Abu Sayyaf rebels attack marine post in Philippines

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Mar 29): Abu Sayyaf rebels attack marine post in Philippines

Abu Sayyaf rebels attacked a marine post sparking a gun battle that wounded 3 people in Patikul town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, police said on Saturday.

Police said rebels attacked the marine post in the village of Bungkaung and a firefight erupted that left three civilians wounded. Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, the provincial police chief, said the rebels harassed soldiers from the 22nd Marine Company.

“An undetermined number of armed men, believed to be Abu Sayyaf, harassed the elements of the 22nd Marine Company under the Marine Battalion Landing Team 2, manning the Bungkaung detachment in Patikul town.”

“The firefight lasted for almost 50 minutes which resulted to the wounding of three civilians Alnajir Suhaili, Abdulmain Jamasali and Milding Amil,” Orbita told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

It was not immediately known who shot the civilians, but marine posts are near civilian areas in Patikul, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. There was no statement from the local mayor about the attack or why the military failed to detect the rebel assault.

The Abu Sayyaf, founded in 1991 by Ustadz Abdurajak Janjalani in Basilan province, has been blamed for the spate of terrorism and ransom kidnappings in the southern Philippines. Many of its members now are young men and sons and relatives of original Abu Sayyaf fighters who had been fighting for a separate Islamic state in the country.

Janjalani was killed in 1998 in a firefight with policemen in Basilan and his younger brother Khadaffy took over the Abu Sayyaf, but he too, was slain in 2006 in Sulu’s Patikul town. His death fragmented the Abu Sayyaf into several factions with different leaders who largely resorted to kidnappings to raise funds for the purchase of weapons.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/03/abu-sayyaf-rebels-attack-marine-post-in.html

Philippines downplays threats of Sultanate army

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Mar 29): Philippines downplays threats of Sultanate army

The Philippine government downplayed threats made by the so-called Royal Security Force of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo whose members have warned that violence may erupt in the southern region if President Benigno Aquino fails to support their historical claim on the island of Sabah which is now part of Malaysia.

General Panglima, who claims to be a leader of the so-called Royal Security Force, accused the Aquino government of ignoring claims by the Sultanate of Sulu to reclaim Sabah, whose historical name was Borneo.

“Nananawagan kami sa pamahalaan na sana po gawin nila o hanapan na lang ng paraan ang isyu na ito at huwag naman nila ito isantabi. One year na kami sa giyera at naghihintay mula ng sumiklab ang gulo sa Sabah noon February 2013 at 2014 na ngayon ay wala pa rin action ang pamahalaan ukol dito sa Sabah claim,” General Panglima said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

“Binalewala nila ang aming isyu (sa Sabah). Masakit man sa amin na pumanaw na ang mahal namin pinuno na si Sultan Jamalul Kiram III at hindi rin sila nakinig. Kung kaya’t gulo lang ang gusto nilang pag-usapan o pakinggan ng pamahalaan, kaya din namin gumawa ng malaking gulo o karahasan sa buong Mindanao kahit na minamaliit pa nila ang aming puwersa o grupo kaya nananawagan kami sa pamahalaan na tulungan kaming hanapan ng paraan ang isyu ma ito. Magtulungan at magkaisa tayo at laban na ito para sa buong Pilipino, Kristiyano at Muslim ay magkapatid at iisang dugo,” he added.

The threats came following the signing of the peace agreement between the Philippines and the country’s largest Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front which Malaysia has brokered.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte in an interview with TV5 said Sabah is not part of the envisioned core territories of the Bangsamoro entity under the newly signed Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

“I’m not quite sure if that’s representative of the sultanate as a group or as a whole,” Valte told the television network as she reiterated her call for everyone to read the annexes under the CAB which were put online, and also urged anew to give the peace pact a chance as there is “so much to gain and nothing to lose.”

“We’ve always advocated peaceful means to settle any dispute, whether it’s local or international,” Valte told TV5, adding that the government has already proven that it can be trusted when it comes to peace negotiations.
     
In February last year, the ailing Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, of the Sultanate of Sulu, sent about 200 followers headed by his brother Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram to Sabah to exert their claim and historical rights over the island, which is also being claimed by Malaysia.

