On Duterte oft-repeated demand for NPA surrender

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Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines
24 September 2017

Duterte reveals fascist narrow-mindedness in his oft-repeated demand for NPA fighters to surrender, accept amnesty and be recruited as regulars in the AFP. By doing so, he treats Red fighters with extreme contempt, choosing to ignore the social realities of oppression and exploitation and the aspiration for national and social liberation which continue to drive thousands, especially peasant masses, to join and support the NPA.

Duterte’s repeated demand for NPA fighters to surrender is empty bravado. Same thing with his declaration that the AFP will concentrate next on the NPA after Marawi. He obscures the fact that the AFP has long mounted a nationwide all-out war and imposed martial law in Mindanao but could not stop the NPA from advancing across the country. The AFP could not even complete its war in Marawi without inciting widespread Moro indignation and will likely face greater armed resistance in the coming months.

The NPA will continue to carry out tactical offensives in order to hold the Duterte regime accountable for all its crimes and rights abuses committed in the course of its triple wars, as well as corruption and subservience to US imperialism.

Martial Law not a tale of the past; transform remembering into revolutionary dissent

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NPA Northern Samar

NORTHERN SAMAR – In the occasion of the 45th anniversary commemoration of the declaration of Martial Law, the New People’s Army-Rodante Urdal Command (NPA-RUC) reminds the public of the valuable lessons of Martial Law, invokes people to denounce Duterte-Marcos tandem’s persistent efforts to revise history, calls for vigilance on the orchestrated scheme to railroad the implementation of Martial Law in the entire country and dares the Filipino people to transform resistance against Martial Law into revolutionary dissent.

“Martial Law is not a tale of the past long gone. Remnants of Martial Law are still existent, US-Duterte’s fascism is reminiscent of the horrors of the past and the conditions for revolutionary dissent are ripe more than ever,” Amado Pesante, RUC Spokeserson said.

Pesante said the semicolonial semifeudal system was the very condition that brought iron-hand rule of then President Ferdinand Marcos by declaring Martial Law in September 21, 1972. “The crisis of a semicolonial semifeudal system in the 70s rendered people’s dissent inevitable. US-Marcos found no other recourse but suppress the escalating anger through Martial Law. But instead of containing anger, state fascism has only exposed the rottenness of the system and aroused people to tread the revolutionary path,” Pesante noted.

“45 years thereafter, the crisis has intensified to extreme heights as the global capitalist system failed to recover since the global economic crisis of 2008. The problem of a semicolonial semifeudal system has only aggravated, state fascism under US-Duterte piled up human rights violations and the revolutionary strength remains undefeated and ever growing in the face of all-out, albeit pretentious, counter-insurgency programs such as the Development Support and Security Plan (DSSP) Kapayapaan,” he added.

“The case of Martial Law is not just a narrative of the strongman rule of Marcos. Neither is it just about our disgust against the ‘Imeldific’ lifestyle of the Marcoses from their ill-gotten wealth. Martial Law is an expression of a failed socioeconomic system and the people’s collective aspiration for an alternative social order.”

“This anniversary, lighted candles may no longer be enough. Our collective nostalgia in toppling a dictator should transcend into revolutionary dissent against the system represented by the US-Duterte regime which brings Martial Law very much alive to this day,” Pesante stressed.

Undeclared Martial Law in Northern Samar
Duterte’s idolatry of Marcos enables the rehabilitation of Marcos in ways more than one–from burying the dictator in the Pantheons of Heroes to efforts in providing immunity to the Marcoses. “Duterte’s revision of history is set to culminate in a declaration of Martial Law in the entire country,” Pesante noted.

While Martial Law has only been declared in Mindanao thus far, cases of rights violations in Northern Samar under DSSP Kapayapaan is akin to the implementation of military rule in the past.

Today, 20th Infantry Batallion has been violating accords signed and reaffirmed in the negotiating table including the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIL). They have camped within civilian villages of Las Navas and Lope de Vega, they have camped within schools and lured children into becoming spies, harassed barrio teachers, detained alleged NPA members, forced villagers to evacuate to safer grounds, committed extrajudicial killings and military surveillance in the guise of Oplan Tokhang here in Northern Samar.

Recently, 8th Infantry Division Major General Raul Farnacio declared Northern Samar as the top ‘insurgency hotbed’ in Eastern Visayas. “Such declaration is both a source of pride and threat. On one hand, the declaration is a recognition of our undefeated revolutionary strength and a concession of their counter-insurgency programs’ utter failure. On the other hand, it poses threat that state fascism is set to trample upon civilian rights of farmers in the countrysides,” Pesante noted.

“There are killings both in the countrysides and in urban centers in compliance to US-Duterte’s marching orders. State forces go scot-free as Duterte pledged to back police forces and declared all-out war against the revolutionary movement instead of renegotiating peace. Impunity has become a culture of its own not just in Mindanao where writ of habeas corpus has been suspended but all corners of the country where Duterte’s mercenary minions play around.”

‘Few gold bars’ a spit on the grave
Last September 15, NPA-RUC joined the bereaved families of Sag-od massacre victims in their 36th anniversary commemoration. To recall, in September 15, 1981, 18 armed men mercilessly killed 44 men, women and children living in the peaceful village of Barangay Sag-od in Las Navas, Northern Samar. The armed men were identified as the Special Forces—Integrated Civilian Home Defense Forces (SF-ICHDF) employed to protect the San Jose Timber Corporation, a logging concessionaire of Juan Ponce Enrile in the same municipality.

