Archive for category: Statements

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
November 23, 2017

Duterte is the No. 1 terrorist in the Philippines. He is culpable for the abduction, torture and mass murder of an increasing large number of poor people suspected drug users and pushers, peasants and indigenous people in suspected guerrilla fronts and Moro people suspected of aiding the Dawlah Islamiyah from the time of the indiscriminate bombing of Marawi City to the present in several Bangsamoro areas.

And yet Duterte is utterly malicious and shameless in threatening and scheming to label and outlaw as terrorists the suspected members and entireties of such revolutionary organizations as the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People´s Army and even such legal patriotic and progressive organizations as BAYAN and its affiliates.

Duterte´s bloodlust and mania for mass murder are boundless. He expects to wipe out through arbitrary arrests, torture, indefinite detention and massacre of suspected revolutionaries and legal social activists both the armed revolutionary movement and the legal democratic movement in order to set up a fascist dictatorship in the service of US imperialism and his fellow oligarchs among the big compradors, landlords and corrupt bureaucrats.

The US-Duterte regime is hell-bent on frustrating the people´s clamor for peace negotiations to address the roots of the civil war through the adoption and implementation of social, economic, political and constitutional reforms as the basis of a just and lasting peace. The regime is striving to intimidate the people with its own terrorist scheme and crimes in order to seize absolute autocratic power for Duterte and limitless opportunity for the bureaucratic corruption of his family and ruling clique.

Duterte has repeatedly announced his termination or cancellation of his reactionary government’s peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and his decision to proclaim as terrorists the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the legal patriotic and progressive organizations like BAYAN and its affiliates.

As when Marcos imposed fascist dictatorship on the Philippines in 1972, the revolutionary forces, the legal democratic forces and the broad masses of the people now have no choice but to wage all forms of resistance and fight for national sovereignty, democracy, economic development, social and cultural progress and independent foreign policy.

The Filipino people and revolutionary forces waging the people´s democratic revolution have no choice but to intensify the people´s war through an extensive and intensive guerrilla warfare in rural areas and partisan or commando operations in urban areas. The legal democratic forces and broad opposition have no choice but to develop the underground and encourage endangered activists to become fighters in the people´s army.

Duterte is already discredited as a mass murderer, political swindler, a sycophant to foreign powers and a corrupt bureaucrat. These characteristics of his and the ever worsening chronic crisis of the semicolonial and semifeudal ruling system will surely limit his ability to stay in power and accelerate the growth and rise of a revolutionary united front against his rule of greed and terror.

Even within the reactionary armed forces and police, there are already rumblings against the despotic, criminal and corrupt character of the US-Duterte regime. Duterte is now worried to death by his own fear that anti-Duterte officers within his own army and police are inclined to act in the name of the people and unite with the broad opposition and mass movement in order to end the Duterte regime in the same manner that the Marcos and Estrada regimes were ended. ###

November 15, 2017

He was willing to risk his life to serve the people! People’s broadcaster, who listened with the heart to the people, giving them his entire attention, he became the people’s voice during the dark days of the Marcos dictatorship.

Fearless as an active member of the Correspondents, Broadcasters and Reports Association – Action News Service (COBRA-ANS), he broadcast reports of widespread human rights violations by the martial law regime. He risked his life and his job.

As a very popular radio announcer who could render very understandable for the exploited masses the issues of socio-economic injustice, his booming voice and folksy narratives were enthusiastically welcomed by the masa.

We render high tribute to Kaupod Wilfredo “Fred” Sapa who served the people!

May his life of service to the people be an inspiration to the millenials!

May his noble memory live on in our unceasing struggle for freedom!

Our heartfelt condolences to his family, relatives, many colleagues and friends!

Luis G. Jalandoni
Senior Adviser, Negotiating Panel
National Democratic Front of the Philippines

Press Release | November 15, 2017

The New People’s Army (NPA) takes full responsibility and expresses remorse for the unfortunate and unnecessary death of an infant and injury to two adult civilians arising from the ambush by an NPA unit in Barangay Tikalaan, Talakag, Bukidnon last November 11.

