Saturday, June 25, 2022

CPP/Ang Bayan Daily News & Analysis: A week before Duterte term ends, NPA mounts offensives in Sultan Kudarat

Ang Bayan Daily News & Analysis propaganda articles posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jun 25, 2022): A week before Duterte term ends, NPA mounts offensives in Sultan Kudarat





June 25, 2022

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today lauded the New People’s Army (NPA) for its actions defending the Lumad and Moro communities against the landgrabbers, and the fascist onslaught and combat operations of units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Palimbang town, Sultan Kudarat province.

The local NPA unit mounted three consecutive armed offensives from June 15 to 20 against marauding units of the AFP in barangays Balwan and Molon.

“The latest series of armed actions mounted by the NPA in Sultan Kudarat speaks volumes against the US-Duterte regime’s target of “defeating”—later downgraded to “weakening—the people’s army,” said CPP Chief Information Officer Marco Valbuena.

The NPA first attacked an operating unit of the 7th IB in Sitio Kilbog, Balwan last June 15, neutralizing two soldiers. Three days later, an NPA unit attacked the 37th IB in Barangay Molon, followed later with another harassment operation against the 38th IB in the same area. Seven soldiers were killed in both armed actions.

The 38th IB serves as private guards of the D.M. Consunji Inc. which is notorious for large-scale logging in areas of local Lumad and peasants communities. The NPA unit in Sultan Kudarat has launched severa actions since May against the DMCI.

“The people’s army is determined to defend the masses of peasants and minority peoples against the agression of mining and logging operations in Sultan Kudarat, which are being ushered in and defended by units of the AFP,” Valbuena said.

“The NPA’s tactical offensives in Sultan Kudarat are testament to the gross failure of Duterte’s counterinsurgency war,” said Valbuena.

Meanwhile, the NPA-Sultan Kudarat belied military claims that a Red fighter of the NPA was killed in the series of armed offensives and that one “surrendered” to the military.

The local unit further reported that the AFP dropped bombs and shelled several times the area where the NPA attacked. It also used its attack helicopters to strafe the vicinity.

Last June 18, a misencounter between the AFP’s own forces erupted which reportedly resulting in 30 casualties which local residents saw being brought out by the AFP from the area.

With the upcoming inauguration of the illegitimate Marcos II regime, Valbuena pointed out: “The incoming regime will surely be met with greater armed resistance by the Filipino people and their army, the NPA, as the reactionary state continues to intensify the suppression and pacification of the people in order to pave the way for expanding mining, logging and plunderous activities.” (CPP Information Bureau)

https://cpp.ph/angbayan/a-week-before-duterte-term-ends-npa-mounts-offensives-in-sultan-kudarat/

CPP/Ang Bayan Daily News & Analysis: Pagbabalik-tanaw sa mga krimen ng diktadurang US-Marcos--Isang Madugong Linggo ng Hunyo sa Daet

Ang Bayan Daily News & Analysis propaganda articles posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jun 25, 2022): Pagbabalik-tanaw sa mga krimen ng diktadurang US-Marcos--Isang Madugong Linggo ng Hunyo sa Daet (Review of the crimes of the US-Marcos dictatorship--A Bloody June Sunday in Daet





June 25, 2022

Mahigit apat na dekada na ang nakaraan, ngunit tuwing buwan ng Hunyo hindi mawawaglit sa alaala ng mamamayan ng Daet, Camarines Norte, at ng buong Bicolandia, ang binansagang “Bloody Sunday” o “Madugong Linggo” na naganap noong panahon ng diktadurang rehimeng US-Marcos I.

Kabalintunaan na nangyari ang “Bloody Sunday” ilang buwan lamang pagkatapos tinapos sa pangalan ng rehimeng US-Marcos I ang Batas Militar sa buong bansa noong Enero 1981 sa pamamagitan ng Proclamation No. 2045. Napilitang batakin ng diktador Marcos ang Batas Militar dahil sa matinding presyur ng internasyunal na midya, dayuhang mga bangko at institusyong pampinansya at ng mga tagapagtanggol ng karapatang tao.

