WESTMINCOM: Indon kidnap victim killed by abductors in Sulu

Posted to the Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 30, 2020): Indon kidnap victim killed by abductors in Sulu (Graphic Photo)

Camp Navarro, Calarian, Zamboanga City – September 30, 2020

A cadaver of an Indonesian kidnap victim was recovered by military troops in Sulu Tuesday afternoon, September 29.

“Our troops were in pursuit of the fleeing local terrorist group members following an encounter, when they recovered the cadaver of the slain kidnap victim,” said Lt. Col. Ruben Guinolbay, Commanding Officer of the 45th Infantry Battalion.

The troops of the 45IB were scouring the enemy withdrawal route, about 300m from the encounter site along Barangay Maligay, Patikul Sulu.

“Based on facial recognition, our intelligence officer identified the kidnap victim as one of the five Indonesian kidnap victims; however, name is being withheld for further confirmation,” said Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, JTF Sulu Commander.

"His remains will be transported to Zamboanga City for further confirmation", Brig. Gen. Gonzales added.

Meanwhile, “based on reports from the ground, during the encounter the KV had an opportunity to escape. While running away, he was fired upon by his abductors. His body was found 300 meters from the encounter site,” Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Jr. stated.

“We are yet to reconfirm before we reveal the full identity of the victim,” Lt. Gen. Vinluan added.

Troops are still in pursuit of the fleeing enemies.

#AFPyoucanTRUST
#TeamWestMinCom
#WholeofNationApproach
#PeaceandProgress
#EndingTerrorismInMindanao

https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/

Historian Joseph Scalice responds to Stalinist Sison’s foul imagery

From the World Socialist Web Site (Sep 30, 2020): Historian Joseph Scalice responds to Stalinist Sison’s foul imagery (By Joseph Scalice)

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison and his supporters are continuing their foul attacks on historian Joseph Scalice following his lecture “First as Tragedy, Second as Farce: Marcos, Duterte and the Communist Parties of the Philippines.” The lecture established on the basis of overwhelming evidence that Sison and the CPP had actively assisted the fascistic President Rodrigo Duterte to come to power in 2016 and gave support to his murderous “war on drugs.” 

Dr. Joseph Scalice

The latest in Sison’s vicious campaign, drawing on the long history of Stalinist lies and threats, is a photoshopped image depicting Scalice and Leon Trotsky as rats about to be killed by an angry peasant. The WSWS is posting below Dr. Scalice’s response to Sison’s crude methods posted on his Facebook page. We encourage our readers to send us letters defending Dr. Scalice.

Jose Maria Sison, founder and ideological leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has posted yet another attack on “Trotskyites,” accompanied by a caricatured image of Trotsky and me as vermin. An angry peasant, wearing a traditional salakot hat, holds two rats, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Scalice, in his hands and knocks their heads together. It is a disgusting image.

Sison is dredging up some of the worst filth of the twentieth century. The bestial depiction of Leon Trotsky has its origins in the anti-semitism of the far right. The White Russian emigres first responsible for these depictions served as the ideological inspirations of Nazism. Stalin embraced this vicious heritage and ensured that images of Trotsky, the demon Jew, found wide circulation.

Stalinism has a long history of using barbaric and racist imagery against its Marxist opponents in the Trotskyist movement. The flagrant lies told by the Stalinist leaders to cover up their betrayals of the working class and secure their hold on power were given visual form in the grotesque imagery which they employed in their art.

Cartoon attacking Trotsky and Scalice

Anyone who has made a careful study of the imagery employed by the CPP will recognize its dishonest and frankly barbaric character.

Looking to cover up their complicity in his rise to power, the CPP has produced effigies of Duterte that are beyond grotesque. The man they hailed as progressive is now depicted as a demonic beast, complete with slavering fangs and horns and blood-red rolls of gratuitous fat. There is no class depicted, nothing at all that references capitalism, just the pure embodiment of evil. It is a measure of their political desperation that the CPP is drawing on the propaganda of the far right and the medieval bestiary.

An effigy of Duterte at a recent demonstration

In the same fashion, as the CPP and the organizations that follow its political line have aligned with sections of the bourgeoisie closely tied to Washington, they have begun denouncing Duterte as a puppet of “Chinese imperialism,” and have produced images that draw on the region’s long history of anti-Chinese racism.

The statement that accompanied the image of Trotsky and me as vermin was written for Sison by the so-called MLM Study Group. It is as fundamentally dishonest as the artwork.