We hope that the aggrieved families and friends could find it in their hearts, however difficult, to accept our profound apologies. The local NPA unit is already exerting efforts to make amends including extending necessary indemnification.

There is no justification for the aggravation suffered by the civilians in the Bumbaran incident. In waging armed revolution, all units of the NPA abide by the policy of giving the highest regard to the rights of civilians and should take pains to ensure that civilians are protected from harm.

The higher NPA command has already initiated an investigation in order to identify the weaknesses and mistakes and draw lessons to avoid a repeat of such an unfortunate incident.

Ka Oris
Spokesperson
NewPeople’sArmy

Related news: Regarding the ambush of the Bumbaran PNP patrol car

Resist imperialist rivalries and rising threats of war!
Communist Party of the Philippines
November 4, 2017

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) calls on the people of Asia and the world to unite and intensify their resistance against inter-imperialist collusion and rivalries through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and other imperialist instrumentalities which subject the toiling people to worsening forms of oppression and exploitation.

The upcoming APEC summit in Vietnam on November 8-10 and the successive ASEAN and East Asia Summit to be held in the Philippines on November 12-13 and 14 will serve as occasion for the imperialist powers to project their military and political power in the Asia-Pacific region and wring further liberalization policies from the Philippines and other backward economies. US imperialist chieftain Donald Trump is set to visit the Philippines, as well as Japan, China, South Korea and Vietnam.

There is collusion among the the leading global capitalist powers such as the US, Japan, China and Russia, in so far as pushing for all-out liberalization is concerned. The imperialist powers are united in the push to break down trade and investment barriers in order to allow unrestricted plunder of mineral and agricultural resources and cheap labor in the semicolonial and semifeudal countries.

Under the America First policy, the Trump regime seeks to further break down economic barriers to favor US monopoly capitalists. The Trump government has turned its back on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and similar multilateral agreements in favor of bilateral arrangements with individual countries. Trump aims to push around its economic weight (buttressed by its military presence) to force countries to break down trade and investment barriers to favor US monopoly capitalist companies.

On the other side of the multipolar world, China is pushing for “economic integration” of ASEAN and APEC countries under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Like the US, China aims to push for all-out liberalization under its “one belt, one road” project to tighten the integration of these countries into its Factory Asia “global value chain” to take advantage of cheapest available labor. To facilitate rapid transportation of capital goods and consumption commodities, China aims to construct a network of rails and ports. This infrastructure binge, in turn, will help absorb its surplus steel.

There is rivalry and intense contradictions between the leading capitalist powers especially amid the protracted crisis of the global capitalist system. While the US imperialists remain the biggest military power, China continues to strengthen its armed capability and is fast developing its capability to project power overseas. Russia remains the biggest nuclear rival of the US.

The ASEAN is one of the flashpoints of rising inter-imperialist rivalry, mainly over control of the South China Sea trade route which has resulted in US and China saber-rattling.

The US imperialists under Trump are drumbeating threats to launch a war against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in order to justify efforts to build-up its military presence and strengthen its foothold in South Korea and around the South China Sea. The US is using the Duterte regime as an additional noise-maker to foment a war against the DPRK to which North Korea has responded to by fast building its capacity to launch an inter-continental ballisic missile (ICBM) to deliver nuclear payloads as a deterrent against a US attack against it.

Instead of pushing for the demilitarization of the South China Sea and, thus, reduce the possibility of the Philippines being pulled into a vortex of war, the Duterte regime is further stoking the tensions by turning a blind eye on China’s occupation of Philippine claims in exchange for promises of Chinese loans and capital infusion, on the one hand; and, on the other, allowing the US military to continue using Philippine territorial seas for its power projection operations and Philippine ports for docking, refuelling and provisioning of US warships.

