CPP/CIO: Denounce overkill mobilization of police forces for Marcos Jr’s first SONA

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 17, 2022): Denounce overkill mobilization of police forces for Marcos Jr’s first SONA

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

July 17, 2022

The plan of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to deploy more than 21,000 police forces on July 25 to supposedly “secure” the first state of the nation address (SONA) of Ferdinand Marcos Jr must be firmly denounced by the Filipino people.

This is overkill and a waste of people’s money. It reflects Marcos’s fascist policy of suppressing the people’s right to peaceably assemble. It clearly aims to drown the people’s grievances.

This is the Marcos tactic of projecting strength amid the worsening crisis marked by increasing trade deficit, peso’s devaluation and government bankruptcy.

The people are seething with outrage as the new regime has failed to urgently provide a solution to rising prices of oil, food and other basic commodities resulting in the rapid deterioration of people’s lives. Marcos is confronted with the daily rising possibility of the eruption of the social volcano amid the inabiility of his regime to address the crisis.

The people must vigorously reject the advise of PNP’s Major General Valeriano De Leon calling on the people not to protest on July 25 and instead just listen to Marcos lay out his plans. He is a fascist fool.

https://cpp.ph/statements/denounce-overkill-mobilization-of-police-forces-for-marcos-jrs-first-sona/

CPP/NDF-Southern Mindanao: On so-called local peace engagements: Like a cadaver the AFP keeps on resuscitating Rubi del Mundo

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 16, 2022): On so-called local peace engagements: Like a cadaver the AFP keeps on resuscitating

Rubi del Mundo

Spokesperson

NDF-Southern Mindanao

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

July 17, 2022

There is not, nor has there ever been, a single localized peace engagement between any local reactionary government unit, much less any AFP unit, and any organization or unit of the revolutionary movement in Southern Mindanao.

From the get-go when the previous US-Duterte regime dangled the idea of “localized peace talks,” the revolutionary movement in the region has consistently repudiated it as a bogus alternative to GRP-NDFP formal negotiations. It was a stillborn invention of Duterte and the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

In pushing yet again for the conduct of so-called local peace engagements, the AFP under the current illegitimate Marcos II regime is trying to resuscitate a cadaver, one that never even saw the light of day to begin with.

This is not to say that the militarist local reactionary political elite in the region, including then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, and the fascist 10th Infantry Division and the Eastern Mindanao Command, did not conduct their own twisted version of “peace engagements.” What they called localized peace talks were actually surrender ceremonies of mostly unarmed residents and erstwhile New People’s Army fighters who have long ago left the armed struggle and been living as ordinary civilians.

Like in Davao City’s Peace 911, the peasants and Lumad were coerced to gather in mass meetings to force their “surrender” as NPA sympathizers. Over the last three years, the masses have reported that their demand for land, higher farmgate prices for their produce, livable wages, self-determination and other democratic interests were never discussed during these mass meetings. Instead, they were forced to identify other NPA sympathizers, locate hidden arms cache or subversive materials and convince their families and relatives whom the fascists suspected without proof to be active members of the NPA or other revolutionary organizations to likewise surrender. Worse, they were often times pitted against one another, causing distrust and animosity among residents in the communities.

These unarmed civilians were essentially held at gunpoint by fully-armed AFP troops with threats to their lives, livelihood and liberty. Cases such as the peasants and Lumad in Paquibato in Davao City and White Culaman in Kitaotao, Bukidnon are glaring instances of the extent of psywar and harassment that AFP units across the region have inflicted against civilians in order to create a sheen of legitimacy to these surrender ceremonies.

In other areas, communities that were supposedly beneficiaries of the NTF-ELCAC’s graft-laden Barangay Development Program had been enticed with token livelihood programs, which were tone-deaf to their actual and immediate needs. Others had been promised with infrastructure projects that only benefited the enterprises of local landlords and political overlords or else were already lined-up for implementation.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries in Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro, who for decades struggled against large banana plantations in order to till their own land, were instead given TESDA trainings, poultry or fishponds. Poor peasants in Davao City and Davao del Sur, who lost most of their incomes in the face of skyrocketing prices of farming inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides, were instead condescendingly given “trainings” for corn and vegetable production.

In short, these so-called “localized peace engagements” are nowhere near addressing the roots of the revolutionary armed struggle. The list of surrendered individuals that the AFP boasts is the fruit of such engagements was mostly achieved through psywar and suppression activities of the AFP in the countryside.