Sison refuses to deal with any of the basic historical facts raised by my scholarship. Instead he regurgitates the historical lies of Stalinism. The statement claims that Trotsky supported the Nazis, that Trotsky opposed the peasants, and on and on.

Any politically literate student of the twentieth century should know the origin of these lies. There were countless little compendia of such poisonous falsehoods published around the time of the Moscow show trials. They served as a kind of Stalinist breviary, shoring up the political line of the party with lies and justifying the mass murder of their opponents.

I am a historian. I wrote a thousand-page dissertation that examined for the first time every extant scrap of what the party wrote in the late 1960s and early 1970s—books, pamphlets, leaflets, and fliers—and collated these into a coherent account of events leading up to the imposition of martial law.

Sison has responded to none of this. He cannot account for his support for Macapagal, whom he hailed as a revolutionary; for his endorsement of Marcos in 1965; for his alliance with the elite opposition from 1970-72 as they sought to secure the reins of martial law for themselves; or for his support for Duterte in 2016.

Instead, he resorts to slanders and threats and lies and bestial caricatures in a desperate attempt to cover up his own political culpability.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/09/30/jose-s30.html

CPP/News: 79th IB officers pocket P4 million from fake surrenders in Negros

Propaganda news story posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Oct 1, 2020): 79th IB officers pocket P4 million from fake surrenders in Negros

NEWS STORIES
OCTOBER 01, 2020

In a statement last September 28, Juanito Magbanua of the New People’s Army-Negros Island revealed that the 79th IB pocketed around P4 million from the “surrender“ of 63 supposed former mass supporters of the revolutionary movement in Barangay Sta. Rosa, Murcia. The military unit is headed by Lt. Col. Gerard Alvaran.

The said military unit even held a parade in the village covered court, where the farmers were made to hold placards in an “anti-NPA rally.” Cash aid of up to P65,000 per farmer were supposed to be handed out. Instead, farmers were given 5 kilos of rice and anti-NPA leaflets.

Before this, members of three farmers’ groups in Barangay Pilar, Hinigaran, of the same province were also paraded as “surrenderees.”

In Mindoro, hundreds of Buhid-Mangyan minorities, including minors, were forced by the 203rd Brigade to surrender in the towns of Bongabong, San Jose, Mansalay, Magsaysay and Rizal. Residents were reportedly tricked into claiming relief goods inside military camps, where they are interrogated and forced to surrender as NPA members or supporters.

Funds for the “surrender program” run into billions, making it one of the most lucrative sources of corruption for military officers.

https://cpp.ph/2020/10/01/79th-ib-officers-pocket-p4-million-from-fake-surrenders-in-negros/

CPP/News: AFP beheads farmer in Kabankalan City

Propaganda news story posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Oct 1, 2020): AFP beheads farmer in Kabankalan City

NEWS STORIES
OCTOBER 01, 2020

On September 26, Bernardo Guillen, a 50-year old farmer was found dead near his farm in Brgy. Tan-awan, Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental. He was beheaded and his body mutilated.

In September 17, Guillen was working when a firefight broke out between the New People’s Army-Negros and a composite team of 94th IB near his farm. Out of fear, he and his wife immediately went home. They found soldiers in their house who ordered then to leave. After leaving, Guillen told his wife and children to proceed without him while he went back to the house to get something. That was the last time his family saw him. His family and neighbors, along with barangay officials, found his dead body in a ravine near the encounter site nine days later.

Guillen is the 275th peasant killed under the Duterte regime. According to Bayani Obrero, NDF-Negros spokesperson, he is also the third victim of mutilation by the AFP this year alone.

Obrero recalled the killing of Ka Rido, a Red fighter who was captured and killed by 94th IB in Sitio Agpapataw, Brgy. Binobohan, Guihulngan City last February. His fingers were cut off and his body bore bruises.

Reken Remasog, a farmer, also had his legs broken by soldiers before he was shot dead in Sitio Maluy-a, Brgy. Sandayao, Guihulngan City last August 14. Soldiers then publicly displayed his dead body and claimed that he was an NPA member.

https://cpp.ph/2020/10/01/afp-beheads-farmer-in-kabankalan-city/

CPP/News: NPA-Western Samar strikes at 19th IB anew

Propaganda news story posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Oct 1, 2020): NPA-Western Samar strikes at 19th IB anew

NEWS STORIES
OCTOBER 01, 2020

Five fascist soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded after elements of the 19th Infantry Battalion were ambushed by the New People’s Army-Western Samar (Arnulfo Ortiz Command) in Barangay Santa Cruz, Matuguinao last September 26 at around five in the morning.