Bunsod ng pakitang-taong mga pagluwag sa batas ng kamay na bakal, naging masigasig ang mamamayan, laluna ang mga inaapi at pinagsasamantalahang magsasaka. Katuwang ang mga demokratikong sektor at pwersang anti-diktadura, sumali sila sa inorganisang mga rali-demonstrasyon ng Kilusang Mamamayan para sa Tunay na Demokrasya (KMTD) sa Daet, ang kabisera ng prubinsya ng Camarines Norte.

Kaya noong linggong ng Hunyo 14, 1981, nagmartsa ang daan-daang magsasaka mula sa bayan ng Basud upang ipaabot sa rehimeng Marcos I na dapat itaas ang presyo ng kopra habang binabatikos nila ang panloloko ng Coco Levy Fund at ang “pekeng eleksyon”. Layon ng mga magbubukid na sumanib sa mas malaking grupo ng mamamayang magrarali sa harapan ng kapitolyong pamprubinsya.

Ngunit bago pa man sila makarating sa Freedom Park sa Daet ay hinarang na sila. Napilitan silang tumigil sa pagmamartsa dahil may isang trak ng bumbero na nakaharang sa daan. Maya-maya pa ay dumating ang isang trak ng militar. Nang bumaba sa kanilang sasakyan ang 30 sundalo ng 242nd Company ng Philippine Constabulary (PC), kaagad pinagsabihan ang mga magsasaka na lumuhod sila sa lupa.

Pinamunuan ni Capt. Joseph Malilay ang pulutong ng mga mersenaryong PC at si Lt. Col. Nicasio Custodio ang nakatataas nilang upisyal.

Hindi sinunod ng mga magsasaka ang utos ng mga pasistang PC. Imbes na lumuhod ay nakiusap sila, kasama ang organisador ng KMTD, na patuluyin sila sa rali sa Daet. Pagkatapos ng pagpalitan ng mainit na mga salita, umalingawngaw ang awtomatikong putok ng mga riple. Walang awang niratrat ng uhaw sa dugong mga elemento ng PC ang walang kalaban-labang mga magsasaka.

Nang mapawi ang usok, apat ang nakabulagta at mahigit 50 iba pang magsasaka ang sugatan. Natigil lamang ang pamamaril ng mga pasista nang makiusap sa kanila si Grace Vinzons-Magana, coordinator ng KMTD. Dinala ang mga sugatan, pati ang mga patay, sa isang ospital.

Nakilala at nakaukit sa marmol na pader ng Bantayog ng mga Bayani ang mga pangalan ng mga biktima na sina Jose E. Alcantara, Elmer L. Lagarteja, Rogelio S. Guevara at Benjamin B. Suyat. Ang dalawang malalang nasugatan at napatay pagkaraan ng dalawang buwan ay sina Rosita Arcega, 30, at Ernesto Encinas, 25.

At kagaya sa palaging naratibo ng militar at pulis pagkatapos ng pangyayari at pinagpipilitan nilang paniwalain ang publiko na umano’y naengkwentro ng mga PC ang mga “communist terrorist groups (CTGs)” o mga kasapi ng New People’s Army. Anila, nagpaputok sila ng “warning shot” sa ere upang pakalmahin ang mga tao pero ang mga” armadong myembro” ng mga nagmamartsa ay nagpaputok ng kanilang mga baril at pinuntirya sila. Wala umano silang magawa kundi na magpaputok para ipagtanggol ang kanilang sarili.

Kinontra ang bulaang pahayag na ito ni Atty. J. Antonio Carpio (ngayon ay retiradong Supreme Court Associate Justice at noon ay tagapangulo ng KMTD), at ni Grace Vinzons-Magana. Pinatotohanan naman ito ng fact-finding team na pinamunuan nina dating sanador Jose W. Diokno at batikang mamamahayag na si Joaquino “Chino” Roces. Anila ang mga tinamaan ay karamihan nasa unahan ng martsa, at imposibleng ang mga nagpapaputok ay magmumula sa likuran nila. Wala ring maipakitang nakumpiskang mga armas ang PC.

