NDFP negotiating panel chair Fidel Agcaoili dies

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 24, 2020): NDFP negotiating panel chair Fidel Agcaoili dies (By: Gabriel Pabico Lalu)

Communist rebel negotiator Fidel Agcaoili gestures during a rare news conference held on June 2, 2016, in Quezon City. (AP file photo / BULLIT MARQUEZ)

Fidel Agcaoili, chairperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) negotiating panel, died on Thursday in the Netherlands, exiled communist leader Jose Maria Sison said.

Agcaoili would have turned 76 on August 8, Sison, who co-founded the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), said in a Facebook post.

According to Sison, the cause of Agcaoili’s death was “pulmonary arterial rupture which caused massive internal bleeding,” although he noted that it was not related to COVID-19.

“The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) announces with deep sorrow the untimely passing of Ka Fidel V. Agcaoili today, 23 July 2020 at 12:45pm in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He would have turned 76 on 8 August,” Sison said.

“According to the doctor, the cause of his death was pulmonary arterial rupture which caused massive internal bleeding. It was not Covid-19 related,” he added.

Agcaoili’s remains would be flown to the Philippines in accordance with his family’s wishes, the communist leader added.

As NDFP negotiator, Agcaoili participated in peace talks between the communist rebels and the Philippine government — discussions that started nicely as President Rodrigo Duterte and even left-leaning activists appeared to be in sync, with three activists even appointed to the Cabinet.

However, distrust between the two sides creeped in when the government accused the rebels of breaking ceasefire declarations, while the communists slammed several of Duterte’s policies including the drug war, the stance on the West Philippine Sea, and the continuous problems faced by peasants and laborers.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1311217/ndfp-negotiating-panel-chair-fidel-agcaoili-dies

Philippines: Decommissioning of Rebel Weapons on Track, Official Says

From BenarNews (Jul 23, 2020): Philippines: Decommissioning of Rebel Weapons on Track, Official Says (By Jeoffrey Maitem and Mark Navales)

Members of the Independent Decommissioning Body inspect weapons turned over by former Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels at a government facility in southern Maguindanao province, July 9, 2019.  Mark Navales/BenarNews

The Philippines has decommissioned thousands of firearms controlled by former Muslim separatist guerrillas in the south as part of a historic peace deal, the country’s defense chief said, adding the entire process of silencing their weapons is to be completed by 2022.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in a presentation to fellow cabinet members on Wednesday, said 12,000 or about 30 percent of the estimated 40,000 firearms estimated to be held by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been recovered.

He lauded the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) because he said it has led to peace in the south and the election of former MILF guerrillas to lead a transitional authority that would govern its own areas.

“Part of the organic law is the decommissioning of the MILF combatants,” Lorenzana said referring to the Bangsamoro Organic Law which paved the way for the BARMM. “Thirty percent of them have already been decommissioned and the remaining 70 percent will be decommissioned in the next two years.”

Those efforts are expected to eventually lead to partnerships within their own community and with the government or other countries ahead of realizing the MILF’s dream of self-rule, Lorenzana said.

The phased handover of weapons is part of the peace deal with the government that led to the establishment of BARMM. Each combatant who hands over weapons is expected to receive a cash payment, including money for education.

In September 2019, more than 1,000 former MILF forces turned in their weapons during a decommissioning ceremony that occurred hours after a bomb attack injured eight people at a Southern Philippine marketplace.

Other groups blamed for attacks

Philippine military officials blamed members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) for the bombing at a market in Isulan, a town in Sultan Kudarat province. The BIFF splintered from MILF and aligned with the Islamic State (IS).

Agakhan Sharief, a local Muslim leader, said that despite MILF’s peace agreement, pro-IS groups including BIFF and Abu Sayyaf continue to launch attacks against government forces in the south.

Sharief served as a negotiator at the height of five-month battle when Abu Sayyaf members and other militants took over the city of Marawi in May 2017. He said the government’s decommissioning approach has not been effective.

“A rebel will surrender his old gun in exchange for money. After receiving the money, he will buy a new weapon. It does not make sense,” Sharief told BenarNews.

The MILF split from the larger Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1978 after the latter dropped its fight for independence. The MNLF signed a peace deal in 1996 and was awarded a self-rule region which the government called a “failed experiment.”