In truth, the current issue is nothing but a ruse, meant to ingratiate the embattled NTF-ELCAC with public opinion in order to save its evil existence, along with its billions of pesos in budget. More importantly, the Marcos II regime is desperately trying to buy the fickle loyalty of the AFP’s upper echelon, which has become used to the unprecedented political capital and financial legroom that it enjoyed during Duterte’s tyrannical reign.

Revolutionary forces in Southern Mindanao reiterate their continued support of the official peace negotiations between the NDFP and the GRP. Over three decades, the talks have made historic gains in getting the agenda of genuine land reform, national industrialization, human rights and other democratic interests of the Filipino people on the negotiating table. Before the war-mongering Duterte unceremoniously scrapped the talks in late 2017, both panels were already discussing socio-economic reforms. It was in fact the local reactionary ruling class of big landlords and bourgeois compradors in its desperate attempt to retain economic power that got in the way of the talks ever moving forward.

Alas, in insisting on the conduct of local peace engagements, especially in Southern Mindanao, the AFP is unwittingly admitting that its barely two month-old declaration that five out of the six provinces in the region were “insurgency-free” was in fact a pure and outright lie. Otherwise, who is there left to engage with?

https://cpp.ph/statements/on-so-called-local-peace-engagements-like-a-cadaver-the-afp-keeps-on-resuscitating/

CPP/CIO: Why the NTF-ELCAC wants “localized peace talks” and why it must be opposed

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Jul 16, 2022): Why the NTF-Elcac wants “localized peace talks” and why it must be opposed

This article is available in Pilipino

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

July 16, 2022

Of course the NTF-Elcac will recommend “localized peace talks” because a large part of their lifeline (the so-called “barangay development program”) depend on it. This comes as no surprise.

Sharing the same militarist mindset of the officials of the Duterte regime, the NTF-Elcac officials under Marcos are set to push the same failed counterinsurgency policies that has been unable to stop the steady growth of the New People’s Army and expansion of its areas of operation.

The NTF-Elcac’s “localized peace talks” are nothing but a smokescreen for psywar, pacification and suppression operations conducted by the AFP, together with its full-scale war of large-scale combat operations, artillery shelling and aerial bombings.

Military officers, especially at the division and battalion levels, are very supportive of “localized peace talks” because it opens wide open the opportunity to make money from kickbacks and commissions.

To justify their push for “localized peace talks,” National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who has made herself known as an academic, dishonestly declared: “based sa assessment namin within the more than 50 years na negotiation natin, wala po tayong nakuhang maganda doon sa national peace talks.”

I’m sure Prof. Carlos knows that peace talks started only in November 1986, which makes the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations not more than 36 years. She also should know that most of the time, the negotiations have been suspended, and that the overall time spent in direct face-to-face talks has not lasted a few months overall, as the past regime’s could not keep up the pretensions of talking peace.

Also, as an academic, she should know the significance of the agreements forged and signed over the past years, including the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). It seem she did not at all talked with the GRP’s previous negotiating panel? Because she would have known how they were able to make substantial headway in 2017 with their NDFP counterparts in negotiating the Comprehensive Agreement on Socioeconomic Reforms (CASER), before the talks were terminated by Duterte upon the instigation of the US President Trump.

Gen. Carlito Galvez, former AFP chief, now ironically Marcos’ “peace adviser”, asserts that “localized peace talks” have achieved many successes. What and where are these successes? Certainly, we have not seen how “localized peace talks” resolved the long-standing problems of landlessness, oppression and exploitation, even at the local level. The most that the NTF-Elcac has done is fund a few showcase projects so they can make a press release declaring “success”, while majority of the people, in fact, continue to wallow in hunger and poverty.

How does General Galvez measure the success of “localized peace talks?” By the number of villages under the military’s rule, hamleted, blockaded and ruled by soldiers? Or probably by the number of farmers who are prevented to work in their fields purportedly because they might link up with the NPA? By the number of people enlisted as “surrenderees” after they were subjected to relentless intimidation, coercion and interrogation? Or perhaps by the millions of pesos that military officers are able to mulct from the E-CLIP program.

The NTF-Elcac does not want a just and lasting peace. What they really want is silence where no one raises their voice despite being oppressed and abused. What they want is people pacified and made to accept the “development projects” that bring profit to multinational corporations and their big business partners. In Davao City, former mayor Sara Duterte used “localized peace talks” and the military to drive away farmers in order to pave the way for the expansion of banana and pineapple plantations and their packaging plants.

