CPP/Ang Bayan: Peace talks are unlikely

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): Peace talks are unlikely

This article is available in PilipinoHiligaynon

The Marcos II regime is predisposed towards continuing Rodrigo Duterte’s policy of hindering the peace talks, weaponizing the Anti-Terror Law to intensify state terrorism, red-tagging, mass arrests, torture and mass murder in a vain attempt to end the people’s democratic revolution. This was the statement of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison on the day of Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s inauguration.

There are no indications that Marcos would negotiate peace, he said. It is also unlikely to resume under the GRP’s current all-out war policy. “There is nothing that the NDFP can do to resume the peace negotiations if the GRP insists on carrying out an all-out war policy,” Sison said.

Not once did the fascist Marcos I dictatorship engage in peace negotiations nor was it able to crush the revolutionary movement, he added. Instead, this movement of the people succeeded in expanding nationwide…ultimately causing the downfall of the fascist dictatorship.”

Previous heads of the reactionary state—from Cory Aquino to Rodrigo Duterte—all had the same objective of using peace negotiations to pay lip service to the cause of peace, carry out widespread surveillance against revolutionaries and preserve the exploitative and oppressive ruling system. At the same time, they try to put the NDFP into a position of capitulation, Professor Sison said.

He also said Marcos Jr “lacks any moral authority” having been “elected” to the presidency through a rigged elections with the help of the tyrant Duterte and his cabal in the Comelec.

“He can dream of having a second chance for his dynasty to destroy the revolutionary movement,” Sison said. “But he ought to remember that this movement is now much bigger and stronger than when Marcos Sr failed to destroy it.”

However, the NDFP is always open to peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines whoever its president is.

“If the administration is willing to talk, why not?” he said. “Resuming peace negotiations is quite easy,” Sison said. The GRP or Marcos Jr simply needs to reaffirm agreements that were previously agreed upon and signed by the two parties.

[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, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2022/07/07/peace-talks-are-unlikely/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Four flu-stricken Red fighters massacred

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): Four flu-stricken Red fighters massacred

This article is available in PilipinoHiligaynon

Soldiers of the 94th IB and local police mercilessly killed four sick Red fighters of the New People’s Army while in custody in Sitio Calunakon, Barangay Santol, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental last July 6. The Red fighters were recuperating in a hut when they were captured. Instead of according them prisoner-of-war status in line with international humanitarian law, soldiers fatally shot Roel Ladera (Ka Jack), Nica Dela Cruz (Ka Chai), Alden Rodriguez (Ka Rocky) and Roel Deguit (Ka Caloy). The soldiers claimed the four were killed in an encounter from the adjacent barangay.

Last June 29, an unknown assailant shot radio announcer Federico “Deng” Gempesaw while on his way home in Sitio Macangan, Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City. Gempesaw is the third journalist killed in Mindanao this year alone.

Dispersal. Paid thugs violently dispersed workers’ strike at Tanduay Distillers in Talisay, Negros Occidental last June 28. In a video posted on social media, workers and their picketline organized by the Tanduay Bottle Sorters Organization (TanSO-SUPER) were attacked by goons of Talisay Logistics Packaging Corporation. The workers’ strike aims to oppose the company’s plan to reduce their work days, which would consequently lower their already measly salaries. They also demand the reinstatement of dismissed workers, regularization of contractual employees and their right for workers’ benefits.

Arrests. In Aklan, 30 elements of the 301st IBde went on house-to-house along C. Laserna St., Poblacion, Kalibo last June 22 to search for Bayan-Aklan officials Kim-Sin Tugna and George T. Calaor.

Meanwhile, members of the local police arrested Pamalakaya leader Susan Agner in Maragondon, Cavite, along with three other residents of Barangay Patungan last June 23.

Militarization. Since May 28, elements of the 303rd IBde laid siege on 32 communities and five villages in Himamaylan City and Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental. Their operations also covered areas of La Libertad, Guihulngan City and Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental.

In Himamaylan City, more than 600 soldiers encamped in 24 sitios in 4 barangays in the area. They caused widespread disruption in the lives of Tribu Magahat and Bukidnon tribe members residing in the area. Seven civilians, including two minors, were illegally arrested and interrogated at Sitio Lunoy and Conalum.

An office of a local peasant association in Barangay Carabalan was raided and its chairperson subjected to intense interrogation. The association’s records and other legal papers were confiscated. In Moises Padilla, more than 100 soldiers encamped in sitios of Barangay Quintin Remo.

Forced surrender. In separate statements, local residents and the New People’s Army (NPA)-Mt. Apo Subregional Command belied reports of the 72nd IB saying two Red fighters, a father and son, surrendered in Barangay Magsay-say, Kibawe, Bukidnon last June 23. According to the NPA, the two are farmers in the area.