The NPA-AOC employed a command-detonated explosive (CDX) against a unit of the 19th IB. The battle lasted 30 minutes. The NPA-AOC fighters safely withdrew without casualty.

In reaction, the military fired 105mm howitzer rounds toward a waiting shed in nearby Barangay San Isidro around 7 a.m. Judging by the proximity to the ambush site, the artillery shelling aims to instill fear and endanger the masses.

Meanwhile, the NPA-Northern Samar (Rodante Urtal Command) harassed elements of the CAFGU under the 43rd IB in Barangay Pagsang-an, San Roque during the first week of September. The CAFGU elements, including their 43rd IB controller, scampered away. No NPA fighter was hurt.

Correspondence report from Larab

https://cpp.ph/2020/10/01/npa-western-samar-strikes-at-19th-ib-anew/

CPP/NPA-Bicol ROC: Lalabanan ng masang Bikolano at ng BHB ang patuloy na pananalasa ng delubyo ng 9th IDPA

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Oct 1, 2020): Lalabanan ng masang Bikolano at ng BHB ang patuloy na pananalasa ng delubyo ng 9th IDPA

RAYMUNDO BUENFUERZA

SPOKESPERSON

BICOL REGIONAL OPERATIONAL COMMAND

ROMULO JALLORES COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

OCTOBER 01, 2020

Delubyo, bakong orgullo, an dara-dara kang 16 taong pagtiner kan 9th IDPA sa Bikol. Pinangatawanan nito ang pagiging berdugo at ipinatupad ang sunud-sunod na oplan ng mga papet na rehimeng sinasamba nito. Hanggang ngayo’y nag-uumapaw ang mga krimen nito sa mamamayan – mula sa pambubugbog, panggagahasa, panununog hanggang sa tahasang pamamaslang at pagmasaker. Kaisa ng masang Bikolano ang Romulo Jallores Command (RJC-BHB Bikol) sa buu-buong pagtatakwil, paglaban at pagpapanagot sa 9th IDPA at mga pasistang amo nito. Hindi magmamaliw ang Pulang hukbong paglagablabin ang armadong pakikibaka hanggang sa maipagtagumpay ang makatwirang digma ng mamamayan.

Ilang beses mang kumembot sa kalsada ang 9th IDPA, hindi kailanman makakaligtaan ng masang Bikolano ang dinanas nilang pang-aabuso sa panahon ng SOT, RSOT, PDT at ngayon, RCSP. Bawat makasalamuha ng Pulang hukbo sa mga baryo ay nakaranas ng pagmamalupit sa kamay ng militar at pulis sa iba’t ibang antas. Bitbit nila ang walang kasingbulok na kultura ng AFP sa bawat baryong sinasalakay nila. Biktima ng pambubugbog, panghaharas, panggagahasa at pamamaslang ang mga sanggol, kabataan, dalaga, binata, may asawa, mga lolo at lola sa mga baryong kinakampuhan at pinaglulunsaran ng mga operasyong militar. Nananatiling mailap ang hustisya para sa pamilyang Mancera ng Camarines Norte, pamilyang Naris ng Camarines Sur at pamilyang Pepito ng Masbate na walang pakundangang minasaker at libu-libo pang pamilyang biktima ng karahasan ng militar.

Basang-basa na ang papel ng 9th IDPA. Tadtad ng kapalpakan at mga eskandalo ang kanilang 16 taong pamamalagi sa rehiyon. Kabubuo pa lamang noong 2004, nahuli na agad ang upisyal nitong si Lt. Ronaldo Butch Fidelino at isa pang elementong si Pfc. Ronel Nemeno. Mismong mga elemento ng CAFGU ang pumapanig, humahanap ng proteksyon at nagbibigay sa NPA ng matataas na kalibre ng baril dahil sa pagmamalupit ng kanilang mga upisyal. Sariwa pa rin sa alaala ng masang Bikolano ang sukdulang kapalpakan ng pagkaka-Photoshop na litrato ng mga di umano’y sumuko sa Masbate. Hindi rin maloloko ng 9th IDPA ang masang anakpawis na mismong nakakakita sa mga pinupuslit nilang bangkay ng kanilang mga elemento tuwing nagkakaroon ng misencounter sa pagitan nila at ng pulis o kapwa nilang yunit ng AFP. Ilang pamilya na ng AFP-PNP-CAFGU ang pinagkaitan nila ng matinong burol sa takot na sumingaw ang sunud-sunod nilang kabiguan.