Sultan Jamalul’s group has rejected Malaysian demand for them to surrender peacefully and a fighting erupted in Lahad Datu town where more than 60 of the sultan’s men had been killed and over 300 Filipinos arrested on suspicion they were supporting or aiding the group of Raja Muda Agbimuddin.

Malaysia also placed Sultan Jamalul and his brother on its wanted list and branded them as terrorists for intruding into Sabah and killing and decapitating 10 policemen and soldiers in separate clashes on the island.

Raja Muda Agbimuddin managed to escape the Malaysian assault in Sabah, while Sultan Jamalul died in October last year from a lingering illness at age 75.

General Panglima also said that Manila failed or refused to help sultanate members and Filipinos illegally detained in Sabah in connection to the fighting last year.

The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo continues to lay claim to Sabah. It obtained Sabah from Brunei as a gift for helping put down a rebellion on the Borneo Island. The British leased Sabah and transferred control over the territory to Malaysia after the end of World War II.

But the Sulu Sultanate said it had merely leased North Borneo in 1878 to the British North Borneo Company for an annual payment of 5,000 Malayan dollars then, which was increased to 5,300 Malayan dollars in 1903.

The Sultanate of Sulu was founded in 1457 and is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north. North Borneo was annexed by Malaysia in 1963 following a referendum organised by the Cobbold Commission in 1962, the people of Sabah voted overwhelmingly to join Malaysia.

Malaysia continued paying an annual stipend of 5,300 ringgits to the Sulu sultanate on the basis of the sultanate ceding the Borneo state.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/03/philippines-downplays-threats-of.html

Philippines probes US report on gun running allegations, but silent on secret government funding of rebel groups

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Mar 30): Philippines probes US report on gun running allegations, but silent on secret government funding of rebel groups

The Philippine military has ordered an investigation into a US report linking a Filipino army officer into a gun smuggling ring with an American senator, but the government is silent over allegations that it is secretly funding Moro rebel groups in Mindanao to distract public attention from its own corruption scandals.
US authorities have arrested Senator Leland Yee (Democrat, San Francisco) for firearms trafficking and corruption charges. The report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Yee had dealings with an army captain and that the Philippines has been funding secretly some of the rebel groups in an effort to create a distraction away from corruption within the government.

The report did not which rebel groups the government has been funding, but the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has already denied any links to Yee.

Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte she spoke with military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala who said that the Armed Forces of the Philippines is is already looking into this report.

“We have also been trying to get a name or at least more information about the alleged involvement of a supposed military officer,” she said.

Valte said there is still no significant information produced by the ongoing investigation. She did not say anything about the allegations that the government is secretly funding rebel groups in Mindanao.

US federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Yee, accusing him of conspiring to commit wire fraud and traffic firearms. At least 25 other people, including Raymond Chow, alleged to be the head of a Chinese organized crime syndicate in the US, were also arrested in connection to the charges.

Yee was released on $500,000 bond and declined to comment on the case.

It was not the first time that a military officer was linked to illegal arms sales, but there had been allegations in the past that some rouge commanders were illegal selling government weapons to the MILF, the Abu Sayyaf and even politicians and war lords.

It was also for the same reason why soldiers had previously staged coup d'etat against the government. Some soldiers even accused their commanders of ordering them to blow up mosques and Catholic churches in Mindanao and stir up a religious war, but they refused.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/03/philippines-probes-us-report-on-gun.html

'Do not glorify NPA rebels' - AFP

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 29): 'Do not glorify NPA rebels' - AFP

As the New People's Army (NPA) is celebrating its 45th founding anniversary Saturday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Major Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. urged the public not to glorify the rebels as they continue to commit crimes and other outrages against the Filipino people.

"Let us not glorify the NPA and its anniversary for this marks 45 years of sowing fear against the Filipino people and 45 years of crimes against public order," he said.

Tutaan noted that as citizens of a free nation, the Filipino people must denounce the NPA fighters for their criminal actions.