Meanwhile, Nimfa Lanzanas was released last June 29, after the Regional Trial Court in Calamba City dismissed charges against her. Lanzanas was illegally arrested during a coordinated operation of arrests and killings known as Bloody Sunday in Southern Tagalog.

Likewise, the court dismissed first two cases filed by the police against #Tinang83 last June 27. The group still faces five more charges. Last June 20, the Department of Agrarian Reform formally recognized the farmers as legitimate beneficiaries of the hacienda.

[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, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2022/07/07/four-flu-stricken-red-fighters-massacred/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Intervention and plunder by American companies in FSMR

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): Intervention and plunder by American companies in FSMR

This article is available in PilipinoHiligaynon

Attacks against the people of Far South Mindanao Region (FSMR) are being heightened by US imperialism. Along with nonstop landgrabbing and plunder by huge American agribusiness companies, large American mining companies are set to sweep and plunder the rich resources of the region’s mountains.

FSMR’s mineral riches

According to studies, the region possesses rich mineral deposits which are important to industry and world trade. Overall, it holds the biggest copper deposit of up to 2.9 billion metric tons. It also has iron deposits which are estimated to be at 2.5 million metric tons, and gold at 2.275 million metric tons. In addition, there are significant deposits of silver, zinc, lead, manganese and others. Along the borders of South Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur lies the biggest gold deposit in southeast Asia, also considered to be one of the world’s biggest copper deposits.

This abundance of mineral resources has attracted big local and foreign capitalists to invest in mining projects in the region. Foremost is the Tampakan Gold-Copper Project which is the largest in the country and is valued at $5.9 billion. However, the people have successfully fought and stopped its operations.

Based on May 2022 records, 41 local and foreign companies have been granted 56 concessions in different provinces. These cover a combined area of up to 345,548 hectares or 15.35% of the region. Operations by 15 concessions controlling up to 96,052 hectares have also been approved. There are also 41 other pending concessions covering 249,496 hectares.

Imperialist interests in mining

At least 17 mining companies operating in the region are 100% foreign-owned. Of these, eight are owned by Americans and control concessions covering a total of 53,081 hectares. Among the biggest are Providence Mining, Shamrock Metals, Kalamazoo Mining and Galactica Mining.

Kalamazoo Mining is owned by The Kalamazoo Company in the US. Its operations are based in Australia and has interests in several Southeast Asian countries. Meanwhile, Providence Mining is an American multinational which operates large mines in Africa and North America. Shamrock Metals and Galactica Mining are subsidiaries of big US industries Shamrock System and Galactica Group USA and have different businesses in and outside the US.

The operations of seven of these eight companies are concentrated in Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato. These cover most of the southern Daguma Range, Mt. Parker and the large part of T’boli and Mt. Musa towards the borders of South Cotabato and Sarangani. These mountain ranges are among the ancestral lands of the Moros and the Dulangan-Manobo in Sultan Kudarat and the T’boli and B’laan in South Cotabato. These are covered with forests and watershed areas which support the vast agricultural lands of the region.

Secured by the military

Although mining areas have long pockmarked FSMR, widespread scouring of the region’s mountains for mining started only in the 1990s. In tandem with the entry of foreign and local companies, the state intensified military presence to secure these operations.

In the past three decades, the state mounted a bloodly campaign against those opposing the mines. Lumad and Moro communities were attacked, and massacres and killings were carried out. People fought back with widespread and bigger democratic actions and armed resistance. For almost four decades, they successfully resisted the entry of open-pit mining operations in the region.

To subdue the people and pave the way for the mines, the state intesified its violence and attacks in the name of counterinsurgency and “counterterrorism.” The AFP used US-supplied technology, arms and bombs to conduct surveillance and attacks on areas targeted for mining projects.

Currently, focused military operations by the 6th ID and the Joint Task Force Central continue in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat. The area is targeted for operations by four giant multinationals which include Mt. Peak Mining, Kalamazoo and Galactica, and Lazarus Corporation from England. Lazarus is a company owned by Dominic Wightman, a known promoter of “counterterrorism and counter-Islamic extremism” in Europe and the US.

Despite the state’s repression and violence, the people in the region continue to fight. The land defense movement of Lumads, Moros and farmers in the countrysides are strengthening anew, together with the anti-mining campaigns in cities. Meanwhile, the masses’ struggle and the armed revolution are reaping victories as they resist the state’s attacks in Sultan Kudarat.