At biglang tumambad ang tunay na katangiang mabangis at mapanupil ng nagpupusturang mabait na rehimen ay biglang lumabas ang. Hindi na ito nakangiti kundi isang mabagsik na tigre. Inaresto sina Carpio at Vinzons-Magana noong maagang bahagi ng Hulyo bago pa man masimulan ang pormal na imbestigasyon sa “Bloody Sunday”. Sa umpisa, hindi sinampahan ng kaso ang dalawa nang idinetine sila. Kalaunan kinasuhan sila ng paglabag sa isang presidential commitment order (PCO) na pinirmahan mismo ni Ferdinand Marcos Sr noong Hunyo 26 (mahigit isang linggo pagkatapos ang madugong insidente).

Kinasuhan sina Carpio at Vinzons-Magana dahil nilabag umano nila ang Anti-Subversion Law (Presidential Decree No. 885) at PD No. 33 kaugnay sa paggawa ng mga polyetong pampropaganda laban sa diktadurang rehimen. Ngunit umani ng malawakang pagkundena ang pagkaaresto at pagkakulong sa kanila. Bunsod nito ay napilitang palayain ng diktadurang Marcos I ang dalawa.

At ano ang nangyari kina Colonel Custodio, Captain Malilay at iba pang mga sundalo ng PC?

Upang pakalmahin ang mga kritiko ng diktadurang rehimeng Marcos I, nagsagawa ng imbestigasyon ang Human Rights Committee sa ilalim ng Ministry of National Defense. Pinamunuan ito ni Col. Jose M. Crisol. At ano ang husga nito? Pinawalang-sala ang itinuturong mga berdugo ng Daet Massacre!

Dahil sa pagkukunsinti ng rehimeng US-Marcos sa mga mersenaryo at mamatay-taong mga pasista, nangyari na naman ang isang masaker sa Camarines Norte noong Hunyo 24, 1982. Dinakip ng 45th IB ng Philippine Army ang limang magsasaka at pinagtrabaho sa detatsment nila sa Barangay Mabilo, bayan ng Labo. Nang matapos na sila sa kanilang trabaho sa detatsment ng militar, imbes na pasasalamatan ay pinagbabaril at pinatay ang lima. Minasaker sila ng militar bilang ganti sa pagkamatay umano ng isang sundalo sa isang pananambang ng New People’s Army sa panahong iyon.#

https://cpp.ph/angbayan/pagbabalik-tanaw-sa-mga-krimen-ng-diktadurang-us-marcos-isang-madugong-linggo-ng-hunyo-sa-daet/

CPP/Ang Bayan Daily News & Analysis: Muling pag-aresto kay Doc Naty, ipinag-utos ng lokal na korte

Ang Bayan Daily News & Analysis propaganda articles posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jun 25, 2022): Muling pag-aresto kay Doc Naty, ipinag-utos ng lokal na korte (Re-arrest of Doc Naty, ordered by local court)





June 25, 2022

Binaligtad ng isang lokal na korte ang nauna desisyon ng korte na nagbabasura sa mga kasong kidnapping at illegal detention laban kay Dra. Natividad Castro, aktibistang duktor na kilala bilang Doc Naty. Dahil dito, muli siyang ipinaaaresto.

Inianunsyo ng Department of Justice (DOJ) noong Hunyo 22 na nakumbinsi nito at ng prosekusyon ang Bayugan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 7 na katigan ang kanilang motion for reconsideration kaugnay sa pag-aresto kay Doc Naty.

Sa atas noong Hunyo 16 ni Judge Ferdinand Villanueva ng RTC Branch 7, ipinawalambisa at ipinaisantabi niya ang resolusyon noong Marso 2022 na nagpalaya kay Doc Naty.

Nilaman ng resolusyon ng korte noong Marso 2022 ang atas ni Judge Fernando Fudalan Jr, naunang huwes sa kaso, ang desisyong ibasura ang mga kaso ng kidnapping at illegal detention laban kay Doc Naty. Ayon sa naturang desisyon, walang batayan at sapat na ebidensya para ikulong si Castro. Ayon sa huwes, ipinagkait ng mga elemento ng estado ang karapatan ng doktor sa makatwirang proseso (right to due process).

Inaresto si Doc Naty noong Pebrero 18 sa bahay ng kanyang pamilya sa San Juan City. Si Doc Naty ay isang community doctor at tagapagtaguyod ng karapatang-tao sa Caraga.