Hindi kailanman magagapi ng marahas na gera ng pasistang estado ang superyoridad ng makatwiran at makatarungang digma ng mamamayan. Ibinubuhos ng Pulang hukbo, ng masang sumusuporta sa kanila at ng buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan ang kanilang panahon at lahat ng pagsisikap dahil sa prinsipyo’t paninindigan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo. Nais nilang bumalikwas at magtaguyod ng isang lipunang malaya sa pang-aapi at pagsasamantala. Ito ang armas na higit na matibay at malakas kumpara sa pinagkumbinang pwersa ng mersenaryong hukbong sinusuhulan lamang ng estado at mabilis sumuko dahil sa walang prinsipyong gera sa kanilang kapwa Pilipino.

Nananawagan ang RJC-BHB Bikol sa masang Bikolanong ibayong suportahan ang makatarungang digma ng mamamayan – ang digmang bayan. Magkaisa’t palakasin ang armadong pakikibaka bilang sandata ng mamamayan laban sa 9th IDPA, mga reaksyunaryo, pasista at imperyalista. Hinihikayat din ng RJC-BHB Bikol ang mga patriyotikong elemento at upisyal ng AFP-PNP-CAFGU na muling suriin kung sino ang tunay nilang kaaway at kapanalig. Tiyak, hindi dapat nakatutok ang kanilang armas sa mamamayang tumitindig para sa katarungan at kalayaang sinumpaan nilang ipagtanggol.

Mayong orgullo sa pagpapasakit sa namamanwaan!
Wakasan ang delubyo ng 9th IDPA!
Palayasin ang militar sa kanayunan at kalunsuran!
Pabagsakin ang rehimeng US-Duterte!
Ibayong palakasin ang digmang bayan!

https://cpp.ph/statements/lalabanan-ng-masang-bikolano-at-ng-bhb-ang-patuloy-na-pananalasa-ng-delubyo-ng-9th-idpa/

Kalinaw News: DSWD Program inilunsad, ground breaking isinabay

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): DSWD Program inilunsad, ground breaking isinabay

Malita, Davao Occidental – Kasama ang 73rd Infantry Battalion, inilunsad ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ang kanilang programa na Seed Capital Fund (SCF) sa Brgy Tibuloy Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Association kasabay ng seremonya ng ground breaking ng Banana Production Project sa Purok 6, Brgy Tibuloy, Toril, Davao City kahapon, Setyembre 30, 2020.

Ang Brgy Tibuloy SLP Association ay nabenipisyohan ng PhP 300,000.00 na ibinigay ng DSWD bilang parte ng kanilang programang Seed Capital Fund na magsisilbing puhunan ng asosasyon.

Kasabay ng aktibidades ay nagkaroon din ng simpleng seremonya ng ground breaking ng Banana Production Project kung saan nagbigay ng punlang saging ang Department of Agriculture sa nasabing asosasyon.

Ibinahagi naman ni Hon. Remperas, Punong Barangay, ang kanyang pasasalamat sa mga ahensya sa paghatid ng serbisyo ng gobyerno.

Bilang tugon, “Sisigaruduhin namin na ang kasundaluhan ay tutulong sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno upang maihatid ang mga serbisyong katulad nito,” pahayag ni Lt. Col. Ronaldo G Valdez, Kumander ng 73IB.

Puspusan ang operasyon sa Toril District upang wakasan ang kasamaan at paglinlang na sinasagawa ng mga teroristang NPA.

[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/dswd-program-inilunsad-ground-breaking-isinabay/

Kalinaw News: 2 NPA leaders surrender to Army in Agusan del Norte

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): 2 NPA leaders surrender to Army in Agusan del Norte

BUENAVISTA, Agusan del Norte – Two dismayed members of the Communist New People’s Army Terrorist group who previously held the positions of team leaders of the movement voluntarily surrendered to the troopers of 23rd Infantry (Masigasig) Battalion in separate occasions on September 28 and 29, 2020 at the battalion’s headquarters in Jamboree Site, Purok 6, Barangay Alubihid, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte.

The two disgruntled CNT leaders were identified as alias FREDIE/ERWEN and JAY-R/BADOY/BEBS. Alias FREDIE/ERWEN, thirty-nine a team leader of Squad Dos, Sentro de Grabidad CAOCAO, Guerrilla Front 4A of the North Central Mindanao Committee and a resident of Purok Lumbia, Barangay Poblacion, Carmen, Agusan del Norte while alias JAY-R/BADOY/BEBS, twenty-four, is also a the team leader of Squad Dos, SDG CAOCAO, GF-4A, NCMRC who is a resident of Purok 8, Barangay Lower Olave, Buenavista, Agusan del Norte.