“We support the people’s call for justice. But justice does not end in meager compensation given out by the government to families of the victims from the Marcoses’ few gold bars. Ultimately, it is about toppling the semicolonial semifeudal system that perpetuates heinous massacres and a killing spree of poverty and economic inequality,” Pesante noted.

“We call on everyone to end Martial Law in Mindanao, oppose the foredoomed implementation of Martial Law in the country, oppose Duterte’s rehabilitation of the Marcoses and render Oplan Kapayapaan impotent in quelling the revolutionary struggle. What Martial Law taught us is that history has always been in the hands of the masses. We call on the people to unite against the despotic rule of US-Duterte by winning the revolutionary war,” Pesante ended.

REFERENCE:

Amado Pesante,
NPA-Northern Samar (Rodante Urtal Command)
21 September 2017

45th Commemoration of Marcos’ Martial Law, a resurrected zombie under US-Duterte Regime

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PRESS STATEMENT
September 21, 2017
[Bisaya»]

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines – North Central Mindanao Region (NDFP-NCMR) fervently condemns the US-Duterte’s martial law, which does not have a big difference of Marcos’ martial law, 45 years ago. However, the state’s fangs became sharper in implementing this, considering the massive killings which already victimized more or less 10,000 already.

Widespread human rights violations
It could be recalled that under the horrifying martial law of Marcos, 3,240 were killed through salvage and summary executions, 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 1,000 were desaparacedos. Marcos successfully implemented these through scrapping the writ of habeas corpus and through the predominance of military forces over all aspects of the society.

To manipulate public opinion, Marcos shut-downed all media stations and suppressed them from exposing the facts under his dictatorship. This resulted to extensive press freedom violations. The people were also deprived of their right to organization and assembly.

Up until now, thousands of the victims and families of those victims were still echoing for justice. Bunch of those who were abducted are not yet being surfaced.

Despite of the grave injustice of the previous martial law, US-Duterte Regime was still determined in imposing this in Mindanao and even threatened the public to implement this nationwide.

At present, not less than 200,000 families forcedly evacuated from their communities in Marawi City. Thousands of civilians were killed, including those who died in the evacuation center and those tagged as ‘Maute’ who were killed by the soldiers. 29,250 displaced students are also at the evacuation centers and forcedly stopped from going to school. Not less than 100 civilians are also missing until present.

Aside from Marawi City, the Lumad in the countryside are also experiencing human rights violations, under the concealed OPlan Kapayapaan of Duterte. Through his martial law, the soldiers, policemen, and its paramilitary groups are licensed to harass, kill, threat and violate the basic rights of the Lumad. Hence, up until now, the Lumad are still in their shanties in front of the Capitol Grounds in Bukidnon to demand the end of militarization in their communities.

On July 12, members of PNP Public Safety Company arbitrarily arrested a couple Ryan and Gretchen Espera, member of Kasama-Bukidnon, a peasant’s progressive organization in the province. Members of the 8th Infantry Battalion also arrested peasants Roel and Eric Calolot on June 23, in Purok 9, Kiburiao, Quezon, Bukidnon and were forced to claim the bombs which were taken by the soldiers. Troops of 58th IB also committed a frustrated killing to Roy Ibarat of Pangalasag, based in Opol, Misamis Oriental. Soldiers also indiscriminately fired the farmers in Purok 1, Magsaysay, Quezon, Bukidnon on September 9.

Duterte’s counter-insurgency program served to suppress the people’s basic rights. Checkpoints became rampant so they could investigate the innocent civilians. In our region alone, it is estimated that not less than 150 checkpoints have been installed. This will become worse through the National ID System which aims to make the state manipulate every individual’s information. If this would be fully implemented, Philippines will never be far to becoming a police state. On July 24 for example, during Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), military and policemen, through their mounted checkpoint, forcedly held 2,500 civilians from attending a protest action in Iligan City.

Of exceedingly idolizing Marcos, Duterte manipulated the AFP to dominate the information environment to suppress the people from knowing the incidents. He may not shut down media stations, yet there is the dictate and monopoly of whatever statement or news to spread. Hence, only the state could propagate in the news which are mostly fake or half true and half lies. This is implemented by his US puppet-to-the-bones accomplice Lorenzana, Esperon, Año and dela Rosa (LEAD).

No other interest: to dominate the economic power
In Marcos’ martial law, the country suffered from the $28.3 billion foreign debt. This was due to his installation of different infrastructures, just like the farm-to-market roads, bridges and of cluttering corruptions under martial law. US monopolies were allowed to have permanent economic enclaves by the creation of free trade zones, where they are beyond the tax laws of the Philippine puppet government. Marcos and his cronies such as Rodolfo Cuenca, Herminio Disini, Roberto Benedicto, and Eduardo Cojuangco benefitted from the imposition of terror. With this, Marcos also secured an ill-gotten wealth range from $5-35 billion. Up until now, this was not returned to the people, the rightful owner of the wealth.

Duterte’s martial law is also the same. While there are a lot of civilians who were treated as “collateral damage” in the OPlan Tokhang, he also implemented his plans of installing different infrastructures, through his “Build, build, build.” He submitted Marawi to his businessmen/capitalists accomplice so they could “rehabilitate” this and enjoy the large amount of fund indebted from China which would eventually make the Philippines as “debt slave.”

To acquiesce the US’ “war on terror,” he bombed Marawi and its adjacent communities almost every day which abet the AFP another P1 billion additional budget for the purchase of bombs, ammos, and fuel. This would be another racket for corruption of the generals. He bluffs about exterminating the “terrorists” which is in fact, exterminating the people’s legitimate struggle. This war on terror is only a concealment to ultimately squeeze out the country’s remaining resources.

People’s struggle
The two dictator’s basis of imposing martial law is common: the people’s struggle.