Madalas nang ginagamit ng estado ang mga kaso tulad ng kidnapping at serious illegal detention laban sa pinararatangan sa mga kasapi ng mga organisasyong progresibo at makabayan at nagtatanggol sa mga karapatang demokratiko.

Kinatigan ng korte ang prosekusyon ng DOJ matapos sabihin nitong pinangalanan ng sinasabing biktima si Doc Naty sa kanyang sinumpaang salaysay (affidavit) noong 2019. Pinalalabas ng prosekusyon na hindi maaaring magkamali ang biktima sa sinabi niyang kasama umano si Doc Naty sa mga dumukot sa kanya.

Noon pa mang Pebrero, kinundena ng mga grupo sa karapatang-tao ang panggigipit at iligal na pag-aresto kay Doc Naty. Sinubaybayan din nila at masugid na ipinanawagan ang pagbabasura sa mga gawa-gawang kasong isinampa laban sa kanya.

https://cpp.ph/angbayan/muling-pag-aresto-kay-doc-naty-ipinag-utos-ng-lokal-na-korte/

Suspected NPA rebel, cop slain in Pasay shootout

From the Philippine Star (Jun26, 2022): Suspected NPA rebel, cop slain in Pasay shootout (By Emmanuel Tupas)



Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991, is now the fourth highest ranking official in the PNP. The STAR / Joven Cagande, file  STAR / File

An alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebel, wanted for the murder of a barangay official in Masbate, and a police officer were killed in a shootout in Pasay City on Friday.

Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr. identified the police officer as S/Sgt. Nikki Codera, a member of the Masbate 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company, while the alleged communist rebel is Hubert Aplacador.

The gun battle occurred in Malibay at around 4:40 a.m.

Danao said police were about to serve Aplacador a warrant of arrest when he allegedly put up a fight.

Aplacador is wanted for the murder of Mawelito Escarcha, a kagawad of Barangay Almero in Esperanza town, who was killed at his residence by armed men on Sept. 2, 2021.


Aplacador died at the scene while Codera and another police officer, Lt. Rogelio Walay, were brought to the San Juan de Dios Medical Center for treatment of multiple gunshot wounds.

Codera, however, was pronounced dead on arrival.

“It is unfortunate that one of our comrades died while fulfilling his duty as law enforcer,” Danao said.

Danao visited Codera’s wake at a funeral parlor in Pasay yesterday and gave the Medalya ng Kadakilaan to the policeman’s family.

Danao also visited Walay at the hospital where the latter is recuperating from his wounds.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2022/06/26/2190917/suspected-npa-rebel-cop-slain-pasay-shootout-

Soldier, 6 Abu Sayyaf wounded in clash

 From the Sun Star-Zamboanga (Jun 25, 2022): Soldier, 6 Abu Sayyaf wounded in clash

SEVEN, including six Abu Sayyaf bandits, were wounded in a clash in the hinterlands of Basilan province, the military reported Saturday, June 25, 2022.

Brigadier General Domingo Gobway, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Basilan commander, said the clash broke out around 8:30 a.m. Sunday, June 25, in Sitio Mapute, Barangay Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo.

Gobway said the troops were conducting combat operations when they clashed with a group of Abu Sayyaf bandits led by Pasil Bayali, one of the Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf Group bandit leader.


“The encounter resulted after the troops responded from the tips of the civilians in the area,” Gobway said.

Gobway did not identify the injured soldier except to say he belongs to the Army’s 18th Infantry Battalion.

He said that intelligence reports indicated that six Abu Sayyaf bandits were wounded in the clash.

Gobway said that some of the Abu Sayyaf bandits involved in the clash are followers of a certain Abaas, who were responsible in the May 31 twin bombing in Isabela City, Basilan.

Two people were injured in the May 31 twin bombing that happened at the parking lot of a food chain outlet and in a bus terminal.

Gobway said that the followers of Abaas remnants of slain Basilan Abu Sayyaf bandit leader Furuji Indama, who was killed in a clash with government troops on September 9 in the coastal town of R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay.