[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, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2022/07/07/intervention-and-plunder-by-american-companies-in-fsmr/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Inauguration of illegitimate president met with protest

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): Inauguration of illegitimate president met with protest

This article is available in PilipinoHiligaynon

The inauguration of Ferdinand Marcos Jr as president was met with protests across the country. In Metro Manila, progressive groups assembled in Plaza Miranda, in Quiapo, where they expressed their rejection of the Marcos regime, its distortion of history, and called for justice for the victims of his father’s martial law regime. They also raised people’s demands for wage increases, lowering of prices of commodities and oil and others.

Simultaneously, relatives of victims of martial law and veteran activists gathered at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani (Monument of Heroes), Quezon City where they pledged to continue the struggle against Marcos’ revisionism and for the people’s betterment.

In Bicol, Anakbayan-Naga led the march from Panganiban Drive in Naga City to Plaza Oragon to reject Marcos. People from various districts of Camarines Sur also attended the program.

Similar programs were also held in Cebu, Negros and Panay where different organizations expressed repudiation of the Marcos II regime.

Overseas, the Never Forget Contingent led hundreds of protesters in Times Square, New York City. About 150 Filipino migrants in California also assembled to express their rejection of the new regime.

[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, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2022/07/07/inauguration-of-illegitimate-president-met-with-protest/

CPP/Ang Bayan: NPA-Sultan Kudarat mounts 4 offensives

Propaganda article from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): NPA-Sultan Kudarat mounts 4 offensives

This article is available in PilipinoHiligaynon

The New People’s Army (NPA)-Sultan Kudarat mounted four armed offensives from June 15 to June 29 against operating police and military units.

The NPA lobbed a grenade and fired at a counterinsurgency unit of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) operating in Sitio Meleb, Barangay Butril, Palimbang on June 29. Five policemen were killed while two were injured.

In the same town, the NPA fired at 7th IB forces in Sitio Fliko, Barangay Balwan on the afternoon of June 15. This was followed by another armed action by Red fighters on June 18 against the 37th IB in Barangay Molon. Two days later, the NPA again attacked the 38th IB in the same village. At least five soldiers died. The number of injured soldiers has yet to be confirmed.

According to the NPA unit’s report, the soldiers formed part of nearly a thousand troops operating in the area. Operating units included the 38th IB, the battalion responsible for CAFGU training and in direct service of DM Consunji Inc. and which guards its logging operations, among others.

The NPA unit also reported that soldiers also suffered 30 casualties (unconfirmed number of killed) in a misencounter between their units on June 18. The NPA is still confirming an initial report that the AFP dropped bombs on their own forces.

In Camarines Sur, NPA Red fighters fired at a 9th ID operating unit in Sitio Balaybayong, Barangay Tanauan, Presentacion last June 15. Three soldiers were killed while eight were wounded.

[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, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2022/07/07/npa-sultan-kudarat-mounts-4-offensives/

CPP/Ang Bayan: Struggle amid widespread suffering under Marcos

Propaganda editorial from the English language edition of Ang Bayan posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): Struggle amid widespread suffering under Marcos

This article is available in PilipinoHiligaynon

The Filipino people’s struggle has entered a new phase as Ferdinand Marcos Jr takes his place as the new head of the neocolonial state. The people and their patriotic and democratic forces face a great challenge to strengthen the unity of the people and to advance their struggles.

Like his father dictator and predecessors, Marcos the bureaucrat capitalist represents the interests of the ruling classes of big comprador bourgeoisie and big landlords. Marcos took power at a time when the ruling semicolonial and semifeudal system is mired in crisis worsened by the militarist lockdown and failed response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But instead of propping up the local economy, he continues to carry out debilitating neoliberal policies amid the global capitalist crisis.

The reactionary government is bankrupted by corruption and wasteful military and police spending. It is drowning in debts accumulated by the previous Duterte regime. The peso is fast losing value against the dollar. The country’s trade deficit is rising due to higher costs of imports. Investments are slow and small businesses are closing down. A fifth of the budget go to servicing loans which people did not benefit from, leaving social spending sorely lacking.

People’s lives are fast sinking. Millions of workers and toiling people are unemployed or earn nothing. Wages and income are grossly insufficient as prices of oil, food, fare, tuition, medicine and medical services, and other goods and services are escalating. Farmers’ livelihoods have fallen due to exorbitant land rents, high costs of production, high loan interests, falling farmgate prices and dumping of imported rice, vegetables, even meat, in the local market. Fisherfolks’ livelihood have also fallen due to restrictions, especially in seas being overrun by China.

Even if people work until they drop, they cannot earn enough to feed their children and give them a decent or comfortable life. The meager aid that government distributes is not enough to alleviate their misery. It is not enough for people to endure and persevere, especially knowing how the ruling classes and government thieves accumulate riches and live in luxury.