The Filipino people greatly struggle during the Marcos dictatorship. This could be seen with the founding of Kabataang Makabayan (KM) on 1964. On 1968, Communist Party of the Philippines was also reestablished and was followed on 1969 by the New People’s Army (NPA). The people’s discontentment became blatant. The fascist dictator Marcos then imposed martial law on 1972.

Also at present, the revolutionary movement strengthened. Mass bases of the revolutionary movement expanded, NPA fighters increased in numbers, the resistance of the Moro people and of the national minorities intensified, and the demands of the oppressed and exploited became widespread.

Hence, it could be remembered that instead of conducting peace talks with the NDFP, Duterte instead demanded to sign a bilateral ceasefire. Since US-Duterte regime failed to do so, he just implemented martial law.

But more than remembering the dark days of the Filipino people during Marcos’ martial law, we should also remember the heroic uprising of the people which decisively paved way to the end of martial law. Through EDSA People Power Uprising on 1986 and through the armed struggle, the repugnant martial law was scrapped and the fascist dictator was ousted. It could be remembered that thousands of activists, especially among the youth and students, held arms to ultimately fight the fascist dictator.

Hence, the NDF-NCMR call upon all the people to further strengthen our unity and resist martial law in Mindanao and its pending implementation nationwide. We will never allow the horror of martial law which was already at its wake 31 years had passed! #

For Reference,
Cesar Renerio
Spokesperson
National Democratic Front – NCMR

PAMAHAYAG SA MEDIA
September 21, 2017

Ika-45 nga kasumaran Sa Martial Law Ni Marcos, daw zombie nga nabanhaw panahon SA Rehimeng US-Duterte

Hugot nga gikundena sa National Democratic Front – North Central Mindanao Region (NDF-NCMR) ang Martial Law sa rehimeng US-Duterte nga walay dakong kalahian sa martial law sa kanhing diktaduryang Marcos, 45 ka tuig na ang milabay. Gani, mas nahimo pang labaw kahait ang tango sa estado sa pagpatuman niini sa pagkonsidera sa kaylap nga pagpamatay nga kapin kun kulang 10,000 na.

Kaylap nga pagpanglapas sa tawhanong katungod
Kahinumduman nga mikabat sa 3,240 ang gipatay, 70,000 ang gipriso, 34,000 ang gi-tortyur, ug 1,000 ang gidagit sa makalilisang nga martial law ni Marcos. Nahimong malampuson si Marcos sa pagpatuman niini tungod sa pagbasura sa writ of habeas corpus ug pagpatigbabaw sa pwersang militar sa halos tanang aspeto sa katilingban.

Aron mamanipula ang opinyong publiko, gisirhan sa diktaduryang Marcos ang tanang istasyon sa midya ug gihikawan sa katungod nga mopasibaw sa tinuod nga mga panghitabo. Miresulta kini sa kaylap nga pagpanglapas sa kagawasan sa pagpamahayag. Gihikawan usab ang katawhan sa gawasnong pag-organisa ug asembliya.

Hangtud sa kasamtangan, liboan pa gihapon sa mga biktima ug pamilya sa mga biktima ang nagsinggit og hustisya. Daghan pa sa mga gidagit kaniadto ang wala nakita hangtod karon.

Apan taliwala sa grabeng inhustisya sa milabay’ng martial law, determinado pa gihapon ang rehimeng US-Duterte nga ipahamtang kini sa Mindanao ug nagbahad pa nga ipakanaog kini sa tibuok nasud.

Sa kasamtangan, mikabat na sa dili momenos sa 200,000 ka pamilya ang naipit sa gyera sa Marawi ug pugos nga nagbakwit gikan sa ilahang komunidad. Liboan ka mga sibilyan ang napatay, lakip na dinhi ang mga namatay sa evacuation center ug mga gika-ingong ‘Maute’ kuno nga napatay sa mga sundalo. Mokabat na usab sa 7,028 ka mga estudyante ang anaa karon sa evacuation center ang pugos nga naundang sa ilahang pag-eskwela. Dili na usab moubos sa 100 ka sibilyan ang missing hangtud sa kasamtangan.

Gawas sa Marawi City, anaa usab ang pagpamig-ot sa mga igsoon natong Lumad sa kabanikanhan, sa takuban sa Oplan Kapayapaan ni Duterte. Tungod sa martial law, nahatagan karon og lisensya ang mga kasundalohan, kapulisan ug mga alipures niining mga grupong paramilitar diha sa pagpanghasi, pagpamatay, pagpangbahad ug uban pang pagpanglapas sa tawhanong katungod ngadto sa mga Lumad. Busa, hangtud sa kasamtangan, anaa pa gihapon ang presensya sa mga Lumad atubangan sa Capitol Grounds sa Bukidnon aron ipanawagan ang pagpahunong sa militarisasyon sa ilahang mga komunidad.

Niadtong Hulyo 12 sa Valencia City, Bukidnon, arbitraryong gi-aresto sa PNP Public Safety Company ang magtiayong sila Ryan ug Gretchen Espera, membro sa Kasama-Bukidnon, progresibong organisasyon sa mga mag-uuma sa prubinsya. Giaresto usab sa 8th IB ang managsuong mag-uuma nga silang Roel ug Eric Calolot niadtong Hulyo 23, sa Purok 9, Kiburiao, Quezon, Bukidnon ug pugos nga gipaangkon sa ilaha ang mga bomba nga nakuha sa mga kasundalohan. Gisulayan usab pagpatay sa mga sundalo sa 58th IB ang lider-Lumad nga si Roy Ibarat sa Pangalasag, nga nakabase sa Opol, Misamis Oriental. Gipamusil usab sa mga sundalo ang mga mag-uuma sa Purok 1, Magsaysay, Quezon, Bukidnon niadtong Setyembre 9.