He noted that the same group of Abu Sayyaf bandits who figured in a clash in April, this year, in Sumisip, Basilan that resulted in the death of bandit leader Razmil Jannatul.

“Since then our troops continuously tracked the enemy to locate them and deliver the final blow to finally free Basilan from ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group),” he added.
 
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1933108/zamboanga/local-news/soldier-6-abu-sayyaf-wounded-in-clash

Kalinaw News: 71IB and DSWD provide Psychosocial Support for Former Rebels in Ilocos Sur

From Kalinaw News (Jun 25, 2022): 71IB and DSWD provide Psychosocial Support for Former Rebels in Ilocos Sur



FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija — Through the concerted efforts of the 71st Infantry (Kaibigan) Battalion, 702nd Infantry (Defender) Brigade and the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office I, former rebels were given a chance to avail psychosocial support through a one-day activity held at Headquarters 702Bde, Barangay Bugbuga, Sta Cruz, Ilocos Sur last June 22, 2022.

During the psychosocial support activity, 23 former rebels underwent counseling with the representatives from DSWD headed by Mr. Angelo P. Tamag, Social Welfare Officer II, DSWD-R1 and the Provincial Social Welfare Office of Ilocos Sur headed by Ms. Irene T. Tabarangao, SWO II.

Aside from counseling, DSWD Field Office, I distributed a total of 138,000 pesos to the returnees to help augment for the everyday needs of their family.

It can be recalled that DSWD Field Office 1 handed over livelihood assistance to former rebels in the Ilocos Region, some of their livelihood include piggery, duck and goat raising, and others.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael B. Bautista, the Acting Commanding Officer of 71IB expressed his gratitude to DSWD Field Office 1 for the unwavering support in extending various assistances to former conflict-affected communities especially to those who returned to the folds of the law in the province of Ilocos Sur.

MGEN ANDREW D COSTELO PA, Commander of 7th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division on the other hand, applauded the effort of its line unit and the DSWD. “The Department of Social Welfare and Development, 71IB and 702nd Infantry Brigade supports the implementation of government programs and services to conflict-vulnerable communities to show it’s sincere and determined in addressing the various risks and vulnerabilities that contribute to insurgency,”



[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace in the Philippines This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City Contact us: kalinawnews@cmoregiment.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/71ib-and-dswd-provide-psychosocial-support-for-former-rebels-in-ilocos-sur/

WESCOM receives multi-purpose attack craft for safeguarding Malampaya facility

From Palawan News (Jun 25, 2022): WESCOM receives multi-purpose attack craft for safeguarding Malampaya facility


The multipurpose assault craft BA 483. (Photo from the Western Command)

The task force entrusted with the responsibility to safeguard the Malampaya natural gas project off the coast of Palawan has received a new support capability, the multipurpose assault craft BA 483, for its maritime interdiction operations.

The Western Command (WESCOM) and the Joint Task Force Malampaya (JTFM) welcomed its arrival in El Nido on June 14 to secure Malampaya.


Its capabilities include “sea lifts, insertions, and extractions”, and for beach landings and search and rescue operations in littoral waters.



WESCOM commander Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos said the assault craft is part of “beefing up” JTFM’s capabilities to ensure the gas project’s security as it continues to benefit the country.

“We are beefing up the capabilities of Joint Task Force Malampaya in terms of naval and air assets to ensure that we can protect the country’s crown jewel, the MNGPP (Malampaya-Natural-Gas-to-Power Project), from all forms of threats,” Alberto said.

“In doing so we can safeguard the MNGPP’s unimpeded operations and sustain the country’s energy requirements,” he added.

https://palawan-news.com/wescom-receives-multi-purpose-attack-craft-for-safeguarding-malampaya-facility/

Army denies ‘special ops’ vs BAYAN-Aklan activists

 From Panay News (Jun 24, 2022): Army denies ‘special ops’ vs BAYAN-Aklan activists


Brigadier General Marion Sison, commander of the 301st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, says, “We are used sa kanilang issue against us. Walang surveillance na nangyayari. We sent soldiers there kasi may community emersion tayo.”

ILOILO City – Fake news. Misinformation.

This was how the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) described the claim of two Aklan activists that they will soon be subjected to a “special operation” by the military.