The US military has also set its sights on strengthening its military presence in the Malacca Straits, the narrow international sea passageway from the Indian Ocean through Malaysia’s waters to Southeast Asia. The “ISIS threat” and “high seas piracy” in the Malaccas now being played up by the Duterte regime is being used by the US to justify its growing presence and joint exercises with the militaries of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore as well as with Australia as a counterpoint to China’s own efforts to increase its presence in that part of the region. Duterte and the US military are now singing the same tune with regard “drugs and terrorism” in order to justify the Plan Colombia-type US intervention in the Philippines.

US imperialist chief Trump’s visit to the Philippines in line with the ASEAN Summit will further cement the master-puppet relationship with the Duterte regime. He will surely be pleased by the Duterte regime’s vigorous push for further economic liberalization, particularly with its rush to further open the economy to full foreign control by trimming down the “negative list” of areas of the economy reserved to Filipinos. Under the guise of “federalism,” Duterte is also rushing charter change in order to remove restrictions against foreign ownership of local enterprises, something which the US imperialists have long sought.

Trump also aims to secure US military presence in the Philippines through US military bases and facilities under the EDCA, rotating forces of the US military, regular dockings of US naval warships, joint military exercises and so on. The Trump visit will highlight the US role in Marawi, specifically, its role in leading the arrest operations against Isnilon Hapilon (whose capture or death was offered a $5 million reward by the US State Department), and in the conduct of electronic surveillance, aerial bombings and drone strikes.

The imperialist chief’s visit will altogether trump Duterte’s claims of upholding an independent foreign policy and prove it to be an empty brag. Duterte has largely proved himself to be subordinate to US policy dictates, especially with regard US counter-insurgency doctrine and US “war on terror.” To obscure his subservience to US imperialism, Duterte claims of being a target of a CIA assassination plot, when in fact he is a closet puppet of the US government. Duterte is no Fidel Castro.

As the imperialists and their subalterns congregate in their high-flying summits, the CPP calls on the Filipino people and their revolutionary forces to mount protests in the cities and launch tactical offensives in the countryside to underscore their demand for national and social liberation.

The Filipino people must confront the Duterte regime’s subservience to US imperialism, particularly, its counterinsurgency doctrine and “war on terror” which serve as pretext for US military presence, intervention and control of the AFP. They should also denounce the regime’s push for all-out economic liberalization in order to comply with US and China dictates and attract foreign investments.

Press Statement | November 2, 2017
[Bisaya»]

The New People’s Army – North Central Mindanao Region (NPA-NCMR) condemns the US-Rodrigo Duterte regime for deploying a new battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Southern Bukidnon this month.

It had been only two weeks since the 88th Infantry Battalion reached the old camp of the 8th IB in Maramag, Bukidnon, militarization had already intensified against the people and the revolutionary forces of the said area.

Despite with the vast plantations for ready-to-export products, of foreign corporate farmlands in the province, their expansion did not cease which will even ravage the agricultural lands. From here, infrastructure projects are setting down to build the Pulangui Dam–V and Maramag-Don Carlos Airport that will invite more foreign investments to the province, as anticipated by the bureaucrat capitalists.

According to reports, the Pulangi Dam-V will aggregate the rivers in Bukidnon and Cotabato and will clear the 40,000 hectares of forest, agricultural and ancestral lands in 22 barrios in the provinces of Bukidnon, Maguindanao and North Cotabato. 2,800 families of Matigsalog tribe in Kitaotao, Bukidnon and Tagabawas tribe in Cotabato will be affected of possible flooding of the said dam. More or less 6,700 families will also be affected with their livelihood, such as farming, fishing and small-scale mining of gold in the river. Overall, more than 800,000 residents from Maramag, Bukidnon, Moro communities in Liguasan Marsh and in Cotabato City, Maguindanao will be affected with this project, who are principally depend on the water from Pulangui river for their irrigation, fishing and other livelihood.