Ang kontra-insurhensiyang programa ni Duterte nagsilbi aron hikawan ang katawhan sa ilang mga batakang katungod. Kaylap ang pagmontar og mga tsekpoynt aron rekisahon ang mga sibilyan. Sa atong rehiyon, gibana-banang dili moubos sa 150 ka mga tsekpoynt ang gimontar. Labaw pa kining gipagrabe sa pasistang National ID System nga nagtinguhang i-manipula sa estado ang impormasyon sa tanang indibidwal. Kun mahingpit kini, mahimo na’ng usa ka police state ang Pilipinas. Kaniadtong Hulyo 24 pananglitan, atol sa State of the Nation Address (SONA) ni Duterte, giharang sa gimontar nga tsekpoynt sa kapulisan ug militar ang 2,500 ka mga sibilyan nga motambong unta sa gipahigayong lihok-protesta sa Iligan City.

Sa tumang pag-idolo niya kang Marcos, gimanipula niini ang pagdomina sa AFP sa information environment aron hikawan ang katawhan sa tiunay nga kasayuran sa mga panghitabo. Wala tuod niya siradohi ang mga istasyon sa midya, apan anaa ang pagdikta ug pagmonopolyo sa unsa mang ipagawas nga pamahayag ug balita. Busa, lunlon estado lamang ang makapagarpar sa balita nga kasagaran peke o katunga tinuod ug katunga bakak. Gipatuman kini sa iyang mga dulot-sa-bukog-nga-pagkaitoy sa US nga mga sagabay sama nilang Lorenzana, Esperon, Año ug Dela Rosa (LEAD).

Walay laing interes: pagdomina sa gahum pang-ekonomiya
Sa martial law ni Marcos, nalubong ang nasud sa $28.3 billion nga utang sa langyaw’ng tigpautang. Tungod kini sa pagtukod niya sa nagkalain-laing imprastruktura, sama sa farm-to-market road, mga tulay ug sa korapsyon nga naghitak ubos sa martial law. Gitugutan niini ang Estados Unidos nga mag-instalar og pang-ekonomiyang engklabo pinaagi sa mga free trade zones, nga dili na mopailalom sa balaod sa pamuhis sa gobyerno sa Pilipinas. Dakong bahin sa mga nakabenepisyo niini mao ang mga dagkung burgesya kumprador, sama nilang Rodolfo Cuenca, Herminio Disini, Roberto Benedicto ug Eduardo Cojuangco. Niini, dako usab ang nakurakot ni Marcos nga mokabat og $5-$35 billion. Hangtud sa kasamtangan, wala pa kini mabalik sa kamot sa katawhan, nga maoy tinuod nga nanag-iya niini.

Susama usab ang martial law ni Duterte. Samtang daghang sibilyan ang giisip nga “collateral damage” sa OPlan Tokhang, gipatuman usab niya ang laraw pagpanukod og lain-laing imprastruktura, pinaagi sa iyang “Build, build, build.” Gitanyag niya ang Marawi ngadto sa mga sagabay niyang mga negosyante/kapitalista alang sa pag-rehabilitate kuno niini ug pistahan ang dakong pundong giutang niya sa China nga maghimo sa Pilipinas nga “ulipon sa utang.”

Sa pagsanong sa kagustohan sa US sa “gubat niini sa terorismo,” halos adlaw-adlaw nga gibombahan niini ang Marawi ug mga kasikbit nga dapit nga nakaaghat sa AFP og laing P1 ka bilyon ka pesos nga dugang kunong badyet alang sa pagpalit og mga bomba, bala, ug gasolina. Lain na usab kining raket sa korapsyon sa mga heneral. Gipasiatab niini ang pagpuo sa mga “terorista” nga sa pagkatinuod, mao ang pagpuo sa lehitimong pakigbisog sa katawhan. Kining gubat sa terorismo takuban lamang sa ultimo nilang katuyoang pugaon ang nahabiling bahandi sa nasud.

Pagsukol sa katawhan
Komon sa duha ka diktador ang kapasikaran sa pagpahamtang sa martial law: ang pagsukol sa katawhan.

Kusog ang pagsukol sa katawhang Pilipino panahon sa diktaduryang Marcos. Makita kini sa pagkatukod sa Kabataang Makabayan (KM) niadtong 1964. Gisundan dayon kini sa pagkahimugso sa Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) niadtong 1968 ug sa Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB) niadtong 1969. Dayag kaayo ang pagkadiskuntento sa katawhan. Dinhi dayon gipahamtang sa pasistang diktador nga si Marcos ang Martial Law niadtong 1972.

Sa kasamtangan usab, samot pang nagkakusog ang rebolusyunaryong kalihukan. Mas nagkalapad na ang baseng masa sa rebolusyunaryong kalihukan, nagkadaghan na ang ihap sa BHB, nagkakusog na ang pagsukol sa katawhang Moro ug mga nasudnong minorya, ug nagkasibaw na ang singgit sa katawhang pinahimuslan ug dinaug-daog.

Busa, mahinumduman nga imbes mopahigayon og panaghisgot sa kalinaw ang gobyerno sa Pilipinas ug ang NDFP, nagdemanda na hinuon si Duterte nga pirmahan ang usa ka baylateral sispayr. Apan kay wala man magmalampuson ang rehimeng US-Duterte sa maong laraw, mipakanaog na lang kini og balaod militar.