The Filipino people are hungry and furious. Faced with the people’s anger, Marcos offers promises and dreams of prosperity, food security and cheap prices. But a few days after he swore and promised, the Marcoses held a secret party in honor of the thief Imelda in the halls of Malacañang—a simple snack, purportedly, but a great insult to the hungry masses who soldier on and persevere.

Nothing good will come out of the Marcos government which seeks to enamor the people with illusions and fantasies. Seeking to placate the people, Marcos foolishly declared he did not believe that the inflation had reached more than 6%. He acts as if he knows more than the people who daily bear the brunt of the soaring prices in markets and stores.

Reject the illusions being conjured by Marcos! Fight for the people’s rights and welfare! Begging from exploiters, oppressors and thieves will amount to nothing. If the people do not rise together, they will not be heard. If they do not march in unison in the streets, the ruling classes will not heed.

The people need to muster a powerful movement to fight for and defend their interests and welfare. Towards this, unions should be strengthened and established especially in the biggest factories and businesses, as well as various forms of democratic mass organizations in rural villages, urban communities, universities, offices, churches and hospitals. Unite the interests of workers, farmers and various sectors, amplify their voices, and organize their struggles.

The people’s awareness about the conditions of the country, of the various sectors and communities and solutions to their problems should be raised tirelessly. Produce pamphlets and newspapers to serve as medium and instrument for uniting the masses. Launch various mass actions to air their grievances and demand for lower commodity prices, higher wages and salaries, jobs, decent housing, free land distribution, lower land rent and interest rates, fair farmgate prices, free education, free medical services, and other urgent people’s demands.

The masses’ will to resist must be tempered in the face of terror and repression by the state’s armed forces. Their unity are their inexhaustible source of courage. No amount of repression and tyranny can defeat their determination to struggle together.

In various parts of the world, from Korea to Ecuador, from Uruguay to the United Kingdom, strikes and protests of workers, farmers, minorities and other oppressed sectors are erupting in the face of crisis, intense suffering and oppression. Like in these countries, the miserable conditions besetting the Filipino people are dry kindling ready to ignite into a great conflagration engulfing the cities and vast countryside.

The Party must continually strengthen and expand in an all-round way to raise its capacity to lead the Filipino people in their struggles. It must recruit and train thousands of cadres to form and lead party branches that have deep and wide roots among the masses, and are in a position to lead them in all fields of struggle.

[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, Hiligaynon and English.]

https://cpp.ph/2022/07/07/struggle-amid-widespread-suffering-under-marcos/

CPP/NDF-Negros Island: NDF-Negros honor former Cebu journalist slain in Binalbagan

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 9, 2022): NDF-Negros honor former Cebu journalist slain in Binalbagan

Bayani Obrero

Spokesperson

NDF-Negros Island

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

July 09, 2022

The various revolutionary mass organizations and the broad masses of Negros convey its deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved family of Nikka “Ka Chai” de la Cruz killed by 94th IB and other fascists troops of the US-Marcos II regime along with other three NPA hors de combat last July 6, 2022 in the hinterland of Binalbagan.

Her death further accentuated the executioner and terrorist character of 94th IB and that of the AFP in general. Soldiers captured Ka Chai and her comrades alive without a firefight due to their medical condition.

A number of residents in the area tried to help the ailing Red fighters, but soldiers opened fire and lobbed hand grenades at community wells claiming other NPAs might be hiding there. Moments later they were summarily executed akin to a firing squad. Then their corpses repositioned for photo op to make it appear they died in battle.

NDF-Negros honor the memory of Ka Chai as a young revolutionary intellectual who with great vigor and determination responded to the call to work in the countryside and enlist in the people’s army.

She died as a beloved people’s warrior and proletarian cadre who embodied the cardinal revolutionary principle of serving the people. Her proletarian revolutionary consciousness developed by stages as student activist, journalist and urban poor/vendor organizer.

As a student activist, she came to grasp society’s basic ills and the necessity of revolutionary change though study circles, mass actions and integrating with the basic masses.

After finishing a degree in journalism at University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), she worked as a news reporter for dySS (a GMA-7 radio station) tackling stories from the grassroots and the usually unreported issues of the masses in the mainstream media. She remained steadfast in her commitment for social justice and fundamental change. Afterwards, she joined the alternative media outfit Aninaw productions.

But Ka Chai did not confine herself to writing and reporting people’s issues. She immersed herself in their practical struggles. She advocated for the rights and welfare of Cebu’s urban poor, vendors and other semi-proletarians.

She contributed and played an important part in the anti-privatization struggle of Carbon Public Market vendors in Cebu City and that of the workers and urban poor communities across Mandaue City especially at the height of the pandemic.

Because of her unwavering commitment and incessant advocacies for the masses, she was persecuted by the reactionary state that forced her to work underground where she helped further strengthened the urban revolutionary underground, especially among the students and intellectual youth.