Alias FREDIE/ERWEN turned over to the 23rd IB one MK-2 fragmentation hand grenade.

In his testimony, alias FREDIE/ERWEN narrated the difficult experiences he had while inside the movement that pushed him to abandon the terrorist group.

“Sa una malipayon man ang among pagpuyo bisan tood taliwala sa among ka pobrehon. Nagtoo sab ko nga insakto ang ilang mga saad sa ako nga tabangan ko nila nga mahaw-as sa kalisod kay lagi kuno hapit na maangkon sa walhong grupo ang kadaugan. Giantos nako ang kakapoy ug kagutom inubanan sa dakong pagtoo nga magmalampuson kami sa among mga plano. Apan nakita nako ang dakong kapildihan ug gani, daghan na sa among mga kakaubanan ang nakabsan sa kinabuhi human sa mga nahitabong engkwentro tali sa kasundaluhan ug daghan na usab ang mibalik na sa sabakan sa balaod. Wala na usab bili kung magpabilin pa ko sa armadong kalihukan kay wala man gyod koy nakita nga nagpakabana sa amo ang among mga lideres,” alias FREDIE/ERWEN said.

Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, the Acting Commander of 23IB said the battalion is always open to welcome and help every member of the CNT group who wishes to live normally and peacefully.

“More CNT members are now coming back to the folds of the government because they never understood the kind of life they had inside the said movement,” Paulo said.

He also expressed gladness to the decision made by the two CNT team leaders, saying that the armed movement will never help them but instead, pull them down to miserable lives.

“With a strong belief, they joined the armed group believing that they will be given better lives but in contrast, they were only being enslaved by their leaders and they are forced to follow orders without having any repay to their prostration,” Paulo said.

He added that inside the fifty-one years of CNT existence, the Filipino people have not seen a single member of the group who testified that they now live a luxurious and comfortable life after joining the communist movement.

“Their lives were ruined. They lost the peace of mind and become violent because their leaders do not know how to look for the efforts, hardships and social welfare of their members,” Paulo said.

In the last fifty-one years, Paulo said that it is only the CNT leaders who benefited from the movement as can be seen in the status of their families, the properties they own, the education of their children, and the abundance their families who all reside in urban centers.

[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/2-npa-leaders-surrender-to-army-in-agusan-del-norte/

Kalinaw News: Army participates in the National Peace Conciousness Month celebration

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): Army participates in the National Peace Conciousness Month celebration

CAMP GERONA, MURCIA, Negros Occidental – The 303rd Infantry Brigade and its Line Battalions under the leadership of Colonel Inocencio Pasaporte, Brigade Commander fully supported and participated the National Peace Consciousness Month activity this September through a Culmination Program and Distribution of food packs, hygiene kit, medicine and PPEs to Negros Kapatiran CDU beneficiaries held at Provincial Capitol Building, Bacolod City yesterday September 30, 2020.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Proces (OPAPP) facilitated the distribution of rice, food packs, hygiene and first aide kits, medicines and PPEs to Negros Kapatiran CDU beneficiaries in partnership with the provincial government of Negros Occidental and 303rd Infantry Brigade with its Line Battalions 62IB and 79IB. The said distribution activity was the highlights of culmination activities in connection with the National Peace Consciousness Month this September 2020.

The KAPATIRAN Community Defense Unit (CDU) members were among the former combatants of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) surrendered to the government and now are recognized members who will protect their respective communities from attacks of the New People’s Army.

It was attended by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson of Negros Occidental; Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Proces (OPAPP) representative Mr Jason Encinares, Lt Colonel Harold E Garcia, 303rd Infantry Brigade Executive Officer representing in behalf of Brigade Commander; Lt Colonel Gerard Alvaran, Commanding Officer of 79th Infantry Masaligan Battalion; Major Michael Victoria, 62nd Infantry Unifier Battalion Executive Officer and Ms Grace Tomaro, OIC/ Regional Director of Parole and Probation Administration Region VI.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson in his message said, that “As advocates of peace, trust is the key for our effective relationships. Let this activity reinforce our neutral trust and confidence, for it is only through our sincere, solemn and earnest partnerships that sustainable peace can be achieve. For peace to be real, we must address, preserve and respect the core of humanity and human dignity. This year’s celebration is distinct from the once we have in the past, COVID-19 is our common enemy, today the entire humanity is at war with virus that threatens our health, our security, our economy and most of all our life. Solidarity among all sectors and generations is needed more than ever to win this war. Indeed, peace is a process and the war of peace might be a long one, but peace is always an option and today we honor the choice we made for Negros Occidental. Abanse Negrense! “ he added.