Apan gawas sa paghinumdum sa mangilngig nga kasinatian sa katawhang Pilipino sa martial law ni Marcos, hinumduman usab nato nga ang mabayanihong pagsukol sa katawhan nga maoy nakapapas sa balaod militar. Pinaagi sa EDSA People Power niadtong 1986 ug sa pag-asdang sa armadong pakigbisog, nabasura ang mangilngig nga balaod militar ug napalagpot ang pasistang diktador. Kahinumdumang liboan ka mga aktibista, ilabina sa han-ay sa mga kabatan-onan-estudyante, ang misaka sa kabukiran ug migunit og armas aron hingpit nga suklan ang pasistang diktador.

Busa, ang NDF-NCMR nanawagan sa tanang katawhan nga labaw pang palig-unon nato ang panaghiusa ug batukan ang martial law sa Mindanaw ug ang nag-ung-ong nga imlementasyon niini sa tibuok nasud. Dili nato tugutang mabanhaw pa ang multo sa martial law nga dugay nang gihaya 31 na ka tuig ang milabay! #

Alang sa dugang kasayuran,

Cesar Renerio
Tigpamaba
National Democratic Front – NCMR

NPA-NCMR: lauds disarmament of a usurer; condemns AFP’s fake news

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PRESS STATEMENT
September 20, 2017
[Bisaya»]

The New People’s Army – North Central Mindanao lauds the Mt. Kitanglad Sub-Regional Command – New People’s Army in their successful disarmament against LitoyMarabe, a usurer in Bukidnon and on the other hand, condemns the fake news promulgated by the 8th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army.

On September 9, 2017, 8:30 AM, Red fighters dis-armed Marabe, with his private security guards, in Barangay Tugaya, Valencia city, Bukidnon. This operation was coinciding to Marabe doing his lending activities to the workers of SUMIFRU Company. Seized from the said action were an M16 rifle (M4), a .45 caliber pistol, a VHF radio and a handcuff.

According to reports from the NPA in Mt. Kitanglad, Marabe is a big-time usurer and the owner of Asian Hills Bank. Marabe have had been afflicting small businessmen, workers and farmers through his Micro-finance loan, a lending scheme. He pretended that he had been helpful to those who were lending from him, through a low interest rate per month, yet with countless deductions and beguile calculations. Hence, this action answers the demand of the masses and serves as a warning, not only to the Marabe family, but as well as to the oppressive businessmen and usurers who’s afflicting the people.

On the same day, around 6:00 AM, the 8th IB PA, under the supervision of 2nd Lt. Patricio and 1st Lt. Hernandez, once again promulgated their fake news that there was an encounter between them and the NPA in Purok 1, Magsaysay, Quezon, Bukidnon and they “seized three long firearms after the 10-minutes encounter.” But according to the NPA unit in South Central Bukidnon Sub-Regional Command, there were no NPA fighters operating in the said place on that day, but only residents and farmers who were in their farmlands. The NPA even warned the soldiers not to fire their guns indiscriminately since there are several women in the community who just gave birth.

Prior to this incident, August 23, 2017, 6:00 AM, this similar AFP unit conducted a combat operation in Purok 9, Kiburiao, Quezon, Bukidnon and fired indiscriminately to the farmers who were planting that time. As their usual deed, the AFP immediately propagated this incident as an encounter between the NPA. After the incident, they then arrested two farmers, Ruel and Erick Callot, and forced them to claim the bombs which were taken by the soldiers in a hut, 200 meters from the house of the captive.

These situations further intensified the anger of the people and of the revolutionary movement, for the felonious military seemingly used US-Duterte’s martial law as license to their roughshod military operations in the countryside which gravely affect the livelihood and violate the people’s rights of the people.

Hence, we reiterate our demand to the people to be open-minded and discern the events in our society, if the propaganda of those whom we identify as leaders of the country are truly serving the interest of the people. More than ever, we must oppose the devious intention of the US-Duterte regime of prolonging the imposition of martial law and of the possibility of extending this to the entire country so he could flawlessly implement his OPlanKapayapaan, which is a counter-insurgency program that targets to exterminate the legitimate people’s struggle against the oppressive and exploitative system, yet has no plans for continuing the peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP); OPlanTokhang, which only aims against small and ordinary drug-users, yet has no concrete programs for rehabilitation and livelihood to the victims; and his war-against terror, which whipped-up a Maute-ISIS scare to justify the direct intervention of foreign countries, especially US, in the country’s internal contradictions yet has not given any consideration to the legitimate demands of the Moro people’s right to self-determination. ###

Reference,

Ka. Malem Mabini
Spokesperson
NPA-NCMR

PRESS STATEMENT
20 September 2017

NPA-NCMR:pagdis-armasausurero, gipasidunggan;fake newssa AFP, gipanghimaraot

GIPASIDUNGAN SA New People’s Army – North Central Mindanao (NPA-NCMR) ang Mt. Kitanglad Sub-Regional Command – New People’s Army sa ilahang malampusong operasyong dis-arma batok sa usa ka dakong usero sa Bukidnon nga si Litoy Marabe ug sa pikas bahin, gipanghimaraot ang gipakaylap nga fake news sa 8th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army.

Kaniadtong Setyembre 9, 2017, 8:30 sa buntag, gidis-armahan sa mga Pulang manggugubat si Marabe, uban saiyang pribadong security guard, sa Barangay Tugaya, Valencia City, Bukidnon. Atol kini sa dihang nagpahigayon kini sa iyang aktibidad nga pagpautang ngadto sa mga mamumuo sa kompanyang SUMIFRU. Nakuha sa maong aksyon ang usa (1) ka ripleng M16 (M4), usa (1) ka .45 caliber, usa (1) ka VHF radio ug usa (1) kaposas.