"Let us therefore have a collective call for the NPA armed group to end the armed struggle for us to have sustained peace and development throughout the nation," he stressed.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=630511

DND eyes BVR upgrades for F/A-50s

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 29): DND eyes BVR upgrades for F/A-50s

The Department of National Defense (DND) is planning to install equipment that would give the F/A-50 "Fighting Eagle" a "beyond visual range" (BVR) capability.

BVR is the capability to detect, track and if needed attack air targets beyond 20 nautical miles (around 37 kilometers).

DND Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said that this is one of the upgrades they are planning to make the F/A-50 a much more capable aircraft in defending the country's airspace.

But due to the cost, estimated at P800 million to P1 billion per BVR fitting, not all 12 aircraft will be fitted.

"We are looking at the possible installation for three to four aircraft to provide us with a long range intercept capability," Velez said.

He added that installing BVR capability to the F/A-50s is relatively simple as the aircraft is already fitted with a decent air-to-air radar.

Adjusting it to BVR standards would just mean upgrading the radar to be capable of detection at much longer range and fitting of BVR weapons like the Raytheon AIM-7 "Sparrow" missile.

The Philippines and Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. signed the P18.9-billion contract for the acquisition of the 12 aircraft last Friday.

DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said that the first two F/A-50 jet aircraft will be delivered 18 months after the opening of the letter of credit; the next two will be delivered 12 months later, and the remaining eight jet planes in staggered basis within eight months.

The F/A-50 has a top speed of Mach 1.5 or one-and-a-half times the speed of sound and is capable of being fitted with air-to-air missiles, including the AIM-9 "Sidewinder" air-to-air and heat-seeking missiles aside from light automatic cannons.

The F/A-50 will act as the country's interim fighter until the Philippines get enough experience of operating fast jet assets and money to fund the acquisition of more capable fighter aircraft.

The F/A-50 design is largely derived from the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" and they have many similarities: use of a single engine, speed, size, cost, and the range of weapons.

The aircraft can carry two pilots seating in tandem. The high-mounted canopy developed by Hankuk Fiber is applied with stretched acrylic, providing the pilots with good visibility, and has been tested to offer the canopy with ballistic protection against four-pound objects impacting at 400 knots.

The altitude limit is 14,600 meters (48,000 feet), and the airframe is designed to last 8,000 hours of service.

There are seven internal fuel tanks with capacity of 2,655 liters (701 US gallons) -- five in the fuselage and two in the wings.

An additional 1,710 liters (452 US gallons) of fuel can be carried in the three external fuel tanks.

Trainer variants have a paint scheme of white and red, and aerobatic variants white, black, and yellow.

The F/A-50 "Fighting Eagle" uses a single General Electric F404-102 turbofan engine license-produced by Samsung Techwin, upgraded with a full authority digital engine control system jointly developed by General Electric and KAI.

The engine consists of three-staged fans, seven axial stage arrangement, and an after-burner.

The aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 1.4-1.5.

Its engine produces a maximum of 78.7 kN (17,700 lbf) of thrust with after-burner.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=630524

DND in the market for 6 close-air support aircraft

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 29): DND in the market for 6 close-air support aircraft

The Department of National Defense (DND) is in the market for six units of close-air support (CAS) aircraft to augment the existing North American Rockwell OV-10 "Bronco" attack plane being operated by the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

This was confirmed by DND undersecretary for finance, modernization, installations, and munitions Fernando Manalo during the sidelights of the P18.9-billion F/A-50 contract signing Friday.

He said the DND is looking at the possibility of acquiring the Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano.

The Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano is a turboprop aircraft designed for light attack, counter-insurgency, close-air support, aerial reconnaissance missions in low threat environments, as well as providing pilot training.

Designed to operate in high temperature and humidity conditions in extremely rugged terrain, the Super Tucano is highly maneuverable, has a low heat signature, incorporates 4th generation avionics and weapons system to deliver precision guided munitions, Manalo said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=630539

Palace won’t tolerate gun-running in any form, says official

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 29): Palace won’t tolerate gun-running in any form, says official

Malacanang stressed on Saturday that it would not tolerate gun-running in the country, especially if it involved any member of the Philippine security forces.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte raised the issue following reports that United States Sen. Leland Yee of California allegedly trafficked firearms from the Philippines to the US through some members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“We don’t tolerate any gun-running in any shape or form, especially if it involved someone belonging to the Armed Forces or to any of the security forces, for that matter," Valte said in an interview over state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

She noted that since Friday, the AFP and the Department of National Defense are already looking into the case.