The government later looked at including MILF in peace negotiations and the MNLF group fractured into smaller groups which would become the forerunners of present day militants in the region.

Filipino security analyst Rommel Banlaoi told BenarNews on Thursday that the MILF’s decommissioning is an essential part of the peace agreement to transform combatants from armed fighters to peace builders.

“The decommissioning process can only be successful in building lasting peace in Mindanao if there is dismantlement of private armed groups, common in BARMM,” said Banlaoi, who heads the Philippine Institute for Peace Violence and Terrorism Research.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/decommission-update-07232020133128.html

PH now better equipped to monitor incursions, harassment in West PH Sea: Lorenzana

From ABS-CBN (Jul 22, 2020): PH now better equipped to monitor incursions, harassment in West PH Sea: Lorenzana

Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday said the Philippines is now better equipped to monitor incursions and other activities in the West Philippine Sea with the acquisition and installation of surveillance radars.

In a pre-State of the Nation Address Forum, Lorenzana said his department has recently put up surveillance radars in different areas to detect incursions in the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea where it is laying claim to.

Chinese vessels have been sighted in Philippine waters, and were at times involved in harassment of Philippine vessels in the area for years.

Beijing continues to claim almost the entire South China Sea despite an international arbitration court's ruling in 2016 invalidating its basis. Aside from China and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have competing claims in the resources-rich waterway.

According to Lorenzana, the Philippines has taken actions to address recurrent incursions and harassment in the West Philippine Sea.

"Addressing recurrent incursions and harassments by military and civilian Chinese vessels, the Philippines has taken diplomatic actions against China for activities against our national sovereignty," he said.

"This is on top of our enhanced surveillance, enforcement, security, and development capabilities in the area."

Lorenzana did not say where the surveillance radars were installed, although the department's spokesperson disclosed that the last time an air defense surveillance radar was put up by government was sometime last year in Lubang, Occidental Mindoro.

Another radar was upgraded this year in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte, while a third one set for installation on Mt. Salakot in Palawan province is expected to be delivered within this year, according to Arsenio Andolong, public affairs chief of the defense department.

Lorenzana said the newly-installed radars can help the government "properly watch and monitor our territorial waters."

"The AFP improved its identification, detection and interdiction efforts through our newly-installed air defense surveillance radars, the conduct of wider air and maritime patrols, and setting up additional detachments in strategic locations," he said.

Lorenzana said the administration is prioritizing the defense of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and claimed that its bilateral and multi-lateral engagements with countries, including the other claimants "significantly lowered the tension and has greatly helped in managing the issues in the West Philippine Sea."

Meanwhile, Lorenzana said conditions in military facilities in the West Philippine Sea, including Pag-asa Island, have also improved.

"We are upgrading existing facilities in the nine islands that comprise the municipality of Kalayaan, particularly the island of Pag-asa. For the first time since the 1970s, Pag-asa island has received major infrastructure upgrades, namely: a ship beaching ramp, and a sheltered port for our fishermen," he said.

It is now easier to proceed with other development projects there such as concreting the runway and its apron, and construction of other structures for the residents and government troops, he said.

As part of its modernization program, the Armed Forces of the Philippines recently acquired the BRP Jose Rizal, the first ever missile-capable warship of the Philippine Navy.

Lorenzana said combat support aircraft are also due for delivery this year to the Philippine Air Force.

The defense chief admitted that the military's modernization program was somehow affected by the coronavirus crisis, noting that some of its funds have been reallocated to the government's fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Lorenzana said P9.4 billion in modernization funds have been re-allocated, along with some P9.7 billion in capital outlay and P125 million in maintenance and other operating expenses.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/22/20/ph-now-better-equipped-to-monitor-incursions-harassment-in-west-ph-sea-lorenzana

Philippines Boosts Surveillance in South China Sea

From BenarNews (Jul 22, 2020): Philippines Boosts Surveillance in South China Sea
(By Aie Balagtas See and Mark Navales)

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (in blue, white and red jacket) and the other military officials are welcomed by residents during a ceremony at the newly built beach ramp at the Philippine-claimed island of Pag-asa, also known as Thitu, in the disputed South China Sea, June 9, 2020. [Department of National Defense PAS Handout Photo/AP]

The Philippines has installed improved tracking equipment in the South China Sea to protect areas it claims, the country’s defense secretary said Wednesday, as he took a strong stand against China.