Meanwhile, Lt. Colonel Garcia, 303rd Brigade Executive Officer gave also his message in behalf of 303rd Brigade Commander saying that, “Sustaining peace’ is not a task limited in time or limited to one set of actors, it is a “shared task and responsibility” of all of us and at all the time as we fight our battles with insurgency and of course, our unseen enemy, COVID 19 crisis.

Your Army in Negros is in full support to the government and even private sectors by extending our assistance in all peace related projects and programs here in the province of Negros and we assure you of that! Regardless of culture, religion, ideology, and affinity let us all unite and heal as one in this trying times! Padayun lang kita sa pag abante sa kalinong kag sa kahilwayan sa sini nga pandemya kaupod nyo kami ang inyo Army nga indi magpabaya sa inyo tanan!, “Lt.Colonel Garcia added.

The theme for this year’s peace month is “Building a Culture of Peace in Negros: Moving Forward Amidst COVID-19 Challenges,” which calls for a participative, collective, and inclusive approach towards our shared aspiration for a just, comprehensive, and enduring peace inspite of the present health crisis that we experience and generally affects all of us, the COVID-19.

[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/army-participates-in-the-national-peace-conciousness-month-celebration/

Kalinaw News: LGU Arakan, Army initiated Peace and Development Summit

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): LGU Arakan, Army initiated Peace and Development Summit

ARAKAN, NORTH COTABATO – The local government of Arakan, North Cotabato in collaboration with the 16th Infantry (Maglilingkod) Battalion held a two-day Peace and Development Summit for Punong Barangay and SK Chairperson on 29-30 September 2020 at Brgy Poblacion, Arakan, North Cotabato.

The summit was attended by the fifty-six (56) Punong Barangays and SK Chairpersons from the twenty-eight (28) barangays of Arakan. Futhermore, Hon. Rene V. Rubino, Municipal Mayor graced the activity as the Guest of Honor during the Opening Ceremony. Series of lectures were conducted during the two-day summit with regard to the Functions of Barangay Development and Peace and Order Councils; Republic Act No. 11479 or Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020; roles and equal participation in Executive Order No. 70 series of 2020 or Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC); Anti-Criminality Campaign; and projects and programs of various government agencies.

In his message, Mayor Rene V. Rubino said, “I sincerely thank our men in uniform for working together to carry out this activity. This is one of the initiatives of our local government to help our President to promote Executive Order No.70 or the Whole of the Nation Approach in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict which aims to finally end the insurgency of the country with the full participation of the government agencies and the community for peace and order”.

This summit aims to broaden the knowledge of each Punong Barangay and SK Chairperson in their duties and responsibilities in maintaining peace and order in their community. This will also increase their awareness on the different plans and programs of the government in attaining peace and development, and likewise, the deception and atrocities of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG).

The closing ceremony of the said activity was graced by the Commander of the 1002nd Brigade, Col Potenciano C Camba and 2nd District of North Cotabato Representative, Cong Rudy Caoagdan.

In his message, Colonel Camba thanked the Punong Barangays and SK Chairpersons for their active participation and solidarity to make the activity a success. He also thanked the Municipal Government of Arakan led by Mayor Rubino for his perseverance in supporting the government’s aim for peace and development. “Rest assured that the Philippine Army will do its best in attaining a peaceful and prosperous community,” Colonel Camba said.

Congressman Caoagdan expressed his gratitude and called the activity a collaboration because of the cooperation of various government agencies to provide right and sufficient knowledge to the Punong Barangays and SK Chairpersons in the government programs that they can share to their community.

This activity is just one of the various undertakings that show the government’s sincerity in addressing the insurgency problem in the country. This initiative will help open the minds of the people to the government’s goal of achieving a peaceful, productive and conflict-resilient community.

[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/lgu-arakan-army-initiated-peace-and-development-summit

Kalinaw News: Caraga RTF-ELCAC creates a body to stop CPP-NPA

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): Caraga RTF-ELCAC creates a body to stop CPP-NPA Extortion

The Caraga Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) approves the creation of a Special Task Group to Counter the Communist Terrorist Group Resource Generation (STG-CCRG) during its Full Council Meeting yesterday, September 30, 2020.

