No wholesale prosecution under NTF-ELCAC

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2022): No wholesale prosecution under NTF-ELCAC (By Benjamin Pulta)

Indiscriminate persecution of political dissenters was not and will never be among the plans of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

In a press briefing on Friday shortly after the executive committee meeting of the task force, formed in 2018 by the Duterte administration to end communism and institute peace-building initiatives, Assistant Solicitor General Angelita Miranda said the law would not be used to go after critics, so long as there are no violations.

"In criminal law, there should be an overt act. As long as you don't have an overt act, even how evil your mind is, if there is no overt act, you cannot be prosecuted," Miranda told the media at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Even under the Anti-Terror Act of 2020, anybody is safe so long as the evil mind is not converted into action, added Miranda, who heads the task force's legal cluster.

National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who was also at the meeting, said in previous interviews that she is in favor of the continuation of the NTF-ELCAC.

She expressed her desire to continue negotiations with the insurgents while focusing on education, livelihood, and bringing more opportunities to residents of conflict-affected areas.

Most Filipinos also support the continued operation of the task force, according to the PAHAYAG 2022 Second Quarter Survey published by PUBLiCUS Asia, Inc. on June 8.

A June 16-22 survey found that 56 percent of 1,500 respondents "approve or strongly approve" of the NTF-ELCAC's continuation.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179022

Gov't-commies talks ongoing via localized peace engagement

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2022): Gov't-commies talks ongoing via localized peace engagement (By Lade Jean Kabagani)

PEACE OFFICIALS. Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. (center), Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, talks about the progress of localized peace talks during a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Friday (July 15, 2022). He is flanked by Assistant Solicitor General Angelita Miranda (left) and National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos after they attended the NTF-ELCAC executive committee meeting. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

The government’s peace negotiation with communist groups continues with the implementation of the localized peace engagement (LPE), the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said Friday.

Citing the timeline of peace talks initiated since the Corazon Aquino administration in 1986, OPAPRU chief Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said all previous negotiations amounted to nothing until the implementation of the LPE in communist-infiltrated areas.

Galvez said the “dynamics of conflicts” are different in each area.

"In 50 years of our negotiations with the communist, we’ve got nothing on that national peace talks,” he said in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. “Ongoing pa rin po ang peace talks pero ang ginawa natin ni-localize lang natin (The peace talks are still ongoing but we localized it).”

Galvez said the LPE has become more effective "in taking back the trust and confidence of the communist rebels” to return to the fold of the law.

The LPE, he added, is anchored on the needs and interests at the grassroots level and other long-standing issues.

It also empowers the regional peace council, which consists of provincial and local government units (LGUs), to address domestic terrorism in their communities.

"They know very well what’s the best solution to the insurgency emerging within their areas,” he said.

Galvez credited the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for developing former conflict-affected areas and uplifting the lives of rebel returnees.

He said the NTF-ELCAC is “the best venue” to push the good governance integration and collaboration among various national agencies and LGUs.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179039

PH’s BRP Antonio Luna joins sea phase of Hawaii drill

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2022): PH’s BRP Antonio Luna joins sea phase of Hawaii drill (By Priam Nepomuceno)

Photo courtesy of Philippine Navy

The Philippine Navy (PN) on Friday announced that the sea phase of this year's "Rim of the Pacific" (RIMPAC) exercise started on July 12 with missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151) now underway along with other participating warships.

"PN frigate BRP Antonio Luna, carrying Naval Task Group 80.5 led by Captain Charles Merric Villanueva, gets underway on July 12, 2022 to join 37 other ships, four submarines, 170 aircraft, and more than 25,000 personnel in the conduct of the at-sea phase training of the ongoing RIMPAC Exercise 2022," Navy spokesperson Commander Benjo Negranza said in a statement.

This year's RIMPAC is scheduled from June 29 to August 4.

Filipino sailors began the first day of the at-sea phase with serialized training which included tactical maneuvers; gunnery exercises (GUNNEX), and raid exercises (RAIDEX).

RIMPAC is the world’s premier and largest joint and combined naval exercise hosted by the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet and Third Fleet, held biennially in and around Hawaii.

This year marks the third time that the PN deployed a contingent to the naval exercise which allows Filipino sailors to exchange best practices with and learn from the best navies in the world.

This participation trumpets the PN's commitment to promoting multilateral cooperation leading to the strengthening of relationships and cooperation among regional and extra-regional navies.