Speaking at an online news briefing, Delfin Lorenzana said the Philippines would pursue a “principled foreign policy that serves our national interest,” and that “defending national sovereignty and protecting territorial integrity is a paramount priority of this administration.”

The comments came after Manila made an about-face in early June on its plan to cancel a key military pact with the United States, and more recently welcomed Washington’s new policy of overtly siding with Southeast Asian nations on territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

“In addressing recurrent tensions and harassments by military and civilian Chinese vessels, the Philippines has taken diplomatic actions against China for activities against our national sovereignty,” Lorenzana said.

It has also enhanced surveillance, security and development capabilities in the area, he said.

“The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) improved its identification, detection and interdiction efforts through our newly-installed air defense surveillance radars, the conduct of wider air and maritime patrols, and setting up additional detachments in strategic locations,” Lorenzana said.

Last month, the Philippine military installed a new beaching ramp and a sheltered port for Filipino fishermen on Pag-asa island, or Thitu island. The ramp allows ships to dock on the island, making access for the construction of development projects easier.

That was just one of the developments that the government is aiming to implement in the nine islands in the municipality of Kalayaan, which covers Pag-asa.

Incursions

Lorenzana said that the Philippines was still pushing for “effective implementation” of a code of conduct in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea, that has been under negotiation for almost two decades.

While agreeing to such a code in principle, China has repeatedly carried out actions in disputed waters in the potentially resource-rich sea region.

Vessel-tracking data and satellite imagery show that a vessel in service with China’s geological survey agency, the Hai Yang Di Zhi 12, was conducting a survey within 50 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal as of Tuesday, and a China Coast Guard (CCG) that arrived at Scarborough Shoal on Monday was patrolling that feature, which is claimed by the Philippines.

Two other Chinese survey vessels, the Shiyan-1 and the Shen Kuo, have intruded into the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in recent weeks. The Shiyan-1 entered the Philippines’ EEZ on July 6 and is now in the middle of a survey covering the northern South China Sea and Macclesfield Bank area. The Shen Kuo was within 80 nautical miles of the Philippine coast on Tuesday, but left Philippine waters Wednesday.

Apart from China and the Philippines, other claimants in the South China Sea are Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. had earlier issued a statement commemorating the fourth anniversary of the July 12, 2016 decision of the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, when the court sided with the Philippines in a case that Manila brought against China over a territorial dispute in the sea.

Locsin called on China to comply with the court’s decision, which has been repeatedly rejected by Beijing.

But Locsin and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met virtually last week to talk about managing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a day after a stern warning from the United States.

The two “engaged in open, cordial and fruitful discussions” that centered on the conflict in the maritime region, a statement by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs department said.

The top Chinese and Philippine diplomats met after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that Beijing’s claim over rocks and reefs in the Spratly Islands, a chain in the South China Sea, was unlawful, and its maritime claims based off alleged ownership of those features was in clear violation of international law.

In his statement issued on July 13, Pompeo slammed China’s insistence on holding economic rights to waters around Scarborough Reef, Mischief Reef, and Second Thomas Shoal, all of which are claimed by the Philippines.

The U.S. government in recent days has carried out a series of actions targeting China, ranging from sanctions over China’s imposition of harsh security laws in Hong Kong and over human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang to public denunciations of Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. China has fired back, accusing Washington of meddling in its internal affairs with a series of provocative actions aimed at undermining Beijing.

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/South-China-Sea-07222020140053.html

Lorenzana: AFP modernization projects that lost funding, merely deferred

From the Business Mirror (Jul 22, 2020): Lorenzana: AFP modernization projects that lost funding, merely deferred (By Samuel P. Medenilla)



File photo, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana

The Department of Defense’s decision to “reprogram” P9.4 billion of its funds will have minimal impact on the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

During the pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said they opted to return the amount to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which was initially allocated for the modernization of the AFP, to help with the government’s novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) response.

However, he assured that modernization program will still push through in the coming years.

“Now, these modernization projects, which lost its funding, has been merely deferred to the following years,” Lorezana said.

DND has returned a total of P19.3 billion of funds to DBM, including AFP’s modernization budget, as part of its contribution to the government’s campaign against Covid-19.