Sa taho sa NPA sa Mt. Kitanglad, usa ka dakong usurero ug tag-iya sa Asian Hills Bank siMarabe. Dugay na kining nagpa-antos sa mga gagmay’ng negosyante, mamumuo ug mag-uuma pinaagi sa iyang Micro-finance loan, nga usa ka eskimang pautang. Nagpa-aron-ingnon kini nga nagatabang sa mga naga utang sa iyaha pinaagi sa ubos nga interes matag bulan, apan didto gina-igo sa daghang deduction ug lipat-lipat nga mga kwentada. Busa, ang maong aksyon nagtubag sa dugay na nga gipangayo sa mga masa ug nagsilbi kining pahimangno, dili lang sa pamilyang Marabe, apan ngadto sa uban pang mapahimuslanong negosyante ug ususero nga hilabihang nagpaantos sa katawhan.

Sa susamang adlaw, sa may alas 6:00 sa buntag, subli na usab nag pagarpar og fake news ang 8th IB PA, ilalom sa pagdumala ni 2nd Lt.Patricioug 1stLt.Hernandez, nga adunay nahitabong engkwentro tali kanila ug sa NPA didto sa Purok 1, Magsaysay, Quezon, Bukidnon ug “nakakuha og tulo ka tag-as nga armas human sa 10 ka minutos nga panagsangka.” Apan sumala sayunit sa NPA nga nahiluna sa South Central Bukidnon Sub-Regional Command (SCBSRC-NPA), walay unit sa NPA nga nag-opereyt niadtong adlawa sa naasoy’ng lugar, hinuon mga residente ug mga mag-uuma lamangang anaa sa ilang kaumahan. Gani, ilapang gisaway ang mga sundalo nga dili magpataka og pabuto tungod kay adunay daghang bag-ong nanganak sa maong komunidad.

Sa wala pa kini, kaniadtong Agosto 23, 2017, alas 6:00 sa buntag, nagpahigayon kining maong yunit sa kasundaluhan og operasyong kombat sa Purok 9, Kiburiao, Quezon, Bukidnon ug gipabuthan ang mga mag-uuma nga nagpugas ni adtong higayona. Susama sa ilang naandan, gibalita dayon sa AFPang maong engkwentro nga tali kuno kanila ug sa NPA. Human sa maong panghitabo, gidakop nila ang duha ka managsuong mag-uuma nga silang Ruelug Erick Calolot ug pugsanong gipaangkon sa ilaang mga bomba nga nakuha sa mga sundalo sa payag, 200 metros ang gilay-on gikan sabalay sa dinakpan.

Kining maong kahimtang samot nga nagpasilaab sa ka suko sa katawhan ug sa rebolusyunaryong kalihukan, sa nahimong lisensya sa berdugong militar ang Martial Law sa rehimeng Us-Deterte sa ilahang paturagas nga operasyong militar sa kabukiran nga hilabihang nakaapekto sa panginabuhian ug nakayatak sa katungod-tawosa katawhan.

Busa, subli kaming nanawagan sa tanang katawhan nga ablihan ang maayong panghuna-huna ug maniid sa tinuod nga nahitabo sa atong katilingban, kung ang mga gipagarpar ba niining giila natong mga lider sa nasud tinuod banga naga-alagad sa interes katawhan. Labaw sa tanang, angay natong batukan ang dautang laraw sa Rehimeng US-Duterte nga ipadugay pa ang imposasyon sa martial law ug mahimong ipakaylap pa kini satibuok nasud aron mapatuman ang iyang Oplan Kapayaan, nga usa ka kontra-insurhensiyang programa nga naga target pagpuo sa lehitimong pagsukol sa katawhan batok sa mapahimuslanon ug madaug-daugong sistema, apan walay plano nga ipadayon ug ipatuman ang hisgutanang kalinaw tali sa National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP); Oplan Tokhang, nga nagpunting lamang sa gagmayugyanongdurogistaapanwal aykongretong programa nga rehabilitasyon ug kapanarbahoan sa nalambigit niini; ug gyerabatok-terorismo, ngakunohay”multosaMaute-ISIS” aron mahatagan og katarungan ang direktang pagpanghilabot sa langyawng nasud, ilabina sa US, sa internal nga panagbangi sa nasud samtang wala man usab ginatagad ang lehitimong demanda sa katawhang Moro alang sa katungod sa kaugalingong paghukom. ###

Alang sa Nasudnong Rebolusyonsa Katawhan,

Ka. Malem Mabini
Tigpamaba
NPA- NCMR

Duterte cheap talk on peace

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Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines
19 September 2017

Photo: Philstar.com

GRP President Duterte was quoted by news reports yesterday saying he was open or not averse to resuming peace talks with the NDFP.

As the Party and NDFP has often stated, it is the policy of the revolutionary forces to remain open to peace negotiations with any ruling regime that expresses willingness to seriously discuss the roots of the armed conflict in accordance with previously agreed principles and procedures as stipulated in The Hague Declaration.

Thus, the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations can resume if Duterte will drop his earlier precondition of a bilateral ceasefire which became the single biggest factor which terminated the talks. The ball is still in Duterte’s hands.

Clearly, Duterte is resurrecting talks of peace negotiations as part of his damage control measures in the face of the increasing isolation of his regime. Duterte is widely blamed for terminating the NDFP-GRP negotiations because of his stubborn insistence to toe the US line of using peace talks as an instrument for the pacification and capitulation of the revolutionary forces.

While open to resuming peace talks with the Duterte regime, revolutionary forces are no longer hopeful that anything substantive will come out of it in the face of Duterte’s subservience to the interests of US imperialism and other big foreign capitalist countries.