The NTF-Elcac wants “localized peace talks” to pave the way for the expansion of oil palm plantations, mining companies, eco-tourism and energey project which grab the land of peasants and minority people, resulting in widespread economic dislocation. This is the reason why the US government is very supportive of the Marcos regime, because American-owned multinational corporations want no resistance to their plans to take over more than 250,000 hectares of land in Northern Mindanao, as well as other parts of the country.

In the end, however, the NTF-Elcac will only succeed in inciting the people to fight back and defend their land through collective action, as well as by joining the armed revolution.

The Party–from the Central Committee to its thousands of branches–and the New People’s Army–from the National Operations Command to the front guerrilla units–reject the “localized peace talks” of the NTF-Elcac at Marcos regime.

The revolutionary movement in the Philippines will continue to wage all forms of struggle, especially revolutionary armed struggle, to carry forward the people’s aspiration for national freedom and social justice, which in the final analysis, are the key to attaining a just and lasting peace.

https://cpp.ph/statements/why-the-ntf-elcac-wants-localized-peace-talks-and-why-it-must-be-opposed/

Kalinaw News: 23 FRs nakatanggap ng halos kalahating milyon piso sa Pamahalaang Panlalawigan ng Cagayan

From Kalinaw News (Jul 18, 2022): 23 FRs nakatanggap ng halos kalahating milyon piso sa Pamahalaang Panlalawigan ng Cagayan (23 FRs received nearly half a million pesos from the Cagayan Provincial Government)

CAMP MELCHOR F DELA CRUZ, Upi, Gamu, Isabela- Umabot sa halos kalahating milyon ang natanggap na tulong pangkabuhayan ng mga Former Rebels mula sa Cagayan Provincial Social Welfare Development (PSWDO) Office noong ika-15 ng Hulyo taong kasalukuyan. Sa isang panayam, sinabi ni Ginang Elvira Layus, Social Welfare Officer III ng PSWDO, katuwang ang 17th Infantry Battalion at kapulisan, kanilang naipagkaloob ang tig-20,000 pesos sa 23 na mga Former Rebels mula sa mga munisipalidad ng Alcala, Gattaran, Lal-lo, Sto. Niño, at Rizal.

“Ang tulong pangkabuhayan na kanilang natanggap ay galing sa pondo ng Cagayan Provincial Government. At ang pangkabuhayan ng Former Rebels ay depende sa livelihood seminar na kanilang sinalinan. Nakaagapay naman ang PSWDO ng Cagayan sa kanilang pagtatayo ng negosyo upang masiguro na lalago itong puhunan na ating ipinagkaloob,” pahayag ni Layus. Sa kabilang banda, nangako naman ang mga benepisyaryo na hindi nila sasayangin ang puhunang ibinigay sa kanila na parte ng kanilang reintegration.

“Maraming salamat po sa Pamahalaang Panlalawigan ng Cagayan, PSWDO, kapulisan at sa kasundaluhan din ng 17IB sa tulong na ito. Malaking tulong ito para sa amin at sa aming pamilya. Asahan po ninyo na palalaguin namin ang pangkabuhayan na inyong ibinigay,” saad ni alyas Rodel, isa sa mga Former Rebels. Samantala, nagpasalamat naman si LtC Oliver C Logan, Battalion Commander ng 17IB sa suportang ibinibigay ng Pamahalaang Panlalawigan ng Cagayan upang matugunan ang problema sa insurhensiya sa lalawigan. Aniya matagumpay ang implementasyon ng Whole-of-Nation Approach dahil sa aktibong pakikipagtulungan ng bawat ahensya ng pamahalaan.

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/23-frs-nakatanggap-ng-halos-kalahating-milyon-piso-sa-pamahalaang-panlalawigan-ng-cagayan/

Kalinaw News: Abus surrender, turn over high-powered firearms in Basilan.

From Kalinaw News (Jul 17, 2022): Abus surrender, turn over high-powered firearms in Basilan

Camp Navarro, Calarian, Zamboanga City – July 17, 2022

As troops of the Joint Task Force Basilan sustain the operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group, four bandits surrendered to the soldiers of the 18th Infantry Battalion Saturday afternoon (July 16).