Of the said amount, P9.7 billion should have been used for DND’s capital outlay, while the remaining P125 million if for the agency’s Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).

A P300-billion budget was allocated for AFP’s four-year modernization program, which started on 2018 and would end on 2022.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/07/22/lorenzana-afp-modernization-projects-that-lost-funding-merely-deferred/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Police massacre 3 barangay watchmen in Masbate

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 21, 2020): Police massacre 3 barangay watchmen in Masbate

ANG BAYAN
JULY 21, 2020

Three barangay watchmen were abducted by police and soldiers on July 4 at midnight and were massacred in the boundary of ba­ra­ngays Ba­gacay and Ma­rin­toc in Mobo, Masbate. The victims, identified as Edgar Mingoy, Marlon Bajar and Rolly de la Cruz, were all falsely presented before the media as members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

The suspects include troops of the Re­gio­nal Mo­bi­le Force Bat­ta­li­on 5, 9th Special Acti­on Bat­ta­li­on, Re­gio­nal Intel­li­gence Unit, Mas­ba­te Provincial Mo­bi­le Force Com­pany and the Mo­bo Mu­nici­pal Po­lice Office. Elements of the 96th Mi­li­tary Intel­li­gence Com­pany were also involved in the crime.

The perpetrators repeatedly fired their guns in the air for an hour to make it appear that they encountered an NPA unit.

Mingoy served as a barangay watchman for 20 years, while Dela Cruz also served as a councilor in their village.

Bombing. Using two FA-50 fighter jets, the military dropped eight bombs near two Lumad communities in Barangay Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Sur on July 15 at around 2 a.m. Two drones were also seen flying overhead. The incident traumatized residents especially chil­dren. Thirty-seven families evacuated from their communities after the incident.

Arrests. State elements arrested activist Je­nelyn Nag­ram­pa-Ca­bal­le­ro in Ba­ra­ngay San Isid­ro, Na­bua, Ca­ma­ri­nes Sur on July 7. Nag­ram­pa is the chairperson of the Bico­la­na-Gab­rie­la and concurrently serves as the national vice chairperson of Gabriela.

On July 9, state elements also arrested Rev. Dan San Andres, 61 years old, of the Uni­ted Church of Christ in the Phi­lip­pi­nes in Sipocot town in the same province. San Andres is the spokesperson of Ka­ra­pa­tan-Bi­kol.

Both veteran activists were slapped with a trumped-up charges of murder for purportedly killing two soldiers in 2018.

Activists protested in Le­gazpi and Naga City on July 10 to condemn the arrests.

Militarization. At least five military units have been besieging the towns of Ju­ban, Ma­gal­la­nes, Bu­lan, Iro­sin and Mat­nog in Sor­so­gon since the last week of June. In Iro­sin, 23 out of its 28 ba­ra­ngays are currently being occupied by soldiers under the guise of conducting “Com­mu­nity Sup­port Pro­g­ram.” The 22nd IB has also began constructing its camp in Ba­ra­ngay Ca­lo­ma­gon in Bu­lan.

The fascists are conducting house-to-house searches and listing the names of residents. They also coerced barangay councils to stage the surrender of their constituents.

Last July 7 and 8, soldiers and police ransacked the houses of eight residents in Ba­ra­ngay Maa­lo and Calmayon in the town of Ju­ban.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2020/07/21/police-massacre-3-barangay-watchmen-in-masbate/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Surveillance amid the pandemic

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 21, 2020): Surveillance amid the pandemic

ANG BAYAN
JULY 21, 2020

In July 8, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed the opening of barbershops, parlors and salons up to 50% of their regular clientele in Metro Manila. Among the IATF’s requisites is for all costumers to use contact tracing applications like the StaySafe.Ph.

StaySafe.Ph is a phone application which registers the location wherever the user may be. The objective of this app is supposedly to provide fast and easy information to individuals if they come in contact with a Covid-19-positive individual by registering phone numbers to establishments they patro­nize.

The app was developed and is being ran by Mul­tiSys Techno­logy Corp. It was endorsed by Her­mo­ge­nes Espe­ron of the Na­tio­nal Secu­rity Council (NSC) and officialized by the IATF generals last April 22. The company aims to enrol half of the Philippine population. It has access to all active cellphones and can directly send messages to all through the De­partment of Infor­ma­ti­on and Com­mu­nica­ti­ons Tech­no­logy (DICT).