According to Brigadier General Marion Sison of the 301st Infantry Brigade, there is no such surveillance on
Bagong Alyasang Makabayan (BAYAN) Aklan chairperson George Calaor and spokesperson Kim-Sin Tugna.

Calaor claimed that on June 22, around 30 elements of the 301st Brigade proliferated in Puroks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 13 of C. Laserna Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan investigating the location of his house and that of Tugna.

Sison, however, clarified that their presence in the area was because of the Civil Military Operation-Competency Enhancement Training (CMO-CET) community immersion activity of the CMO Office of the 3ID in Aklan.

“We are used sa kanilang issue against us. Walang surveillance na nangyayari. We sent soldiers there kasi may community emersion tayo na,” Sison said.

The CMO-CET is an annual training for military personnel, focusing on community engagement, consultation and problem solving sessions to respective areas.

Also part of the course is to consult the communities on the prevailing issues in the area.

The CMO-CET students will document the issues and concern of the community and make appropriate actions by looking a holistic resolution in collaboration with other government agencies and LGU at the municipal and provincial level.


https://www.panaynews.net/army-denies-special-ops-vs-bayan-aklan-activists/

Activists cry foul over military ‘surveillance’

 From Panay News (Jun 24, 2022): Activists cry foul over military ‘surveillance’ (By Glenda Tayona)

ILOILO – What is the military up to?

According to Bagong Alyasang Makabayan (BAYAN) Aklan chairperson George Calaor and spokesperson Kim-Sin Tugna, they have been placed under surveillance by the Philippine Army in Kalibo, Aklan.


Around 30 elements of the 301st Infantry Brigade were allegedly recently seen near their houses and asking neighbors about their whereabouts.

They also rented boardinghouses in Purok 3, C. Laserna Street, Poblacion, Kalibo, Aklan to conduct “special operations”, Calaor and Tugna added.

In a statement, BAYAN-Aklan called on Aklanons to extend help to prevent possible atrocities against the two activist leaders.

“I am proud to be an activist. Despite my being a polio victim, my patriotism and love for freedom and democracy have inspired and strengthened me to overcome my physical limitations to be of service to the Filipino people and joining them in their quest for genuine freedom and democracy,” said Calaor.

On June 20, according to Calaor, elements of the 301st Brigade paid a courtesy call at the office of Punong Barangay Neil Candelario of Poblacion, Kalibo and informed the latter of their “operation.”

According to Calaor, when Candelario inquired about the nature and details of this “operation,” they just said that their “operation” is coordinated with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

“Kim-Sin and I are appealing to our fellow Aklanons, Filipinos, and citizens of the world to help and support us against these evil doings of the state that put our liberty, security, and lives in imminent danger. We call for the immediate intervention of the Commission on Human Rights to conduct an impartial investigation and to initiate due and timely actions on this very pressing concern,” said Calaor.

For its part, BAYAN- Panay condemned what it called as harassment by state agents of its provincial leaders.

According to Bryan Bosque, deputy spokesperson of BAYAN-Panay,

“Tugna and Calaor have been subjects of numerous state-sponsored harassments ever since like most of us activists…These forms of harassment are not new to us but this is something that should be taken seriously as our personal security are at stake,” he added.

He recalled special military operations last December 30, 2020, in Tapaz and Calinog which resulted in the killing of nine Tumandoks and the arrest of 16 others.

“We hold the Duterte regime accountable for the continuing human rights violations and blatant disregard of various local and international protocols protecting the people’s right to life, liberty and security,” said Bosque.

https://www.panaynews.net/activists-cry-foul-over-military-surveillance/

Activation ceremony the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG)

From the Mindanao Times (Jun 25, 2022): Activation ceremony the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) (By RHODA GRACE SARON)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines activated the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), a dedicated unit ensuring the safety and security of the second-highest official and her family.
AFP Chief of Staff Andres C Centino led the activation ceremony on Friday, June 24, at the general headquarters with other top-ranking officers. Centino, likewise, installed Lt. Col. Rene J. Giroy as the first group commander of VPSPG.