So far, there has been no information as to whether members of the AFP were involved, she said.

“...None have turned up in the past few hours and we trust that the AFP will get to the bottom of it because they are also concerned,” Valte said.

She earlier dismissed reports quoting Yee as saying that the Philippines is “a very corrupt country” and that its government is secretly funding some Muslim rebel groups to distract the public from other state matters.

“I would not know about the basis of his opinion and, obviously, we do not share that opinion,” Valte said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=630602

Stiffer penalties for firearms smuggling sought

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 29): Stiffer penalties for firearms smuggling sought

After the arrest of a US senator who was charged with arms trafficking who claims he has links to separatist groups in the Philippines, a neophyte solon on Saturday urged his colleagues to support his measure, the 'Anti-Firearms Smuggling Act of 2013'.

California State Senator Leland Yee was arrested by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents for arms smuggling. He is the author of the gun control legislation filed before the US Senate.

Cavite Rep. Roy Loyola said his bill imposes stiffer penalties ranging from twelve (12)years to twenty (20) years, and even up to life imprisonment, with fines of P1-million to P5-million if found guilty of firearms smuggling.

“Smuggling of firearms is a dangerous but profitable criminal enterprise. It not only threatens public safety and national security but also endangers and oftentimes, results in loss of lives of innocent persons,” said Loyola, author of House Bill 2696.

He said the possession of smuggled firearms, more often than not, emboldens the person in possession of the firearm to commit more serious offenses such as, but not limited to, murder, homicide, rebellion, piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery.

Initial investigation shows that Senator Yee claims helping the agent get weapons worth 0,000 to .5 million, including shoulder-fired missiles, and explained the entire process of acquiring them from a Philippine military captain and separatist groups to bringing them to the US, according to an affidavit by FBI agent Emmanuel Pascua.

The admission can be found in the FBI criminal complaint that names 25 other defendants, including Raymond Chow, a one-time gang leader with ties to San Francisco’s Chinatown known as “Shrimp Boy,” and Keith Jackson, Yee’s campaign aide. The affidavit accuses Yee of conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms.

The Philippines, Loyola lamented, is rated second in terms of the number of firearms that are smuggled into Japan. The country, he added, is a producer and trans-shipper of smuggled firearms and is also a final destination of smuggled firearms.

“The growing illicit trade can be attributed to the lack of anti-firearms laws in the country, our long coastline and the great demand for them by criminal syndicates, Muslim secessionists and other militant groups. The firearms and ammunitions used by the Abu Sayaff are believed to have been smuggled into the Philippines via the southern backdoor,” he pointed out.

HB 2696 defines firearms smuggling as the act of any person who, through the use of fraudulent machinations, shall import or bring into, or export from the Philippines, or assist in so doing, any firearm or parts thereof, explosive or ammunition or machine, implements, equipment or tools for the manufacture of firearms.

“It shall also likewise refer to the act of any person who, contrary to law, shall receive, conceal, buy, sell or in any manner facilitate the transportation, concealment or sale of said firearms or parts thereof, explosive or ammunition or machine, implements or explosives after importation, knowing the same to have been imported contrary to law,” Loyola said in his explanatory notes.

The measure clearly provides for the definition of acts constituting the crime of firearms smuggling and the corresponding penalties.

The measure, likewise clearly provides for the grounds wherein the penalty of reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment) when, among other circumstances, the offender is a government official or employee, a pilot, master, agent, owner, consignee, or any person in charge of a vessel or aircraft who knowingly and intentionally carries smuggled firearms, ammunitions or explosives, and any person who belongs to a syndicate, or to the illegal dealers or manufacturers, among other provisions.

In addition to the penalties provided, any government official or employee shall, upon conviction, be dismissed from office and perpetually disqualified to hold public office.

Any criminal action arising from any violation of the proposed statute shall be filed with the Regional Trial Court of the place where the offense was committed and the court first taking cognizance of the case shall exercise jurisdiction to the exclusion of other courts.