Mul­tisys Techno­lo­gi­es Corp. was founded by David Almi­rol Jr. who previously worked in a US military base in Iraq. He met Esperon in 2016 and served as a consultant to the NSC in 2017. He worked on some “technical surveil­lance” projects for the agency. The StaySafe.Ph was said to be commissioned by the Na­tio­nal Intel­li­gence Coor­di­na­ting Agen­cy. PLDT holds 45% of the company since 2018.

Many technology experts have sounded alarm against StaySafe.Ph, claiming that the application could be used to spy on the people and violate their right to privacy. It collects extensive data from registered cellphones. Aside from determining the user’s location, it has permission to read and change messages and contacts, access the camera and mic­rophone, read storage and change phone settings, among others.

The app has no declared privacy statement and it is unclear how the collected data will be used after the pandemic. It can be used by those in power during the next election. Data can be sold to interested businesses.

Critics and the political opposition fear that it will be used against them, especially under the newly-signed Anti-Terror Law. The National Investigation Bureau, which has persecuted Duterte’s critics in the guise of stopping the proliferation of fake news, will have access to the app’s data.

On June 29, the Makabayan bloc proposed that Congress investigate irregularities and privacy issues of the app. Its representatives cited the complaint lodged by then DICT official Eli­seo Rio Jr. who said that the app is incapable of con­tact tracing. At the time it was endorsed by the IATF, the app was only capable of collecting phone numbers and determining locations. It is not integrated with the data­bases of the De­partment of Health and local agencies which are directly in charge of con­tact tracing.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2020/07/21/surveillance-amid-the-pandemic/

CPP/Ang Bayan: NPA strikes at fascist soldiers and police in Neg­ros, Pa­la­wan, Sor­so­gon

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 21, 2020): NPA strikes at fascist soldiers and police in Neg­ros, Pa­la­wan, Sor­so­gon

ANG BAYAN
JULY 21, 2020

At least 14 soldiers and police of the US-Duterte regime were killed and 10 others were wounded in successive tactical offensives mounted by the New People’s Army (NPA) from June 8-16.

In Neg­ros Occi­den­tal, 12 elements of the 15th IB were killed in an ambush by the NPA-Southwest Neg­ros (Arman­do Su­ma­yang Jr. Com­mand) in Ba­ra­ngay Ping­got, Ilog last last July 8.

The 15th IB is notorious for conducting brutal SEMPO operations in Sout­hern Neg­ros. Its soldiers are involved in the spate of killings, harassment and forced surrender of civilians in the area.

Meanwhile, the NPA-South Central Negros disarmed a family of bandits at Sitio Binadlan, Ba­ra­ngay Bi-ao, Binalbagan on July 14. An M16 rifle, shotgun, .45 and .38 calibre pistols, ammunition and handheld radios were seized from the the bandits. The bandits are involved in land grabbing, human rights violations and anti-social activities in the area since 1990.

The NPA-Palawan also mounted successive ambushes in Tay­tay, Pa­la­wan on July 12 and 13. Red fighters fired at a mobile of the Phi­lip­pi­ne Na­tio­nal Po­lice (PNP) along the highway at Sit­io Ibang­ley, Ba­ra­ngay Abo­ngan on July 12. The PNP chief of Dumaranan town and another police were aboard the said vehicle.

On the next day, the people’s army ambushed soldiers of the MBLT 3 who were deployed in the same area to respond to the ambush. A soldier was killed while three others were wounded.

In Sor­so­gon, the military and police sustained four casualties in a series of harassment operations mounted by the NPA in two days. The casualties were part of military units deployed to conduct “Com­mu­nity Sup­port Prog­ram” in five towns of the province.

On July 14, at around 6 p.m., Red fighters fired at operating soldiers of the 91st CMO Company in Ba­ra­ngay Cal­pi, Bu­lan. A soldier was killed while another was wounded. In the same evening, the NPA also harassed soldiers operating in the adjacent barangay of Cal­ma­yon in Ju­ban.