A.k.a. Abu Jafar, 23, married, and a resident of Al-Barka; a.k.a. Sambon, 23, separated, and a resident of Tipo-Tipo; a.k.a. Aksad, 27, married, and a resident of Tuburan, and; a.k.a. Abu Kain, 27, married, and a resident of Hadji Mohammad Ajul handed over their high-powered firearms to the government forces at the headquarters of 18IB in Barangay Campo Uno, Lamitan City at 2:30 p.m., same day. Surrendered personalities turned over two M1 Garand rifles, one Garand rife, and one Carbine.

During the initial debriefing, the former violent extremists said that they surrendered because they wanted to have a peaceful life with their families away from danger. They also said that they were encouraged to lay down their arms after learning that their former companions are already undergoing rehabilitation and reintegration program.

Brigadier General. Domingo Gobway, Commander of JTF Basilan attributed the successful surrender of the four former ASG members to the collaborative efforts of the 18IB and the PNP units in Al-Barka, Tuburan, and Tipo-Tipo.

JTF Basilan reported a total of 22 Abu Sayyaf surrenders in Basilan Province since the year started. It brings the number of surrendered personalities to 85 in the different JTFs of WestMinCom for this year alone.

“Soldiers under the WestMinCom will not rest until the last terrorist will be neutralized either peacefully or forcefully,” Lieutenant General. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., Commander of Western Mindanao Command said. “We will also continue to process former rebels and violent extremists (FRs and FVEs), in partnership with other government units, for their rehabilitation and reintegration programs.”

The WestMinCom chief also said that one of the reasons for the continuing surrenders of Abu Sayyaf Group members in Basilan is the massive implementation of projects by the provincial government that brought livelihood opportunities.

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/abus-surrender-turn-over-high-powered-firearms-in-basilan/

Kalinaw News: Philippine Army, DTI give business kits to four former rebels in Aurora

From Kalinaw News (Jul 17, 2022): Philippine Army, DTI give business kits to four former rebels in Aurora

BALER, Aurora-Through the whole of nation approach, the Philippine Army’s 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Aurora have turned over a total of PHP32K in business kits under its livelihood programs to at least 4 beneficiaries in this province on Friday, July 15, 2022.

Lt. Col. Julito B. Recto, commander of 91st IB, told the Philippine News Agency on Saturday that 4 of the recipients were former rebels (FRs) of the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) having undergone the government’s rehabilitation program while bringing back to mainstream society.

He added that the distribution of the business kits, worth PHP8,000 each was given to the four indigenous people (IP) belonging to the Alta tribe at Laang Sibol hall, Headquarter, 91st IB, Barangay Calabuanan in this capital town of Aurora.

“This is only the beginning and expects more assistance will be handed over to our FRs to help them start a new life,” Recto said.

On the other hand, Bryan Omar Sardea, DTI-Aurora focal person of the Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa said that the package of assistance handed over to the beneficiaries will improve their income in the future and be monitored by 91st IB.

“I am optimistic that with the guidance of 91st IB, our recipients will boost their business and will improve their lives. This is the start for them to earn more to become productive members of our community,” Sardea said.

Back to Recto, he said that he wanted the beneficiaries to increase their income and improve their livelihood activities; more so, creating a peaceful and productive community away from the insurgency.

“We always keep in touched with the DTI to intensify interventions for the FRs need to start business and encourage them to properly manage the pangkabuhayan (livelihood) kit they received,” Recto said.

He added that the move was to reintegrate FRs by helping them go back to being a civilian with ample resources and providing them with a sustainable source of income.

Meanwhile, Ka Arnold, one of the beneficiaries, expressed his gratitude to the 91st IB and DTI.

“We are very thankful for this livelihood starter kit provided by our government. We will do our best to sustain the business granted to us,” Ka Arnold 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/philippine-army-dti-give-business-kits-to-four-former-rebels-in-aurora/

Kalinaw News: Cagayan PSWDO awards 300K worth of livelihood kit to FRs

From Kalinaw News (Jul 17, 2022): Cagayan PSWDO awards 300K worth of livelihood kit to FRs

Bangag, Lal-lo – A total of 300,000 pesos worth of livelihood assistance was awarded to 15 former rebels (FRs) on July 15, 2022 at Provincial Capitol, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

Each former rebel received 20,000 pesos for sari-sari store package that was given by the Cagayan Provincial Social Welfare Development Office thru the assistance of 17th Infantry Battalion and PNP.