“Possession, importation or exportation of any firearm or parts thereof, explosive, ammunition or machines, implements, equipment or tools for the manufacture of firearms, ammunition or explosive without the necessary license to possess, manufacture or to import or export them shall be prima facie evidence of firearms smuggling.

Furthermore, the measure promptly provides that government establish and implement measures for the prevention of firearms smuggling.

The agencies mandated to implement programs are the Department of Foreign Affairs for the proper monitoring of manufactured firearms in their respective foreign posts and explore means to further enhance its assistance in eliminating smuggled firearms through closer networking with government agencies, among others.

Also primarily involved are the Philippine National Police which shall adopt a system of monitoring the approximate number of firearms circulating in the country and adopt, among other responsibilities under the Act in the investigation and information gathering and evaluation of smuggling incidence.

And last, but not least, the Department of Justice which shall initiate the filing of complaints involving smuggled firearms and ensure the effective prosecution of guilty parties.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=630596

Ilocandia lawmaker prefers to buy radar and sonar systems than ASW anti-submarine attack helicopters

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 29): Ilocandia lawmaker prefers to buy radar and sonar systems than ASW anti-submarine attack helicopters

A lawmaker from Ilocandia Region on Saturday said the country needs effective and adequate radar and sonar systems that could warn defense forces of any incursions into Philippine airspace and sea lanes.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo “Rodito” Albano III said the Department of National Defense (DND) should prioritize purchasing radars and sonar systems that could detect possible incursion in the territorial waters and air space before purchasing two high-tech anti-submarine attack helicopters.

He found it ridiculous to buy two high-tech anti-submarine attack helicopters when the country itself does not even have effective and adequate radar and sonar systems that could warn defense forces of any incursions into Philippine airspace and sea lanes.

“How will these anti-submarine attack helicopters be dispatched if they don’t have the capability at all to know what’s illegally lurking below our sealanes?” Albano quipped.

He clarified that he is not against buying the sophisticated air defense for the military as he supports military modernization but what he wants to point out is DND must know what are the priorities.

The Isabela congressman said that a thorough review on the decision of the DND to ensure that taxpayers’ money would really be spent for essential hardware and equipment would kick-off the modernization of the country's armed forces.

Albano warned the DND that it would be highly improper to spend billions of pesos for the acquisition of military equipment with no definite purpose.

The Assistant Minority Leader of the House of Representatives was referring to newspaper reports quoting Fernando Manalo, DND undersecretary for finance, modernization, installations and munitions, that the DND has allocated P5.4 billion for the purchase of the two ASW helicopters. Manalo was quoted as saying “the project is for implementation”, and that the acquisition process for the aircraft is expected to be completed by this year.

“Being a part of the wish list of the AFP Modernization Program is a stupid and ridiculous reason to waste taxpayers’ money for two anti-submarine attack helicopters for the Philippine Navy whose officers and men had long dreamed of having a modern fleet of navy combat ships like cruisers, destroyers, frigates, corvettes, amphibious assault ships and support and auxiliary ships, patrol boats, hydrographic and oceanographic survey ships, among others,” Albano said.

The former executive director of the Joint Congressional Power Commission, said the P5.4 billion funding for the purchase of the two ASW helicopters should be used to put up new power plants in the country or upgrade old power plants to immediately address the recurring power crisis in Mindanao.

He said the Aquino government should focus its energy and resources into addressing the recurring brownouts which have plagued the region for several years now.

Or better yet, Albano added, the money could have been used to enhance the preparedness and capability of the engineering brigades of the military to enable them to ably respond to disasters or calamities, as shown by the devastation wrought by super typhoon Yolanda.

“We could spend the P5.4 billion meant for two anti-sub attack helicopters better by purchasing additional Hercules type wide-bodied, heavy lift military planes for disaster relief operations, Albano said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=630601

2 NPA members surrender in Capiz

From ABS-CBN (Mar 29): 2 NPA members surrender in Capiz

Two members of CPP-NPA central front committee surrendered to the Philippine Army in Tapaz, Capiz on the eve of the CPP-NPA anniversary on Friday.