On July 16, two elements of the PNP 9th Special Acti­on Bat­ta­li­on were wounded in an NPA harassment operation in Ba­ra­ngay Tu­la-tu­la Sur, Ma­gal­la­nes.

Earlier, during the first week of July, the PNP-Masbate paralyzed the plunderous operations of Ma­ti­bay Ce­ment Factory in Ba­ra­ngay Ca­sa­ba­ngan, Pio V. Cor­puz. Red fighters destroyed its mining equipment.

The said cement-manufacturing company will endanger the lives and livelihoods of residents in 11 ba­ra­ngays in the towns of Pio V. Cor­puz and Espe­ranza. Hundreds of hectares of farmlands and residential areas are set to be covered by its lime mining operations in the area. A coal-fired power plant is also set to be constructed in and pollute the area to enable the company to be fully operational.

[Ang Bayan is the official news organ of the Communist Party of the Philippines and is issued by the CPP Central Committee. It provides news about the work of the Party as well as its analysis of and views on current issues. Ang Bayan comes out fortnightly and is published in Pilipino, Bisaya, Ilokano, Waray, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2020/07/21/npa-strikes-at-fascist-soldiers-and-police-in-negros-palawan-sorsogon/

CPP: Bigwas | Mayo 2020

Propaganda publication posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 22, 2020): Bigwas | Mayo 2020

JULY 23, 2020


Download: PDF

https://cpp.ph/2020/07/23/bigwas-mayo-2020/

CPP: Silyab | Ispesyal na Isyu: Apat na taon ni Duterte

Propaganda publication posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 22, 2020): Silyab | Ispesyal na Isyu: Apat na taon ni Duterte

JULY 22, 2020

Download: PDF

https://cpp.ph/2020/07/22/silyab-ispesyal-na-isyu-apat-na-taon-ni-duterte/

CPP/NPA-Southeast Negros: Ongoing focused military operation in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental terrorize farmers – RMPC-NPA

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 22, 2020): Ongoing focused military operation in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental terrorize farmers – RMPC-NPA

ESTRELLA BANAGBANAG

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-SOUTHEAST NEGROS

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

JULY 22, 2020

Starting July 6, 2020, military and police forces from the 11th IB AFP & 705th RMFB launched a focused military operation in the hinterland villages of Sta. Catalina and its boundaries to Siaton and Valencia towns in Negros Oriental.

At least two Army companies, 1 PNP mobile force company and two paramilitary geographic companies were deployed in a vain attempt to destroy the NPA and its mass base, as well to suppress all forms of resistance and struggles of the farmers to assert their democratic rights and demands.

To date, several cases of rights violations and abuses has been documented by local human rights and farmers groups especially in the villages of Talalac and Nagbinlod, the epicenters of the operation.

A few weeks before the operation, Nonoy Truza, a barangay councilor and the erstwhile chairman of an association of agrarian reform beneficiaries in Nagbinlod, was assassinated by military death squad operatives.

https://cpp.ph/statement/ongoing-focused-military-operation-in-sta-catalina-negros-oriental-terrorize-farmers-rmpc-npa/

CPP/CIO: On Justice Carpio’s opinion asserting that CPP/NPA are not terrorists under ATA

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 20, 2020): On Justice Carpio’s opinion asserting that CPP/NPA are not terrorists under ATA

MARCO VALBUENA

CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES

JULY 20, 2020

Former Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio’s July 15 opinion piece “Are CPP-NPA rebels terrorists?” which came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer was a very interesting read for members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its friends and allies. Justice Carpios’ article is a sharp legal instrument that exposes a gaping hole in the Duterte regime’s plan of using the ATA against the CPP and the revolutionary cause.

We take interest in Justice Carpio’s view that the Anti-Terror Law defines “terrorism” as different from “rebellion.” He explained that unlike the now superseded Human Security Act of 2007, the ATA removed “rebellion” as a predicate crime of “terrorism.” He points out that under the ATA “terrorism” is “now a separate and distinct stand-alone crime.” With this insight, the entire assumption and plan of the Duterte government to use the ATA against the CPP is legally challenged.

Of course, we do not expect Justice Carpio’s opinion from stopping the Duterte regime and its military cabal from trying to use the ATA for their tyrannical ends. Defense and security officials have been vigorously pushing the new terror law in line with the plans of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict to use all means of suppressing not only the revolutionary forces, but all other patriotic and democratic forces, as well as opposition groups and critics, which the NTF-ELCAC has invariably labeled as communists or linked to the communists.