“Maraming Salamat po sa Pamahalaang Panlalawigan ng Cagayan,PSWDO, PNP at sa kasundaluhan din ng 17IB sa tulong na ito. Malaking tulong ito para sa amin at sa aming pamilya. Asahan po ninyo na palalaguin namin ang pangkabuhayan na inyong ibinigay,” said alyas @Rodel one of the beneficiaries.

Note that the Provincial Local Government Unit of Cagayan is one of the partners of the Philippine Army in keeping peace and development in their province through assisting the Former Rebels in their reintegration process.

LtC Oliver C Logan, Battalion Commander of 17IB extended his gratefulness to the said PLGU in supporting the campaign in ending local communist armed conflict.

“We are successfully implementing the campaign against insurgency in Cagayan under the Whole-of-Nation Approach because of the utmost support we are receiving from the LGUs,”

“So i am still encouraging the remaining members and supporters of the Communist Terrorist Group to lay down your arms and return to the folds of the law. The benefits under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program is waiting for you, for your family, and loved ones,” LtC Logan added.

Meanwhile, aside from the livelihood kit, the PSWDO also facilitates the employment of former rebels in Cagayan Provincial Capitol under the Cagayan Employment Assistance Program initiated by Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba.

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/cagayan-pswdo-awards-300k-worth-of-livelihood-kit-to-frs/

Kalinaw News: 6 ASG bandits yield to Gov’t forces in Sulu

From Kalinaw News (Jul 15, 2022): 6 ASG bandits yield to Gov’t forces in Sulu

Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista, Jolo, Sulu – July 16, 2022

Six (6) Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members voluntarily surrendered to the Joint Task Force (JTF) Sulu at the Headquarters of the 1103rd Infantry Brigade in Barangay Bonbon, Patikul Sulu on July 11, 2022.

According to Commander of JTF Sulu and 11th Infantry “Alakdan” Division, Maj. Gen. Ignatius N. Patrimonio, the former bandits were under ASG senior leader Majid Said identified as a.k.a. Den, 26 years old; a.k.a Jimar, 26 years old under ASG senior leader a.k.a Apo Mike; a.k.a Ammeh, 47 years old under ASG group leader Hatib Sawadjaan; a.k.a Radin, 29 years old and a.k.a Seb, 25 years old both under ASG sub-leader Tuan Yah; and a.k.a Din, 26 years old under ASG sub-leader Hairullah Asbang.

“The ASG returnees brought with them three (3) M1 Garand rifles, one (1) M79 Grenade and one (1) M203 ammunition. The surrendered firearms are now under the custody of the 1103rd Infantry Brigade for proper disposition”, Maj. Gen. Patrimonio added.

In an interview, a.k.a Den narrated that he had been with the terrorist group for almost 11 years. Tired of always being on the run, hiding from the government forces and longing for his family had prompted him to go back to the folds of the law.

According to 1103rd Infantry Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Benjamin G Batara Jr, the collaborative efforts of the Municipal Task Force in Ending Local Armed Conflict (MTF-ELAC) of Patikul with the military and the community had been able to convinced the ASG members to surrender and avail the government’s program.

Meanwhile, JTF Sulu Commander lauded the commitment of the troops of 6th Special Forces Battalion led by Lt.Col. Rafael Caido, 45th Infantry Battalion led by Lt.Col. Vicente Mabborang Jr. and other military units of their efforts in assisting the ASG members for their surrender.

“Another six (6) ASG members had laid down their arms and realized their useless cause. This is an indicative that the remaining ASG members already knows the authenticity of our genuine concern and relentless efforts to win the peace in the province of Sulu”, said Maj. Gen. Patrimonio.

Let us therefore sustain the gains and maintain the momentum to finally end terrorism and encourage the remaining ASG terrorist to lay down their firearms, be with their families, avail the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP), and live peacefully. Maj. Gen. Patrimonio concluded.

Since January this year, a total of 75 ASG members voluntarily surrendered to JTF Sulu bringing along with them 47 high-powered firearms and 13 low-powered firearms.

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/6-asg-bandits-yield-to-govt-forces-in-sulu/

No wholesale prosecution under NTF-ELCAC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gov't-commies talks ongoing via localized peace engagement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Photo courtesy of Philippine Navy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NPA rebel with arrest warrant falls in Surigao Sur

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cordillera celebrates 35 years of preserving peace in region

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Violence-free future key to rebels' surrender in Bukidnon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blood donation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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