Alias “Boy” was the finance and logistics officer of the rebels before deciding to end his nine years of armed struggle. He said he decided to surrender for the sake of his wife and children.

His comrade alias “Nonoy” was also a member of the CPP-NPA for nine years. He was involved in an encounter in the town of Tapaz and municipality of Mambusao in the province of Capiz.

The two ex-rebels have appealed to their former comrades to surrender.

They are now under the custody of the Philippine Army as part of the social integration program.

Meanwhile, the 502nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army figured in an encounter with suspected members of the New People’s Army at the tri-boundary of Palanan, San Mariano and Ilagan City in Isabela on Friday.

According to 502nd IB Commander Gen. Inocencio Mayangao, they swooped down on the rebel camp and recovered improvised explosive devices, guns and subversive documents. They also found common hardwood flitches in the camp.

Gen. Mayangao said group may be involved in illegal logging in the mountains.
Operations of the soldiers are continuous in the area. No casualty or injuries were reported from both camps.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/03/29/14/2-npa-members-surrender-capiz

CPP/Sine Proletaryo: Video -- Kasamang Bill

Sine Proletaryo video posted to the CPP Website (Mar 27): Video: Kasamang Bill



Message of Ka Bill, Regional Operations Commander of NPA-Northeast Mindanao Region, for the 45th anniversary of the New People's Army.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIqoAMltSoY&list=UUIdJcoTlC5Q5jrKCOh4dJeA

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

CPP/Sine Proletaryo: Video -- Platoon

Sine Proletaryo video posted to the CPP Website (Mar 28): Video: Platoon



Composite platoons from the Pulang Bagani Battalion and Guerrilla forces from Southern Mindanao.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iA-tYIV6QQ&list=UUIdJcoTlC5Q5jrKCOh4dJeA

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

CPP/Sine Proletaryo: Video -- Southern Tagalog

Sine Proletaryo video posted to the CPP Website (Mar 28): Video: Southern Tagalog



Messages from various revolutionary organizations in the Southern Tagalog region, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the New People's Army.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkBLD24-8eA&list=UUIdJcoTlC5Q5jrKCOh4dJeA

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

CPP: CPP condemns arrest of Andrea Rosal, filing of concocted criminal charges

Propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Mar 28): CPP condemns arrest of Andrea Rosal, filing of concocted criminal charges

Communist Party of the Philippines

 

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the Aquino regime and its armed forces for arresting Andrea Rosal, her companion Rafael de Guzman, and the filing of trumped-up criminal charges against them. Andrea is being accused by the fascist AFP as being a member of the CPP in the Southern Tagalog region.

Andrea is 8-months pregnant and was accosted as was preparing to deliver her child. Andrea is the eldest daughter of former CPP spokesperson Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal who passed away in 2011. Her mother, Rosemary, was felled by fascist bullets in 2011 in an armed encounter in Quezon in early 2011.

“Indeed, the arrest of Andrea is an apparent case of fascist payback after having failed to arrest her beloved father, Ka Roger, whom the military hated with extreme prejudice for having effectively representing the revolutionary cause and exposing the abuses of the AFP.” Rosal was never arrested by the AFP despite non-stop braggadocio.

“It seems to be a cruel joke that the AFP is now charging Andrea with kidnapping, when she herself was a victim of kidnapping 25 years ago by officials of the Southern Luzon Command,” pointed out the CPP. “In 1989, then 3-year old Andrea was snatched away fascist soldiers from her grandmother’s arms with whom she grew up in Ragay, Camarines Sur.”

“The SolCom would later release Andrea after Ka Roger and Andrea’s grandmother would protest the kidnapping over radio and the media, yet none of the perpetrators of that crime was ever punished,” pointed out the CPP. “In fact, not one official of the AFP Southern Luzon Command, has ever been punished for the innumerable abuses perpetrated by the AFP against the people.”

The CPP condemns the Aquino regime and the AFP for filing one criminal case after another against the leaders and members of the CPP in order to justify their arrests and prolonged detention. “This is in violation of the Hernandez Doctrine, a principle upheld even by the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines, which stipulate that filing criminal charges for offenses committed in the course of one’s political belief is a violation of human rights.”