Justice Carpio’s opinion, however, places them in a legal quandary. He asserted that “CPP-NPA rebels, whose intent is clearly rebellion, are not terrorists under the ATA, and consequently they, individually or as a group, cannot be proscribed as terrorists under the ATA.” This adds to the fact that the CPP and NPA are not listed as terrorist organizations even by the United Nations Security Council.

We welcome Justice Carpio’s insight as a challenge to the official terrorist denunciations by the NTF-ELCAC and the AFP/PNP against the CPP and NPA. While the Party maintains that it is an entity governed by a completely different legal system under the People’s Democratic Government, it will support individuals and other entities in efforts to legally challenge the ATA in order to defend their civil and political rights, as guaranteed by the 1987 constitution and international instruments.

In this light, we congratulate the various democratic sectors and personalities who have challenged the ATA before the Supreme Court. While using Duterte’s terror law against the CPP and NPA can prove to be legally untenable, it remains a fact that the ATA’s overly broad and vague definitions of what constitutes terrorism make it a weapon that can be used to suppress activism, dissent and opposition. Given the record of the Supreme Court now dominated by Duterte appointees, the democratic forces will, however, have to put up more than a legal challenge. Indeed, it will be a pleasant surprise if any of these challenges will prosper.

The Party wishes to reiterate that it is a revolutionary organization guided by a scientific ideology and set of principles that places primordial importance to the liberation of the people from all forms of oppression and exploitation. In principle and in practice, the Party stands squarely against terrorism, especially state terrorism. The New People’s Army, under the absolute leadership of the Party, is guided by high standards of discipline and respect for the people as expounded in its Three Points of Discipline and Eight Points of Attention, as well as by its adherence to international humanitarian law.

The Party avers that the biggest terrorist in the country is Duterte himself who has openly declared animosity against human rights and ordered his military and police forces to kill with impunity, with promises of reward and legal protection. The list of crimes of state terrorism daily grows longer under his tyranny.

https://cpp.ph/statement/on-justice-carpios-opinion-asserting-that-cpp-npa-are-not-terrorists-under-ata/

CPP: Under Duterte’s police-military state, Covid-19 infections set to exceed 75,000

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 23, 2020): Under Duterte’s police-military state, Covid-19 infections set to exceed 75,000

COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES
JULY 23, 2020

Duterte’s order the other day for police to arrest without qualms people without face masks to subject them to shame is typical of his police-military approach that has not only proved a big failure in stemming the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic but has also resulted in widespread military and police abuses of the people’s civil rights.

Those not wearing face masks, even if they are alone in their cars, walking alone in the streets or watering their plants in their yards, are now considered culprits. Over the past days, people are being rounded up by the hundreds, adding to the tens of thousands who have been apprehended, fined and detained since March.

The regime and its incompetent officials, led by former military generals, continue to insist that the spread of the Covid-19 virus is a result of the people’s lack of discipline. They are obscuring the fact Duterte has no public health and medical strategy to manage the pandemic.

Having no clear health strategy in place, Covid-19 infections in the country have shot up over the past weeks ever since business and factory operations were allowed to resume in June. Hospital facilities in Metro Manila assigned for Covid-19 cases are already being overwhelmed. Medical facilities in the regions and provinces are grossly lacking or completely absent.

The number of cases at the start of July is set to more than double before the end of the month. It is now set to exceed 75,000. Without a massive public health intervention to conduct mass free testing, upgrade government laboratories and build medical facilities, the number of infections will continue to rise more sharply and may get completely out of control.

It is evident that the Duterte regime is incapable of leading the country’s efforts to surmount the pandemic because it continues to be obsessed with accumulating power, imposing repressive measures to control the population and silencing those who have stood up to his corruption, incompetence and terrorism.