How can negotiations on socio-economic questions go anywhere when Duterte zealously implements neoliberal policies and pushes for such anti-people policies as the Compressed Work Week or 12-hour workday, removal of restriction on foreign ownership of public utilities, debt-driven infrastructure projects and others?

What will come out of negotiations on political and constitutional reforms considering Duterte’s all-out subservience to the US military and its counter-insurgency doctrine and aerial bombardment campaign in Marawi and other parts of the country? Duterte’s triple war violates the human rights agreement with impunity. He could not even fulfill his vow to release political prisoners now numbering more than 400.

On the question of resuming the formal peace talks

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Prof. Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant

Despite Duterte´s scuttlling of the 5th round of formal talks in May 2017, the National Democratic Front of the Phiilippines (NDFP) has encouraged the NDFP Negotiating Panel, its Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms (RWC-SER) and its Reciprocal Working Group on Political and Constitutional Reforms (RWG-PCR) to continue their drafting work with the assistance of many experts and consultants and on the basis of consultations with various classes, sectors, institutions and mass organizations.

Indeed, the NDFP Negotiating Panel, the RWC-SER and RWG-PCR have continued their drafting work with the same dedication and enthusiasm as before. They do not wish to throw away the work they have done and have further done towards completing the NDFP draft of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms (CAPCR).

They have anticipated two possibilities: The Duterte regime itself might in due time find it wise and necessary to resume formal peace talks or it cannot last long in power and it is replaced by a new leadership of the GRP that is willing to resume the peace negotiations.
In either case, the NDFP Negotiating Panel, its RWC-SER and its RWG-PCR cannot be disappointed with having worked so hard to do serious research, public consultations and deliberations in order to produce the drafts that they consider worthy of negotiations in the service of the Filipino people.

There is a third possibiity: the Duterte or post-Duterte regime of the GRP is not interested in peace negotiations with the NDFP to address the roots of the armed conflict. Then the peopleś democratic revolution through protracted peopleś war simply proceeds until it overthrows the rotten ruling system. In the meantime, all revolutionary forces and the peopleś democratic government keep on growing.

Duterte’s victims unite for justice and to frustrate fascist dictatorship

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Information Bureau, Communist Party of the Philippines
18 September 2017

Photo By: gmanetwork.com

All victims of Duterte’s political persecution, armed oppression and bloody campaign of mass murder are bound to unite in their common desire for justice and to resist and frustrate his plans to prop himself up as a fascist dictator.

They can come together in mass demonstrations on September 21 to mark the 45th year of the declaration of martial law, recall the fascist crimes of the US-Marcos dictatorship and hold Duterte accountable for the crimes perpetrated in the three wars of his fascist regime.

They must collectively reject Duterte’s threats to use the police and military to break-up demonstrations on the pretext of “rebels taking to the streets.” They must denounce Duterte’s declared plan to impose martial law and his tactics to divide and intimidate the swelling ranks of the people clamoring for his ouster.

In the course of the next few weeks and months, more and more local assemblies, indoor rallies and street demonstrations can be mounted to reach out and mobilize the biggest number of people in their communities and towns.

Barangay centers, auditoriums, ampitheaters and coliseums can serve as venues to try Duterte for his crimes, hear the grievances of his victims and galvanize them to action.

They must raise their unity against Duterte’s bureaucrat capitalist rule, puppetry to US imperialism especially military intervention in Marawi and elsewhere, imposition of new taxes, surrender of territory to China in exchange for onerous and burdernsome loans, demolition of homes, land grabbing for plantations and infrastructure projects and other anti-people policies and programs.

No amount of Duterte bravado, political and legal maneuvers and relentless propaganda will stop the groundswell of protest actions demanding an end to his regime of death and destruction.

In just over a year, the Duterte regime has mounted three wars and has victimized nearly a million people. It has carried out a campaign of mass murder and aerial bombings in the course of its anti-drug war hoax, its nearly genocidal war to destroy Marawi and suppress Moro resistance and its Mindanao martial law and nationwide all-out war.

Duterte has never been an ally of the revolutionary movement — Joma Sison

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(BMP – Free Philippines News Agency)
PRESS RELEASE
18 September 2017

The revolutionary movement has never been in alliance or in united front with Duterte and he has never been an ally of the revolutionary movement.

This was stressed by Prof. Jose Ma. Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) negotiating panel, during brief remarks* at the reopening of the National Democratic Front International Information Office in Utrecht, The Netherlands last September 15, 2017.

Professor Sison explained that comrades in Mindanao, particulary in the southern Mindanao region which covers Davao City, have aptly described Duterte a bureaucrat capitalist – a politician who creates private wealth for himself using his public office. According to Sison, Mindanao comrades have described Duterte as capable of saying and doing anything that is left, middle or right, depending on what serves him from moment to moment.

Professor Sison said some people mistakenly understood that the effort to promote the peace negotiations (between the Duterte regime and the NDFP) already involves a working alliance. The Duterte regime, Sison said, offered as many as four cabinet posts to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) publicly, but Sison said the CPP cannot accept any government position while there are talks. But he said, Duterte could appoint patriotic and progressive individuals who are highly qualified, honest and diligent.

“There was never a united front deal. As a matter of fact, Duterte doesn’t want a coalition government but only an inclusive government under his leadership. It is by way of undertaking goodwill measure that the NDFP recommended meritorious individuals,” Professor Sison emphasized.

Sison assailed some reactionary political forces who claim that the revolutionary movement has been in alliance with Duterte and trying to blame the movement for the human rights violations committed by Duterte.