Her decision to join the NPA is not a product of sheer “romanticism or idealism” as the reactionaries would like to paint it to be, but based on concretely grounded principles born out in the life and death struggle of the masses.

The extreme socio-economic crisis and the intensifying political repression and state terrorism under the illegitimate Marcos II regime will only drive more people towards the path of armed struggle. Youth in their greater numbers will continue the unfinished mission of Ka Chai and the countless martyrs of the revolution. #

https://cpp.ph/statements/ndf-negros-honor-former-cebu-journalist-slain-in-binalbagan/

CPP/CIO: Sagot sa kumander ng 8th ID ng Philippine Army

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 9, 2022): Sagot sa kumander ng 8th ID ng Philippine Army (Answer to the commander of the 8th ID of the Philippine Army)



Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

July 09, 2022

Katawa-tawa, kung tuusin, ang pahayag ng kumander ng 8th ID ng Philippine Army na palpak sa pagsagot sa nauna kong pahayag tungkol sa batayang ligal ng paggamit ng NPA ng command-detonated explosives. Dahil wala namang talaga siyang masabing malaman, bumaling na lang siya sa personal na banat sa akin. Hindi ko na iyon papansinin. Kung tumpak o kapani-paniwala man ang mga sinasabi ko, wala naman iyong kinalaman sa kung ano ang hitsura ko.

Mabuti siguro kung babasahin ng naturang heneral, pati na rin ng lahat ng upisyal at tauhan ng AFP, ang Ottawa Treaty Prohibiting the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Landmines. Alam kaya ni general na hindi lahat ng landmine ay bawal? Kung rerebyuhin niya ang Ottawa Treaty (sa Definitions, Article 2) malalaman niya na katulad ng C-19 landmine ng Canada, HINDI BAWAL ang command-detonated explosives na gamit ng NPA bilang sandata.

General, hindi pwedeng paulit-ulit lang kayong mag-press release na “bawal ang landmine.” Dapat sabihin niyo muna sa amin saan sa Ottawa Treaty sinasabing bawal ang command-detonated explosives ng NPA. Kung hindi niyo ito maipakita, patutunayan lang ninyo na walang batayang anti-NPA publicity lang ang propaganda ninyo. Mapapahiya ka lang sakaling masinsinang pagdebatehan ang usaping ito sa akademya o korte.

Sakaling mapagdebatehan ito, maganda sigurong pagdebatehan na rin ang tungkol sa paggamit ng AFP ng mga bombang 250kg at 500kg na inihuhulog ninyo gamit ang mga jetfighter, ang walang habas na panganganyon, pati na rin ang aerial strafing, na kadalasan ay walang malinaw na target at tumatama sa mga bukid at malapit sa kabahayan ng mga tao. Kailangang malaman ng publiko kung anong takot at teror ang hatid nito sa masang magsasaka at minorya na nakatira sa lugar.

Tsaka, pwede na rin natin pagdebatehan kung ano ba talaga ang ibig sabihin ni general ng “community service” ng AFP, na gawain daw ng mga na-ambush nilang sundalo. Ang totoo, pang-midya lang naman ang sinasabing “community service” ng AFP, para palabasin na pagkakawanggawa ang panggegera nila laban sa mga tao.

Mabuti sigurong sagutin ni general: Kailangan ba talaga na mga sundalong may malalakas na armas ang tagapagbigay ng serbisyo ng gubyerno? Kasama ba talaga sa “community service” ang pagkukural o paghahamlet sa mga community? O ang pagbabawal sa mga magsasaka na pumunta sa bukid o uma (dahil daw baka pumunta sa NPA)? Itakda na hanggang ilang kilo lang ang bigas na pwede nila bilhin sa tindahan (dahil baka daw ibigay sa NPA ang sobra)? Kasama ba talaga sa “community service” na pinapasok ang bahay ng mga tao sa disoras ng gabi tapos tatakutin sa interrogation para pwersahin magpapalista sila sa mga “sumurender.”

Sa Eastern Visayas, ganyan ang pagkakakilala ng mga tao sa “community service” ng 8th ID, kaya sila kinatatakutan at kinamumuhian. Kaya hindi kagulat-gulat na namomroblema si general na marami pa rin ang tao sa Eastern Visayas na pumupunta at sumusuporta sa NPA.