The Filipino people are seething with unrest. They have suffered grave hardships and hunger under the pandemic. They are determined to take action against the Duterte regime and make it account for the devastation of the economy, for destroying their jobs, taking away their livelihood and for making them ever more vulnerable to the pandemic.

https://cpp.ph/statement/under-dutertes-police-military-state-covid-19-infections-set-to-exceed-75000/

Lorenzana: Groups linked to using child soldiers, charged

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 23, 2020): Lorenzana: Groups linked to using child soldiers, charged (By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan)



CALOOCAN CITY, July 23 (PIA) -- Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday said government has filed appropriate charges against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front’s alleged use of child warriors in armed conflicts and hostilities.

Speaking during the Pre-SONA powered and multicast by the Presidential Communications, Lorenzana denounced the CPP-NPA-NDF’s supposed use of minors to wage their decades-long guerrilla-type warfare against government.

“Para pangalagaan ang karapatan ng mga kabataan, sinampahan natin ng kasong trafficking of persons, kidnapping, child abuse at krimen laban sa international humanitarian law ang mga organisasyong nagri-recruit ng mga child warriors gamit ang kanilang mga Salugpungan schools, unibersidad at kolehiyo,” Lorenzana said.

The official said the Department of Education has ordered the permanent closure of Salugpungan schools for indigenous peoples in the Davao region based on probes conducted that these institutions were reportedly encouraging students to rebel against the government.

“Sa pakikipagtulungan natin sa Kagawaran ng Edukasyon, naipasara ang mga huwad na mga paaralang ito na ginagamit na front ng CPP-NPA-NDF,” Lorenzana said.

“Layunin ng mga ito na linlangin ang mga katutubong kabataan, lasunin ang kanilang isipan at turuan silang labanan ang pamahalaan.

Earlier, the DepEd's investigation revealed that aside from failing to use government-approved curriculum, the 55 Salugpungan schools across Mindanao also bring students away from their homes without parental consent.

The agency also found out of the schools’ use of the students to generate funds allegedly for use by the CPP-NPA-NDF, as well as hiring unlicensed teachers.

Moreover, the probe also identified that the schools were operating within the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples without the natives’ consent.

“Tinutulungan natin ngayon ang mga apektadong mag-aaral para magkaroon ng dekalidad, kapakipakinabang, makabuluhan at makabayang edukasyon,” Lorenzana said.

“Hindi baril at bala ang solusyon para wakasan ang mga armadong grupong lumalaban sa pamahalaan kung hindi mabigyan sila ng pagkakataong magbagong buhay at mabuhay ng tahimik kapiling ng kanilang mga pamilya,” he added. (PIA NCR)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1048377

Tagalog News: Army, mga opisyal ng DRT nagpulong tungkol sa Anti-Terrorism Act

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 23, 2020): Tagalog News: Army, mga opisyal ng DRT nagpulong tungkol sa Anti-Terrorism Act (By Vinson F. Concepcion)

LUNGSOD NG MALOLOS, Hulyo 22 (PIA) -- Humigit kumulang 20 mga opisyal sa bayan ng Donya Remedios Trinidad at 48th Infantry Battalion o 48IB ang dumalo sa isang pagpupulong tungkol sa Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

Ayon kay 48IB commander Lt. Col. Feliex Emeterio Valdez, layunin ng naturang pulong na armasan ng tamang impormasyon ang mga halal sa barangay para sa patuloy na pagkamit ng pangmatagalang kapayapaan.

Sa mensahe ni Mayor Marita Flores na binasa ni Michael Valencia, sinabi nitong ang bawat barangay na pinamumunuan ng kapitan ang siyang susi sa isang maayos, mapayapa at maunlad na bayan.

Humigit kumulang 20 mga opisyal ng bayan ng Donya Remedios Trinidad at 48th Infantry Battalion ang dumalo sa isang pagpupulong tungkol sa Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. (48IB)

Nakapaloob sa Executive Order No. 70 o ang Whole of Nation Approach to End the Local Communist Armed Conflict ang Local Government Empowerment and Peace, Law enforcement and Development Support Cluster na nagpapatunay na kailangan palakasin ang kakayahan ng mga lokal na pamahalaan hanggang sa barangay upang tugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng mga vulnerable sectors na madalas target ng makakaliwang grupo.

Kabilang sa mga dumalo sa pulong ang mga Punong Barangay ng Camachin, Sapang Bulak, Kalawakan, Camachile, Bayabas, Pulong Sampalok, Kabayunan at Talbak. (CLJD/VFC-PIA 3)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1048112