It is also a great avenue to train participating commanders, staff and forces in the planning and execution of combined naval operations.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179063

NPA rebel with arrest warrant falls in Surigao Sur

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2022): NPA rebel with arrest warrant falls in Surigao Sur (By Alexander Lopez)

ARRESTED REBEL. Elbert Prado, 41, an alleged New People’s Army rebel, is arrested Thursday (July 14, 2022) in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur. The suspect, who has a standing arrest warrant for attempted murder, was allegedly involved in the ambush of government militiamen on March 18, 2020, in Barangay Diatagon. (Photo courtesy of SDSPPO)

An alleged New People’s Army (NPA) rebel involved in the ambush of government militiamen in Surigao del Sur two years ago has been arrested, the Police Regional Office in the Caraga Region (PRO-13) said Friday.

In a statement, PRO-13 Director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said suspect Elbert Prado, 41, was apprehended Thursday at Barangay Diatagon in Lianga town, Surigao del Sur.

Prado has a standing arrest warrant issued on January 15, 2021, by the Regional Trial Court Branch 7, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, for attempted murder.

Prado was among the NPA rebels who ambushed the government militiamen on March 18, 2020 in Kilometer 10, Sitio Emerald, Barangay Diatagon, police said.

He is also considered the eighth most wanted person in the Caraga Region.

“Rest assured that the police in Caraga will continue to strive for the maintenance of peace and order, and provide the people with a safer place to live, away from the threats of wanted criminals,” Caramat said.

The Communist Party of the Philippine-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 National Democratic Front was formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179046

Cordillera celebrates 35 years of preserving peace in region

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 15, 2022): Cordillera celebrates 35 years of preserving peace in region (By Liza Agoot)

PEACE TALKS. Gabino Ganggangan (3rd from left), Leonardo Bun-as (5th) and Andres Ngao-i (rightmost) - who took part in the peace agreement between the government and the Cordillera People's Liberation Army more than three decades ago - commemorate the founding anniversary of the Cordillera Administrative Region, at Mount Data Hotel in Mountain Province in this file photo on Sept. 13, 2021. The region's quest for autonomy continues as its people preserve peace and order in the region. (PNA file photo by Liza T. Agoot)

Thirty-six years ago, in September 1986, government officials and the local armed group Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) sat down to talk about peace and the possible laying down of arms at the Mt. Data Hotel in Bauko, Mountain Province.

The tension-filled yet successful peace talks led to the creation of what is now the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Andres Ngao-i of the Kalinga province, who was in his 20s when he served with the secretariat of the peace process, said the traditional way of peace negotiations, or "bodong" in Kalinga, was adopted to give a deeper meaning and relevance to the peace process under the administration of the then newly installed President Corazon Aquino.

"We honor the bodong. It is a pact entered by respected elders who represent us. We do not break it because doing so will mean hostilities. That is the reason we uphold it and we continue to live with it," Ngao-i told the Philippine News Agency on Thursday.

During the signing of the peace agreement, he said, President Aquino gave a bible, rosary, and an Armalite to CPLA leader and former priest Conrado Balweg, who in turn, gifted the chief executive with a shield, spear, and bolo as a symbolic exchange of tokens.

Prior to the issuance of Executive Order 220 that created the CAR on July 15, 197, the CPLA and the government forged a "sipat," a peace agreement that signals the start of peace negotiations.

“While it is late, we realize that we were correct to have the sipat. The sipat is a reminder that there was a peace agreement and there were demands stipulated, among which is the establishment of an autonomous region in the Cordillera,” he said, adding that “without the sipat, Executive Order 220 would not have been issued and there would have been no Cordillera.”

The historic event also paved the way for the CPLA’s laying down of arms and the government’s recognition of the aspirations for the establishment of an autonomous region of the Cordillera.

One of the signatories of the 1986 agreement, Leonardo “Musling” Bun-as of Tinglayan, Kalinga, who is now 75 years old, in an earlier interview, recalled the day President Aquino signed the peace agreement.

Together with Balweg, Bun-as was among the members of the New People's Army who broke away from the communist group and formed the CPLA. He was among Balweg’s political team.

“We were happy when President Cory said that it should not be guns that must talk but we should be on the table talking to solve the problem and your demands,” said Bun-as, adding that he was beside Cory and Balweg when the exchange of tokens happened

Bun-as recalled, “I was feeling happy then because the peace talks have resulted positively and there will be no more fighting.”

Bun-as called on fellow Cordillerans and leaders of the national government to continue working together to maintain peace in the region.