Makikita dito ang Ottawa Treaty: PDF
Link sa nauna kong pahayag: Comment on reports of NPA ambush in Northern Samar

https://cpp.ph/statements/sagot-sa-kumander-ng-8th-id-ng-philippine-army/

CPP/NPA-Negros Island ROC: AGC-NPA pays tribute to the martyrs of Binalbagan

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 8, 2022): AGC-NPA pays tribute to the martyrs of Binalbagan

Juanito Magbanua

Spokesperson

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

July 08, 2022

Last Wednesday, July 6, 2022, fascist troops of the 94th IB, 33rd DRC and 2nd NOCPMFC slaughtered four ailing Red fighters in cold blood at Barangay Biao, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental and shamelessly paraded their bodies as casualties of the fake encounter concocted by the AFP’s top commanders as a cover-up for their war crime.

It was a massacre. The said Red fighters were captured earlier and their medical condition rendered them incapable to fight.

The people and the revolutionary movement cherish our four fallen comrades as martyrs of the revolution. Coming from different class origins, they surmounted all sacrifices and difficulties to arouse, organize and mobilize the people in the revolution and to fight for their interests and aspirations.

The AGC-NPA today gives its final militant red salute to Roel “Ka Jack” Ladera, Nikka “Ka Chai” Dela Cruz, Alden “Ka Rocky” Rodriguez and Roel “Ka Caloy” Deguit.

Ka Jack, 30, who hails from Sitio Paloypoy, Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City, comes from a lower middle peasant family. Because of poverty, he did not complete his elementary education and finished only Grade 2 . He joined the NPA in 2016 and through arduous struggles and persistent work, he advanced to become a squad leader.

Before joining the NPA, he was active in the anti-mining campaign. He experienced military brutality first hand when he was assaulted by members of then PDT (Peace and Development Team) in their sitio after losing a stake basketball match.

Ka Chai, 26, a native of Danao City, Cebu was the youngest among three siblings of a well-off middle class family. Her mother is a medical doctor. She studied at the University of San Carlos (USC), but she finished her degree in Journalism at the University San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R). After graduation she became a television news reporter of GMA-7’s regional news program “Balitang Bisdak”.

Before her brief stint as a reporter, she was already immersed in urban poor, vendors and other people’s advocacies. She played a crucial role in the struggle of Carbon Market vendors against the privatization program of the Cebu City local government. After being hunted by GRP’s intelligence agencies, she went incognito and focused in revolutionary underground work among students and intellectual youths in 2017. She later served as one of the leaders of her Party unit. This year she went to the countryside of Negros for a tour of duty in the NPA to gain direct experience in the people’s war. Her time in the NPA galvanized her commitment to serve as a full time Red fighter.

Ka Rocky, 24, of Sitio Butong, Barangay Bantolinao, Manjuyod, Negros Oriental hailed from a lower middle peasant family. He worked most of his life to support his family. He enlisted in the NPA in 2019 after suffering maltreatment from abusive local officials.

Ka Caloy, 40, from San Antonio, Himamaylan City was a victim of trumped-up cases by the reactionary state before joining the NPA.

Their untimely demise in the hands of the fascists will only arouse more Negrosanons to the revolution as the AFP is further exposed as a terrorist cabal and protector of the ruling class. ###

https://cpp.ph/statements/agc-npa-pays-tribute-to-the-martyrs-of-binalbagan/

CPP/CIO: On AFP claims of reducing NPA strength

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 7, 2022): On AFP claims of reducing NPA strength

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

July 07, 2022

The AFP’s claim that NPA strength has been reduced to 2,000 and guerrilla fronts to 23 is a gross underestimation of the real strength of the revolutionary armed forces. The obvious aim, of course, is to make it appear that the AFP is winning their brutal war after five years of all-out spending and large-scale military operations.

But is the AFP really winning the war? In their press releases and “surrender” parades, yes, but not in the battlefield where over the past two years, the NPA have succeeded in moving out of enemy encirclement campaigns, and especially not in the hearts and minds of the people, who are being subjected to brutal campaigns of pacification and suppression.

Despite these claims of having reduced the NPA’s strength, we anticipate that the AFP will still ask for a higher budget next year, for more bombs and bullets, jetfighters and drones.

It is likely that the AFP is not fully aware of the spread and steady growth of the NPA outside its areas of encirclement of focused military operations, just like what happened in Northern Samar two days ago, when combat troops of the AFP forces were hit from their flanks by an NPA unit that has expanded its territory from which it was able to mount an attack.

The AFP has been making these declarations of winning the war against the NPA over the past few decades. In 2007, to justify their bloody war under the Arroyo regime, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, who recently served as National Security Adviser of the Duterte regime, declared: “I am announcing that we are winning, we are on track and will continue to win.” That was 15 years ago.

https://cpp.ph/statements/on-afp-claims-of-reducing-npa-strength/

CPP/NPA-Negros Island ROC: 94IB massacre sick Red fighters

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 6, 2022): 94IB massacre sick Red fighters

Juanito Magbanua

Spokesperson

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

July 06, 2022

Early in the morning today, 94th IB together with 33rd DRC raided a hut in Sitio Calunakon, Barangay Santol, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental where a small unit of Red fighters temporarily sought refuge after some of them contacted flu and other illnesses.