The function of the STG-CCRG is to assist the RTF-ELCAC in the formulation of Programs, Projects, Services and Activities (PPSAs) geared to stop the NPA’s extortion activities

The proposal came from Major General Andres C Centino, Commander of 4th Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Diamond, who has responsibility over Northern Mindanao and Caraga Region.

General Centino said that while the government’s counter-insurgency campaign is gaining a headway by having weakened the enemy’s capabilities through manpower and firearms reduction along with the resolution of the root causes of insurgency, somehow the CPP-NPA’s resource generation activities has been overlooked.

“The CPP-NPA’s funds are primarily coming from its extortion activities targeting the mining industry, agri-businesses, construction firms, transport sector and other business establishments among others. According to former rebels, captured CPP-NPA finance officers and documents recovered, through extortion they have amassed more than 118 million pesos in 2019 alone”, Centino said.

Centino added that, despite the series of surrender and neutralization of CPP-NPA members, they remain resilient because of the extorted funds that have sustained their operations.

“We need to address the CPP-NPA extortion schemes if we want to end the insurgency problem in the region”, he said.

The Caraga RTF ELCAC Full Council Meeting was presided by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Norgales via video teleconference with the attendance of the members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) and Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC).

Nograles is also the Cabinet Official for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Caraga, tasked to integrate the peace, security and development initiatives of the government.



[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/caraga-rtf-elcac-creates-a-body-to-stop-cpp-npa-extortion/

Kalinaw News: 176 NPAs pledge support to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Agusan del Norte

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): 176 NPAs pledge support to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Agusan del Norte

AGUSAN DEL NORTE- On September 24 and 27, 2020 at Brgy. Mahayahay, Brgy. Sangay, Kitcharao and Brgy. Curva, Santiago, Agusan del Norte, another one hundred seventy-six (176) Underground Mass Organizations Members (UGMOs) took an oath to withdraw their support from the Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs) and its affiliated organizations.

The event is pursuant to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70 to attain inclusive and sustainable peace and to institutionalize the Whole-of-the-nation approach towards Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC). This government program gives NPAs the chance to surrender to the folds of the government so that they can experience peace in mainstream life.

This program is the reason why UGMOs pledged their cooperation and support to the government. They were assisted by troops of the 29th Infantry Battalion, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the local government council of Agusan del Norte. The said event culminated in the burning of the NPA’s flag, which symbolized the withdrawal of the people’s support from and denunciation of the said terrorist group.

According to Lt. Col. Isagani O. Criste, Commanding Officer of 29IB, “Let us not hesitate to work with our government to make our lives better. To all NPAs, surrender and return to the folds of the government, live comfortably and let us end this war together. The 29th Infantry Battalion is steadfast in helping our government to attain the peace that we all desire. Even during this pandemic, we will continue to fulfill our core mission in protecting you- our fellow Filipino citizen and securing our land.”

[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/176-npas-pledge-support-to-end-local-communist-armed-conflict-in-agusan-del-norte/

Kalinaw News: Army finds 6 abandoned nipa huts of LTG in Maguindanao

Posted to Kalinaw News (Oct 1, 2020): Army finds 6 abandoned nipa huts of LTG in Maguindanao

CAMP Siongco, Maguindanao – The Army troopers of Joint Task Force Central (JTFC) discovered six abandoned nipa huts of the local terrorist group (LTG) who had been on the run due to massive and sustained military operations in Maguindanao on September 28, 2020.

Initially three (3) huts were found by the members of 7th Infantry (Tapat) Battalion in Barangay Tuntungan, Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao around 9:07 in the morning. Upon searching, the Troops found one empty magazine and one holster for Cal.45 pistol.

At 11:25 in the morning of the same day, troops discovered another three houses which resulted to the recovery of one baofing commercial radio and six cell phones in the same area.

“This is not a victory announcement, but it is a significant progress in our fight against the local terrorist in the area. Our efforts to end this cycle of violence that is hampering our nation’s progress will not stop until the said terrorist group is eradicated”, Maj. Gen. Juvymax Uy, commander of Joint Task Force Central said.



[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/army-finds-6-abandoned-nipa-huts-of-ltg-in-maguindanao/

Former rebels, PPA get assistance

From the Visayan Daily Star (Oct 1, 2020): Former rebels, PPA get assistance

Former communist rebels, under the group now known as Kapatiran, and the Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) yesterday received rice and financial assistance, among others, from the provincial government of Negros Occidental, in line with the Peace Month celebration.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson turned over rice assistance, medicines, face masks, hygiene and medical kits, as well as food packs to the Kapatiran group, formerly the Revolutionary Proletarian Army- Alex Boncayao Brigade, and represented by Wilfredo Rafinian.