“The Aquino regime, like the Marcos dictatorship, denies holding political prisoners, because activists and revolutionaries who are bent on exposing opposing his puppetry, mendacity, corruption and brutalities are being accused of criminals and being charged with such common crimes as murder, illegal possession of firearms and now kidnapping,” said the CPP.

The CPP calls on the international community of human rights advocates to look into this practice of filing trumped up criminal charges, of filing charges against aliases, and arresting activists and others and accusing them of having such-and-such alias found in their concocted criminal charge sheets.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20140328_cpp-condemns-arrest-of-andrea-rosal-filing-of-concocted-criminal-charges

CPP: On the lies dished out by the AFP against the Tiamzons

Propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Mar 28): On the lies dished out by the AFP against the Tiamzons

Communist Party of the Philippines

 

Over the past few days, the spokesman of the AFP has been doing the rounds of the media, spending most of the day in radio and media interviews, to justify their arrest and continued incarceration of comrades Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria, peace consultants of the NDFP and senior leaders of the CPP. The AFP has resorted to dishing out one concocted story after another against the Tiamzons and against the revolutionary movement.

In the spirit of fair-reporting, we hope that the big media organizations will give space to the views of the CPP and report on the other side of the truth.

1. The arrest of Comrades Benito and Wilma are in gross violations of the JASIG. Wilma Tiamzon is clearly among the list of NDFP peace consultants, as she has been listed under her true name, i.e. she is not listed under an assumed name, with Document of Identification No. ND978226. Comrade Wilma’s case can not be covered by the tactic used by the Aquino government over the past months blocking the release of NDFP consultants because their aliases can not be verified.

The NDFP asserts that Comrade Benito is among the listed consultants of the NDFP under the assumed name Crising Banaag with Document of Identification No. ND978227.

Contrary to Aquino’s Justice Sec. Leila de Lima’s opinion, the criminal justice system of the government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) is not above the JASIG nor the other agreements forged between the GPH and the NDFP. All the agreements between the GPH and the NDFP are of the nature of international treaties, to which national laws are subsumed.

This is explicitly stated in the JASIG where the signing parties agree to subsume their police and court processes to the higher goal of peace negotiations. Part II, Section 2 stipulates: “the prosecutors shall move for the suspension, during the peace negotiations, of criminal proceedings or processes including arrest and search, for acts allegedly committed prior to the effectivity of this Joint Agreement.”

Thus, Comrade Wilma’s jumping bail cannot be used against her protected status under JASIG. In fact, the Ramos regime, then, recognized Comrade Wilma’s status as NDFP consultant, knowing full well that she had standing cases in the courts of the GPH.

Failing to disprove Comrade Wilma’s status as NDFP consultant, Aquino’s officials has resorted to coming up with another excuse claiming that the JASIG cannot be in effect because the talks are suspended. This is easily refuted by taking a look at the agreement itself which states that the JASIG can only be terminated with a written notice and only 30 days after receipt of such notice.

2. Contrary to the fascist intrigues of the AFP, there is no rift between Comrades Benito and Wilma or the Philippine-based leadership of the CPP and the senior members of the CPP in The Netherlands. The NDFP Negotiating Panel and Comrade Joma were among the first to condemn the arrest of Comrades Benito and Wilma.They are among the comrades who are vigorously fighting for the release of Comrades Benito and Wilma, as well as all NDFP consultants and the 400 plus political prisoners.

Comrades Benito and Wilma and the entire central leadership of the CPP continue to support the work of the NDFP negotiating panel. The Philippine-based leadership has retained the offices of the NDFP negotiating panel with hopes that peace negotiations with the GPH, however tenuous and difficult, will continue to proceed. Comrades Benito and Wilma and the CPP have long wanted peace negotiations with the objective of addressing the people’s myriad problems of landlessness, unemployment, low wages, skyrocketting costs of living, human rights violations and military abuses, lack of government infrastructure to address natural calamities and other outstanding socio-economic problems which continue to fuel the armed revolution.