Sison dismissed as fantastic Duterte’s claim that there is a “Duterte faction” within the revolutionary movement.

Sison admitted there was a recommendation to the NDFP to entertain Duterte as a possible ally. But he explained the recommendation is conditional to the peace negotiations.

On the broad united front against the Duterte regime, Sison said the revolutionary movement is ready to work with a broad united front of various political forces, including reactionaries who are against the reactionary Duterte regime which is now considered to be the enemy. He said the most important reactionaries that can result in the quick ouster of Duterte would be the military and police officers and units, who would turn against Duterte. (Gregoria Magbanua)#

Duterte demands NPA surrender thru ceasefire while waging all-out war

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Information Bureau | Communist Party of the Philippines
September 09, 2017

  1. Duterte’s demand for an NPA ceasefire while the AFP conducts all-out war as precondition for peace talks is a demand to surrender. This is an unacceptable. Does Duterte really take the revolutionary forces for fools?
  2. Duterte has lost all moral ground to make such a demand. Recall that the NPA declared a ceasefire on August 19, 2016 which lasted for close to 160 days as a response to Duterte’s signed commitment to release around 500 political prisoners through an amnesty proclamation. Duterte, however, wasted the goodwill of the NDFP when it failed to fulfill its commitment and took advantage of the NPA ceasefire to deploy his soldiers and conduct military offensives.
  3. In the face of Duterte’s tyrannical rule and triple war, the people clamor for the NPA to mount more and more tactical offensives. Victories of the people’s army inspire resistance amid widespread killings and the climate of fear imposed by the Duterte regime.
  4. The NPA launches tactical offensives to bring to account the Duterte regime and its soldiers and police for thousands upon thousands of Oplan Tokhang killings, the successive killing of peasants, national minorities and youths, military occupation of civilian communities, aerial bombings and shelling, the near-genocidal war against the Maranaos of Marawi, arbitrary arrests and detention and so on.
  5. As proven in the past, NDFP-GRP negotiations can proceed and make progress even while the civil war rages. As a matter of principle, the revolutionary forces remain open to negotiations as a means to attain a just and lasting peace even as it wages people’s war, conduct tactical offensives and confront the US-Duterte regime’s Oplan Kapayapaan all-out war. The NDFP-GRP negotiations, however, cannot be fruitful while Duterte remains obsessed with Oplan Kapayapaan and demanding NPA capitulation.
  6. The Filipino people and their revolutionary forces have waged close to fifty years of people’s war. They do not tire. They are determined as ever to wage revolution because they seek to end the unbearable sufferings of workers and peasants under the oppressive and exploitative system.
  7. Duterte threatens to wage fifty more years of counterrevolutionary war. By the looks of it, Duterte may not even last his term. He has roused the anger of the Filipino people and caused his increasing isolation. The revolutionary movement will surely outlast the US-Duterte regime.

National ID system in the hands of murderous strongman will have terrible results

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Information Bureau | Communist Party of the Philippines
September 5, 2017

Photo: GettyImages

Duterte’s feverish push to implement a National ID system is part of his machinations to establish a totalitarian state of mass surveilance, population control, social, political and criminal profiling and mass murder.

The draft law of the National ID system has been bulldozed by Duterte’s supermajority of political allies in the House of Representatives. Will the GRP Senate pass the proposed ID system with similar dispatch and prove itself to be no more than a rubberstamp than the lower house is?

The Party joins the Filipino people in opposing the National ID system. In the hands of the Duterte regime, especially its security, military and police agencies, the National ID system will serve as an additional weapon for fascist suppression. There will be terrible results once such a weapon is placed in the hands of a strong-man tyrant as Duterte who is obsessed with summary killings and mass murder as “solution” to social problems, to silence his political opponents and suppress people’s resistance.

Such a system has long been proposed by the AFP and PNP and US military and security advisers to facilitate mass surveillance through the centralization of the collection and storage (or databasing) of personal information. Past regimes have failed to push the National ID system confronted with popular opposition. The US imperialists will congratulate Duterte if he succeeds on ramming the repressive system.

Duterte’s proposed system aims to collect an inclusive list of personal information in violation of civil rights. This include DNA information, which even under current GRP jurispudence, require a court injunction. Duterte’s National ID system will be a deathblow to privacy rights. In the hands of a repressive and oppressive state, the collection of such information will surely be weaponized and used as a tool for mass surveillance, social, political and criminal profiling.

In many capitalist countries, centralized databases of personal information collected officially as well as illegally have been used by military and security agencies for mass surveillance and “terrorist profiling” leading to stigmatizing of social, religious and political groups and false accusations against individuals.

To conceal its insiduous aims and dupe the people to support the proposed identification system, the Duterte regime makes false claims that the National ID will serve to expedite the delivery of government service. Such claims are put to dispute by the fact that the Duterte regime continues to cut the budget for public education and public health and other important social services.

How can a National ID system help facilitate the provision of public health when government hospitals are, in fact, being commercialized and privatized in whole and in part? If the priority of government is to provide everyone with free public health, free education, free public housing, public transportation and so on, there is no need for a National ID system for the people to benefit from these.

A national system of identification has nothing to do with the efficiency in the provision of public service. Under the social welfare system of Norway, where there is no such system of national identification, everyone has access to advanced public health care. In contrast, in the United States, which has one of the most extensive system of collecting and centralizing personal information, public access to health care, especially of the economically marginalized, is one of the worst in the world.

Computerization does not make a clean government. This is starkly demonstrated by continuing widespread corruption in government agencies which has computerized its record-keeping and processing. Manipulation of election results in the Philippines have become more widespread, albeit less obvious, through automation.