Lacson also turned over P1 million in financial assistance to the PPA for its projects against the coronavirus disease 2019, that was received by Grace Tomaro, officer-in-charge of PPA in Western Visayas.

Tomaro said the assistance will be mostly used to provide subsidies, personal protective equipment and related supplies to volunteer probation assistants and clients, social services assistance to probationers, parolees and conditional pardonees in Negros Occidental, as well as in the conduct of clustered meetings, evaluation and planning.

“Today, the entire humanity is at war with a virus that threatens our health, our security, our economy, and most of all, our life. Solidarity among all sectors and generations is needed more than ever to win this war, to overcome the multi-faceted crisis of our lifetime,” Lacson said.

“May this pandemic remind us of our truth, that we are one people; Covid-19 knows no gender, no age, no sector, no politics,” he added.

Lacson had earlier signed Executive Order No. 20-12 series of 2020, that ordered the creation of a site coordinating team to assist the Joint Enforcement Monitoring Committee in providing appropriate interventions to Kapatiran under the three-year Normalization Plan from 2019–2021.

Under the Kapatiran community defense units are the peace and development communities in Sitio Ilan, Brgy. Locotan, Kabankalan City, Sitio Huebesan, Brgy.Villacin in Cadiz City, and Sitio Nangka, Brgy. Bagonbon, San Carlos City, and the congregated sites in Sitio Binacay, Brgy.Talacdan, Cauayan, and Brgy. Mailum in Bago City.

Among the participating agencies in the activity were the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Provincial Health Office, Provincial Administrator’s Office, Philippine Army, and Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

Also present were Lt. Col. Harold Garcia, representing the 303rd Infantry Brigade, and Jason Encinares of the OPAPP.

The Negros Month of Peace is themed, “Building a Culture of Peace in Negros: Moving Forward Amidst Covid-19 Challenges”.

https://www.visayandailystar.com/2020/October/01/topstory10.htm

Army debunks beheading allegations

 From the Visayan Daily Star (Oct 1, 2020): Army debunks beheading allegations

The Philippine Army 3rd Infantry Division strongly debunked what it calls hearsay-based allegations of the National Democratic Front-Negros and Karapatan that the Army was behind the death and alleged beheading of a farmer, whose body was found in a ravine near the encounter site in Sitio Amian, Brgy. Tan-awan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental recently.

Maj. Cenon Pancito, 3rd Infantry Division spokesman, yesterday said it was even the soldiers of the 11th Infantry Battalion who assisted the PNP Scene of the Crime operatives in retrieving from the site the decomposing cadaver of Bernardo Guillen Sr. on Sept. 26.

He said the retrieval was witnessed by Tan-awan barangay officials, in response to a report of a civilian, who discovered the body in a ravine.

He clarified that Guillen was not beheaded, contrary to the accusations of the NPA and its allied organizations, and stressed that he was not forcibly taken by Army soldiers.

It just happened that his body was in an advanced state of decomposition when it was recovered by authorities, Pancito said.

He added that their investigations also showed that Guillen was the father of one of the six NPA rebels arrested in previous months by Army soldiers in Brgy. Luyang, Mabinay town in Negros Oriental.

Pancito also said that the wife of Guillen revealed to them that her husband insisted to get closer to the encounter site on Sept. 17, for still unknown reasons.

He recalled that the Sept. 17 encounter yielded an M16 assault rifle and other war materials, while no casualty was reported on the government side.

NDF Negros spokesman Bayani Obrero, however, claimed in a statement that Guillen was cultivating their farm when an encounter ensued between members of the Mt. Cansermon Command – New People’s Army and a composite team of the 94th and 15th Infantry Battalions.

Obrero said Guillen, despite opposition from his wife, went back to their house while they were on their way to an evacuation site. He never came back to them, the NDF-Negros spokesman said.

Karapatan and Defend-Negros also joined NDF-Negros in lambasting the military for the alleged beheading of Guillen.

Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao, spokesperson of Defend Negros, said in another statement that the act of mutilation is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions.

Casilao said they are supporting calls for the Commission on Human Rights to conduct an independent probe on the barbaric act.

Pancito, on the other hand, said the PNP is now doing everything to identify the real perpetrators and find out the truth behind the death of Guillen.

The accusation of Karapatan-Negros and its allied groups is a clear propagation of fake news to intentionally tamper the truth, Pancito said, adding the fake news was being propagated out of desperation.

https://www.visayandailystar.com/2020/October/01/topstory9.htm