sabidalas.

“Kasalukuyang hinahanap ang pamilya o kamag-anak ni alyas Sangay upang ipabatid ang kanyang kalunos-lunos na sinapit at maihatid na rin siya sa huling hantungan. Ang naturang bangkay ay dinala sa Carigara Funeral Homes upang paghandaan ang isang maayos at marangal na libing (We are currently looking for relatives of alias Sangay to inform them about the tragedy that happen to him and to take him to his final destination. The corpse was brought to Carigara Funeral Homes to prepare for an orderly and dignified burial),” Oliveros said.

Oliveros said former NPA members told the military that the organization’s lack of respect for human life had led to the untimely demise of Sabidalas.

“Sa halip na gamutin ang natamong sugat, siya ay sinadyang pinabayaan na siyang naging sanhi ng hindi pa napapanahong kamatayan (Instead of treating the wound, he was deliberately abandoned which caused his untimely death),” he said.

He said the terrorist communist group deliberately conceals the experiences of its members to their families to prevent demoralization in its ranks and that government forces will not know the identity of the slain NPA members.

The CPP-NPA, which has been waging a more than five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1135701