Photos courtesy of PAO, AFP



https://mindanaotimes.com.ph/2022/06/25/62017/

DND OKs activation of VP Security, Protection Group

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 25, 2022): DND OKs activation of VP Security, Protection Group (By Priam Nepomuceno)



Activation ceremony of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (Photo courtesy of AFP)

The Department of Defense (DND) has approved the activation of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), a dedicated unit that will ensure the safety and security of the Vice President and family.

In a ceremony held at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) general headquarters on Friday, Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino led the activation of the VPSPG, which was formerly the Vice Presidential Security Detachment.

Centino installed Lt. Col. Rene Giroy as the first Commander of VPSPG.


“The AFP saw it fitting to provide the Office of the Vice President a dedicated unit that shall ensure the safety and security of the second-highest elected official in the country,” he said.

“I am confident that the newly-designated VPSPG Commander and the rest of the officers and enlisted personnel entrusted to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of the Vice President and her family shall perform their responsibilities to the best of their abilities,” he added.

In a statement, Vice President-elect Sara Duterte thanked Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and the DND and AFP organizations “for the positive response and action to the request that a security unit separate from the Presidential Security Group be created and be assigned to the Office of the Vice President”.

“The activation of the VPSPG is commendable as it will resolve the matter of continuity in security for all vice presidents of the Philippines,” read Duterte’s statement issued from Davao City.

“This AFP initiative also highlights the importance of having an independent group that will provide all Philippine vice presidents with the necessary security and protection,” she added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1177523

1989 Rano massacre constant reminder of CPP-NPA brutality

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 25, 2022): 1989 Rano massacre constant reminder of CPP-NPA brutality (By Lade Jean Kabagani)



Memorial marker of the 38 victims of the 1989 Rano massacre in Digos City, Davao del Sur (PNA photo by Che Palicte)

The government has brought insurgency to near annihilation more than three decades after the Rano massacre in Digos, Davao del Sur where 38 members of an indigenous peoples (IP) community were massacred by communist rebels.

The Rano massacre was the most brutal, inhumane, and barbaric act committed by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), according to Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy.


“We will not forget the sanctity of our job as a public servant and how, when we hold a public office, what we really hold in our hands are the [safety of the] Filipino people and their children,” Badoy, also the spokesperson of the NTF-ELCAC Social Media Affairs and Sectoral Concerns, said in a statement on Saturday.

On June 25, 1989, the 38 members of the Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe who gathered for worship at the United Church of Christ in the Philippines were killed in Sitio Rano, Barangay Binaton by a group of NPA rebels led by alias “Kumander Bensar”.

“More than half were children. One of them was pregnant. We ask that you keep them in the sacred spaces of your memory and to never forget them and the outrage done to them by the CPP-NPA-NDF,” Badoy said.

“On this day 33 years ago, blood gushed in Rano. Children were stabbed repeatedly so that they swam in their own blood. The last moments of their brief lives on Earth were full of terror, being chased by full-grown mad men with machetes and seeing their own fathers beheaded,” she narrated.

Badoy previously said that when President Rodrigo Duterte certified the Anti-Terror Act as urgent, he had the Rano massacre in mind.

“This is what the Rano massacre has taught us at the NTF-ELCAC. And this is what our President has taught us, too. Not too much in words but by his constant and non-stop action for us,” Badoy said, referring to how President Duterte made it one of his priorities to destroy the CPP-NPA-NDF and convince rebels to give up the armed struggle through livelihood packages that will enable them to rejoin mainstream society.

Their only “crime”, Badoy said, was rejecting the CPP-NPA-NDF in their communities.

Badoy said President Duterte has the “courage, the heart, the political will, the experience, and expertise” to bring down the CPP NPA NDF.

“Under his watch, the CPP-NPA-NDF has been brought to its knees and we can end this soon,” she added.

Badoy reiterated what Duterte had repeatedly said that good governance is the only way to end the communist armed revolution.

“And PRRDs marching orders to us were crystal clear: If you want to end this, there are only two words to this: good governance. Serve the people,” she said.

As Duterte steps down from office on June 30, Badoy vowed the government will continue defending and fighting for the lives of Filipinos against insurgency.