The soldiers arrested four of them. They were barely armed and not in the position to give battle due their health condition. The captured Red fighters were identified as follows:

Roel “Ka Jack” Ladera
Nica “Ka Chai” Dela Cruz
Alden “Ka Rocky” Rodriguez
Roel “Ka Caloy” Deguit

To conjure a scenario of an armed encounter, the soldiers fired their assault rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers as if they were in a gun battle at around 9:30 am in nearby Sitio Amelis, Barangay Biao. At noon, 303rd Brigade declared that 4 NPA members were killed in a gunfight with government forces.

This is a fake encounter to justify the massacre of sick Red fighters.

By virtue of their medical condition that render them incapable of fighting, they should be treated as hors de combat as per International Humanitarian Law and should not be subjected to any harm. Moreover, they were under the custody of the AFP, and as such, enjoy the prisoner of war status and the full range of rights stipulated hereto.

This is a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions and the CARHRIHL and constitute a war crime. ###

https://cpp.ph/statements/94ib-massacre-sick-red-fighters/

CPP/NDF-Negros Island: Army staged fake encounter, summary execution of four captured Red Fighters feared

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 6, 2022): Army staged fake encounter, summary execution of four captured Red Fighters feared

NDF-Negros Island

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

July 06, 2022

Early in the morning today, troops from the 94th Infantry Battalion and the reconnaissance Battalion of the 303rd Brigade with the Negros Occidental Police Mobile Force Company raided a hut in Sitio Calunakon, Barangay Santol, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental where six Red Fighters were temporarily resting. Many of them contacted flu and other illnesses. Their medical situation prompted them to rest for a while to recover.

They were barely armed and not in the position to give battle. The captured Red Fighters are identified as follows:

1.Roel “Ka Jack” Ladera
2. Nica “Ka Chai” dela Cruz
3. Alden “Ka Rocky” Rodriguez
4. Roel “Ka Caloy” Deguit

Despite having apprehended them without a fight, the soldiers fired their assault rifles, machine guns and grenade rifles as if they were in a gun battle. This is a strong indication of their intention to execute and to present them to the media as killed in an encounter.

International Humanitarian Law dictates the humane of prisoners of war and the said Red Fighters should be accorded the all the rights pursuant to the Geneva Convention and the CARHIHL. ###

https://cpp.ph/statements/army-staged-fake-encounter-summary-execution-of-four-captured-red-fighters-feared/

CPP/CIO: Comment on reports of NPA ambush in Northern Samar

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 5, 2022): Comment on reports of NPA ambush in Northern Samar

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

July 05, 2022

We are still awaiting details from the local unit, but judging by a report released by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Northern Samar successfully mounted an ambush against a unit of the 20th IB in Barangay Magsaysay, Mapanas town early this morning. The enemy troops suffered a number of casualties.

Certainly, the people are celebrating this victory against the troops of the 20th Infantry Battalion which is notorious for abuses and gross violations of human rights. Recall that last February 8, operating troops of the 20th IB killed two children in Barangay San Jose, Catubig, Northern Samar. They are also responsible for hamletting rural villages, aerial bombing and strafing, food blockades, preventing farmers from tending to their fields, abductions and interrogations of civilians, extrajudicial killings and other abuses.

The successful NPA tactical offensive is testament to the continuing deep support of the masses, and reveals the hollow claims of the AFP of having weakened the NPA in Eastern Visayas and elsewhere. The NPA continues to enjoy the deep and wide support of the peasant masses in the countryside.

The AFP’s condemnation of the NPA’s use of command-detonated explosives only aims to take away the significance of the NPA victory and draw attention away from their losses. The AFP’s claims that the use of NPA explosives violate international humanitarian law do not have legal legs to stand on.

Based on the report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) itself, the explosive used by the NPA in Mapanas, Northern Samar, was detonated and clearly targeted against soldiers conducting combat operations. The soldiers were armed, scouring the area and ready to engage in battle.

As we have previously clarified, the command-detonated explosives used by the NPA are not covered by the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel land mines which are “designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons.” Clearly, the NPA detonated the explosive with a clear military target, and did not cause injuries to civilians.