At the same time, the CPP leadership continue to firmly grasp the principle that without arms, the people have nothing. Negotiations under the Ramos and Estrada governments have proved that substantial agreements can be forged despite (or perhaps because) of the raging civil war. Aside from the historic Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed under Estrada, and the JASIG signed by Ramos, there are no less than 10 significant agreements signed from 1992 to 1998. Such a principle was cast away by the Arroyo regime during which time peace negotiations lost significance as a forum to address the outstanding issues at the roots of the armed conflict; and became a tool for deception in the vain hope of inveigling the NDFP and the NPA to surrender.

Aquino, despite all his peace rhetoric, has adopted the anti-peace negotiations stance of the Arroyo regime.

3. The Tiamzons were arrested on the basis of trumped up charges. Contrary to in the media that they were being arrested for murder charges filed in Northern Samar, the warrants of arrest presented to Comrades Benito and Wilma was for the charges of murder for the so-called Hilongos “mass graves”, which have been the same case filed against at least 50 other activists, including former congressman Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna. The Hilongos “mass graves” is a legal concoction of the AFP started under the Arroyo regime’s so-called Inter-Agency Legal Advisory Group (IALAG) headed by then Justice Sec. Raul Gonzales, one of the most rabid of Arroyo’s officials.

Fearing that the Hilongos case will not stand against the Tiamzons, they also filed a case of illegal possession of firearms despite the fact that the Tiamzons had no firearms when accosted. The Tiamzons and their five staff members where unarmed when arrested. Even the initial report of the Carcar police, which effected their arrest, did not mention that they were carrying firearms (something which the AFP spokesman insists on forgetting). This is consistent with the practice of key officials and cadres of the CPP to not carry firearms when travelling outside the war zones as this makes them prone to random checks and arrests by the reactionary police and military forces.
The CPP condemns the Aquino regime and the AFP for filing one criminal case after another against the leaders and members of the CPP in order to justify their arrests and prolonged detention. Such a practice is in violation of the Hernandez Doctrine, a principle upheld even by the GPH Supreme Court which stipulate that filing criminal charges for offenses committed in the course of one’s political belief is a violation of human rights.

4. The arrest of the Tiamzons will not stop the advance of the revolution. The displacement will be temporary and short-lived. The responsibilities that were being shouldered by Comrades Benito and Wilma have been automatically transferred to other officials of the CPP Central Committee.

As succinctly pointed out by Comrade Joma, the CPP has a “deep bench”. The CPP has 15 regional committees, scores of subregional committees, more than a hundred front committees and tens of thousands of Party branches and sections in the New People’s Army and organs of political power that daily lead the work of the CPP and carry forward the people’s war.

Add to that is the fact that the CPP’s leadership and membership is ever expanding with young blood as it continues to draw from among the ranks of the Filipino youth whose future can only be secured by waging a revolution to put an end to the oppressive and exploitative ruling system.

5. The Tiamzons were not living a lavish lifestyle. The AFP was utterly frustrated that they failed to show any shred of evidence from the house rented by Comrades Benito and Wilma to support their long-standing claims that the leaders of the CPP were leading a lavish lifestyle. They have long used this as a media spiel against the CPP leaders. As shown in the footages taken by news reports, the Tiamzon’s rented house only had work tables and chairs, wooden beds, a dining table, a small television set and nothing much more.They upheld the standards of simple living and arduous struggle.

A look into the report of the National Finance Committee will indicate that the Tiamzons and their staff were spending around P50-P55 per day for every individual. This is within the budget of around P60 which the CPP allows to be spent for the daily food allowance of its full-time members.

Having failed to do prove that the Tiamzons were living lavishly nor of spending money for themselves, the AFP resorted to accusing them of spending large amounts of money for their pets. Indeed, despite her asthma, Comrade Wilma is a cat lover who takes in pusakals (pusang kalye or common household cats) and feeds them leftovers.

The pet dogs, however, were part of the finance projects and source of additional income of the Tiamzon staff. They were breeding dogs to help augment their budget and make them less reliant on the central fund. Breeding dogs and cats for sale is common among working-class and middle-class families seeking additional income. Dog and cat food, when bought in bulk, can be bought for around P500-700 per sack from among breeders (contrary to the exaggerated claims by the AFP that each sack costs P2,000).

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20140328_on-the-lies-dished-out-by-the-afp-against-the-tiamzons