“Our hearts are heavy [that he is leaving] but we will assure you that he will never leave us. And neither will we. We will destroy the terrorist CPP-NPA-NDF and their fronts and we will name them and shame them. And we will continue to build schools, roads, health centers, and livelihood, among others. Nothing can stop us,” Badoy said.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA that was created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1177536

Butuan City village chief gunned down

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 25, 2022): Butuan City village chief gunned down (By Alexander Lopez)



SLAIN CHIEF. Unidentified gunmen shoot dead Florencio Cagas, the incumbent chairperson of Barangay Sto. Niño, Butuan City, on Friday (June 24, 2022). He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital due to multiple gunshot wounds. (Photo courtesy of Liga ng mga Barangay of Butuan Facebook)

BUTUAN CITY – Three days after the slaying of a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chair here, another village official was killed by still unidentified assailants on Friday night.

Police said Florencio Cagas, the incumbent chief of Barangay Sto. Niño, was gunned down at around 7:10 p.m. in Purok 7 of the said village.


The victim succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead on arrival at a private hospital here.

In a statement Saturday, the Liga ng mga Barangay (League of Villages) Butuan described the victim as good-natured.

“Hopefully, justice will be served soon,” the group said, while calling on authorities to fast-track the investigation.

The city government offered a reward money of PHP500,000 each for the capture of the gunmen.


JUSTICE. The city government of Butuan on Saturday (June 25, 2022) offered PHP500,000 each for the capture of the gunmen who killed Sangguniang Kabataan chair Nelbert Gacosta (right) on June 21 and Barangay Sto. Niño captain Florencio Cagas on June 25. (Photo courtesy of Butan LGU)

On Tuesday night, SK chair Nelbert Mancao Gacosta was also felled by bullets.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1177521

Ex-RPA-ABB rebels get homes, livelihood aid in south Negros

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 25, 2022): Ex-RPA-ABB rebels get homes, livelihood aid in south Negros (By Nanette Guadalquiver)



SHELTER PROJECT. A Kapatiran member-family receives a shelter unit inside the Peace and Development Community in Barangay Locotan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on June 23, 2022. The turn-over activity was led by co-chairs Veronica Tabara of Kapatiran and Defense Undersecretary Cesar Yano of the Joint Enforcement and Monitoring Committee, together with Mayor Pedro Zayco and 6th District Board Member Jeffrey Tubola. (Photo courtesy of 15th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)

At least 20 housing units have been turned over by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) to members of the Peace and Development Community (PDC) of the Kapatiran para sa Progresong Panlipunan (Kapatiran) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental earlier this week.

Situated in Sitio Mambinay, Barangay Locotan,
the site is occupied by former rebels under the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Bongcayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA-ABB) Tabara-Paduano Group (TPG), which assumed the name Kapatiran as part of its institutional transformation.

In a statement on Saturday, Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, said these projects show the sincerity of the government in helping former rebels as they return to mainstream society.

“The collaborations of government agencies through the OPAPRU made all these assistance possible,” he added.


During the activity held on June 23, each of the Kapatiran member-family recipients was given shelter unit that included a rainwater collector developed through the partnership of OPAPRU with the Central Philippines State University.

Aside from the housing project, the Kabankalan PDC also received 16 heads of carabaos for dispersal as well goods and supplies for the Kapatiran Community Store worth PHP1 million from the Department of Labor and Employment.

Also part of the ceremonies was the groundbreaking for an additional 43 shelter units under the housing project’s second phase.

The various projects were turned over as part of the government’s commitment under the 2019 clarificatory implementing document (CID), considered the final and absolute settlement of the peace agreement, which ended years of armed conflict between the state and the RPM-P/RPA-ABB TPG.

The activity was led by co-chairs Veronica Tabara of Kapatiran and Defense Undersecretary Cesar Yano of the Joint Enforcement and Monitoring Committee, which oversees and monitors the implementation of the commitments under the CID, together with Mayor Pedro Zayco and 6th District Board Member Jeffrey Tubola.

The RPM-P/RPA-ABB, a breakaway group of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army, signed a peace agreement with the government on December 6, 2000.

They later split into two – the TPG led by Veronica Tabara and Stephen Paduano, and the Nilo de la Cruz Group.


Only the TPG continued the process of finalizing a draft closure agreement with the government.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1177532