Even Canada, where the treaty was forged, does not ban its C19 Command-Detonated Defensive Weapon because it “is not equipped with a trip wire but is detonated by a soldier – in other words, it is not victim-activated.” Similarly, the NPA’s CDX are not equipped with a trip wire or any other form of detonating mechanism that can be triggered by a victim.

https://cpp.ph/statements/comment-on-reports-of-npa-ambush-in-northern-samar/

CPP/NDF-Negros Island: Ongoing AFP offensives in Central Negros Terrorize Civilians

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 5, 2022): Ongoing AFP offensives in Central Negros Terrorize Civilians

NDF-Negros Island

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

July 05, 2022

Since May 28, the 303rd Brigade launched a series of FMO/RCSP operations in Central Negros covering 32 sitios, 5 barangays in Himamaylan City and Moises Padilla in Negros Occidental. And in the various areas of La Libertad, Guihulngan City and Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental

In Himamaylan City alone, about 600 soldiers laid siege on 24 sitios of its 4 barangays terrorizing their mostly Tribu Magahat and Bukidnon populace. Seven civilians, including two minors, were illegally arrested and interrogated in Sitio Lunoy and Conalum.

While the office of a local peasant association in Barangay Carabalan was raided and its chairperson harshly questioned. Records and other legal papers of the association was also taken.

The said association has been actively campaigning against destructive mining and for the defense of their ancestral lands, especially after the erstwhile tyrant Duterte lifted the mining ban. The areas currently under military occupation is being targeted by local and foreign mining transnational corporations for massive mineral extractive activities.

In Moises Padilla, more than 100 soldiers placed the sitios of Barangay Quintin Remo under virtual hamlet severely restricting people’s movement and activities.

Reports of illegal arrests and other grave cases of human rights abuses are on the rise in Guihulngan City and other parts of Negros Oriental.

https://cpp.ph/statements/ongoing-afp-offensives-in-central-negros-terrorize-civilians/

CPP/NPA-Mt. Apo SROC: “Surrendered” father and son in Kibawe, Bukidnon are civilians

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 4, 2022): “Surrendered” father and son in Kibawe, Bukidnon are civilians

Isabel Santiago

Spokesperson

NPA-Mt. Apo Sub-Regional Operational Command

Southern Mindanao Regional Operational Command (Merardo Arce Command)

New People's Army

July 04, 2022

The Mt. Apo Subregional Command of the New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao strongly condemns the AFP’S 72nd Infantry Battalion over the fake surrender of a father and son, both civilian farmers, in Brgy. Magsaysay, Kibawe town in Bukidnon on June 23.

Residents of Brgy. Magsaysay were puzzled when they heard over the local radio and saw in social media that their neighbors Ernesto Ugmares, Sr. and his son Ernesto Jr., “voluntarily surrendered” as “full-time NPA members.” In the 72nd IB’s social media accounts, the two civilians were likewise photographed brandishing pistols, none of which were firearms that came from any NPA unit.

The so-called surrender happened following the month-long focused military operation of the 72nd IB in Brgy. Magsaysay and adjacent barrios that border the towns of Kitaotao and Kibawe in Bukidnon and Arakan in North Cotabato.

The AFP, specifically the 10th ID which recently declared majority of Southern Mindanao to be insurgency-free, is getting desperate to make it appear that its pronouncements are valid. However, it is fast becoming obvious that AFP units are now scrabbling to force as many civilians to surrender as NPA fighters in order to milk as much of the reward money that remains of the budget under the Enhanced Comprehensive Livelihood Integration Program (E-CLIP). They are already scraping the bottom and are upping their fascist drive to coerce civilians to pose as NPA fighters, even recycle those whom they have already previously declared “surrenderees.”

In Bukidnon and North Cotabato where the 72nd IB operates, surrendered individuals fetch as much as P65,000 (P15,000 cash and P50,000 in livelihood program) as per allocation from the E-CLIP. But many of the so-called “surrenderees,” majority of whom were civilians, reported that they had received only a fraction of the promised bounty while still others received nothing at all.

This surrender racket must be thoroughly investigated as it is a despicable violation of the masses’ human rights as civilians and a blatant corruption of the Filipino people’s hard-earned money.

In addition, the focused military operations conducted almost monthly by the 72nd IB in Bukidnon and North Cotabato in fact serve the devious encroachment of the plantations of multinational Del Monte Corporation and other agri-ventures poised to displace the Lumad and peasants in these areas. Masses in affected barrios report that several farmers have regretted renting out their land to Del Monte’s pineapple plantation. They said that the company’s methods of production are destroying the soil and water sources.

Despite the change in the leadership of the reactionary regime, state-sponsored terrorism and the corrupt tradition of the AFP to protect the interests of the ruling class steadfastly remain. The only change that the masses and the NPA expect and are prepared for under the new fake Marcos II regime is that the socio-economic crisis will worsen and continuously advance the people’s war.

https://cpp.ph/statements/surrendered-father-and-son-in-kibawe-bukidnon-are-civilians/