Meanwhile, regional elder Mauricio Domogan, in his "Uggayam" (traditional prayer), urged not just fellow Cordillerans but all Filipinos to support the region’s bid for autonomy, which he said is laid down in the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179023

Violence-free future key to rebels' surrender in Bukidnon

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 16, 2022): Violence-free future key to rebels' surrender in Bukidnon (By Nef Luczon)

NEW CHAPTER. A former rebel shares the reasons for her and her 13 comrades' surrender inside the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City on Friday (July 15, 2022). One of the reasons cited was a secure future for their families. (Photo courtesy of PRO-10)

Citing the future of her children and family, a communist rebel in Bukidnon has decided to surrender.

During a briefing on Friday, alias "Bertha" said she wants a life for her children without association with the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People’s Army - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

"That is what we can give to them (children). We have not seen this before [how the government can help] but we are not going back [to the CPP-NPA-NDF]," Bertha said in the vernacular.

She said they were led to believe a "different perspective" toward the government, which is why they joined the communist group.

Bertha was one of the 14 former rebels presented at the Police Regional Office (PRO) 10 (Northern Mindanao) headquarters here.

Another former rebel, alias "Rose," said they thought the CPP-NPA-NDF had good intentions for the country.

"We thought we could achieve progress for our family and country [by joining the organization] but we were wrong," Rose said.

Brig. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., PRO-10 director, said the 14 former rebels were part of the CPP-NPA's North Central Mindanao Regional Command operating in the eastern and western parts of Bukidnon.

"They are not combatants, based on our initial investigation. Most of them were recruited at a young age," Acorda said in an interview.

Manuel Orduña of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) 10 said the national peace framework of Executive Order (EO) 70 will continue under the new administration and the fresh mandate of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

He said NICA-10 fully supports government amnesty programs for former rebels.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte signed EO 70 in December 2018, creating the NTF-ELCAC that employs a whole-of-nation approach to end communism and institute peace-building initiatives.

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.

BLOOD DRIVE. Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao chief Brig. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. leadsa blood donation drive at their headquarters in Cagayan de Oro City on Friday (July 15, 2022). The activity was held in partnership with Northern Mindanao Medical Center. (Photo courtesy of PRO-10)

Blood donation

Meanwhile, PRO-10 collected on Friday 57,150 cubic cm. of blood during a bloodletting drive in partnership with the state-run Northern Mindanao Medical Center.

Acorda said of the 179 personnel from various PRO-10 offices, 70 percent or 127 personnel passed the screening.

"This might be a small act of kindness to somebody. However, to someone who will receive your blood, it gives them the chance to live. I hope that these bags of blood extend more life to the beneficiaries," he said, noting that the bloodletting activity is one of PRO-10’s best practices.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179085

Gov’t troops seize weapons from NPA lair in southern Negros

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 16, 2022): Gov’t troops seize weapons from NPA lair in southern Negros (By Nanette Guadalquiver)

CONFISCATED. Weapons and other items seized by Philippine Army troops from the hideout of the CPP-NPA in Barangay Inayawan, Cauayan town in southern Negros Occidental on July 14, 2022. Lt. Col. Michael Cuarteros, commanding officer of the 15th Infantry Battalion, said the rebels abandoned their lair after a 10-minute firefight. (Photo courtesy of 15th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army)

Combined troops of the Philippine Army have recovered weapons during a raid on the Communist Party of Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) hideout in the southern town of Cauayan in Negros Occidental on Thursday afternoon.

During the combat operation in Sitio Hanot, Barangay Inayawan, soldiers from the 15th and 47th Infantry Battalions (IB) engaged some 20 communist rebels led by alias “Kumpol” of the NPA’s South West Front.

As of Saturday, clearing operations were already completed after the troops recovered a .45-caliber pistol with magazine and ammunition, a hand cap grenade, a 50-meter electric wire, two mobile phones, a two-way radio, and various food, medical and personal supplies.

In a statement, Lt. Col. Michael Cuarteros, commanding officer of 15IB, said the rebels abandoned their lair and fled to various directions after a 10-minute gunbattle.

“The Philippine Army is pursuing the CPP-NPA terrorists in Negros with a commitment to eradicate and destroy these groups, who have no other desire but evil in society, and to prevent them from sowing fear and exploiting the people to regain their lost masses,” he said.

Cuarteros acknowledged the support of the locals to the government’s campaign to end the local communist armed conflict by providing information on the presence of the NPA rebels.

“We urge the others to turn themselves in while there is still a chance. For those who refuse, we will track you down until you are incapable of victimizing civilians and destroying innocent lives,” he added.

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 National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1179090