The Maramag-Don Carlos Airport will also convert hundreds of hectares of farmland as airfield. Despite of the fact that the province and region already experienced several calamities, such as floods, landslides and forest fires, Del Monte, Dole-Itochu, Sumifru, Davco and A. Brown did not cease of devastating even those declared by the Department of Environment and Natural resources (DENR) as watersheds and protected areas.

Hence, the current situation is very timely for the imposition of martial law in Mindanao and intensive offensives against the revolutionary movement and the armed resistance of the Moro, so they could lay more of their AFP troops and Lumad bandit groups in the ancestral lands. Hence, it is even more blatant that the mandate of the 88th IB, under the leadership of Lt. Col. Allan Ortal, is to defend the interest of the companies who were drooling to plunder the lands. In a time or two, we could anticipate the aggravating militarization, violation of people’s rights of the peasants and of the right to self-determination of the Lumad.

It has been more blatant to the people that the US-Duterte regime’s plot was just to hasten the establishment of pro-imperialist infrastructures through his “Build, Build, Build,” in order to submit the resources and labor forces of the country to his bosses such as the US, China and other superior foreign countries. Military oppression aims nothing, but to exploit the life of the toiling masses.

As response to this, armed and unarmed resistance will surely reciprocate the said objective of the 4th Infantry Division. The NPA-NCMR is in its favorable political and moral position to put the armed aggression of the said battalion into complete failure, may it be anywhere in the province or anytime they want to.

The encroachment of these giant foreign companies will intensify the resistance that the people of Bukidnon have been waging. They grasped with them the heroic and militant tradition of resisting and persevering for more than four decades, even before late President Marcos imposed martial law on 1972. The 88th IB and the AFP organization as a whole should always remember that the NPA strengthen, expanded and became triumphant within the 48 years of its being because of the fascist and repressive system that had been the oppressed and exploited masses’ daily meal. #

Ka Malem Mabini
Spokesperson
NPA-NCMR

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Press Statement | Nobyembre 2, 2017

Dugang batalyon sa Bukidnon, dugang katalagman

Gikundena sa New People’s Amy – North Central Mindanao Region (NPA-NCMR) ang laraw sa rehimeng US-Rodrigo Duterte sa pagbubo niini og bag-ong batalyon sa Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa Southern Bukidnon niining bulana.

Mag-duha ka semana pa lang sukad makaabot sa daang kampo sa 8th IB sa Maramag, Bukidnon ang 88th Infantry Battalion, wala’g-tuo na ang militarisasyon nga nasinati sa katawhan ug rebolusyonaryong pwersa sa maong lugar.

Taliwala sa nagbanig nga mga plantasyon sa mga langyaw nga korporadong umahan sa probinsya alang sa produktong pang-eksport, wala pa gihapo’y paglurang ang ilang pagpalapad nga nagaligis sa mga yutang agrikultural nga gitamnan sa pagkaon. Lambigit niini, nag-atang nga makaplastar ang mga proyektong imprastruktura sama sa Pulangui Dam-V ug Maramag – Don Carlos Airport nga maoy gilaoman sa mga burukrata kapitalista nga maoy moimbita og dugang pang mga langyaw’ng tigpamatigayon pasulod sa probinsya.

Magkutay ang proyektong Pulangui Dam-V sa mga suba sa Bukidnon ug Cotabato ug gikataho kining mohawan sa 40,000 ka ektaryang kalasangan, yutang agrikultural ug ansestral sa 22 ka mga baryo sa mga probinsya sa Bukidnon, Maguindanao ug North Cotabato. Mokabat sa 2, 800 ka pamilya sa tribung Matigsalog sa Kitaotao, Bukidnon ug tribung Tagabawas sa Cotabato ang mamahimong malunupan sa tubig gikan sa maong dam.

Mokabat sa 6,700 ka pamilya ang mamahimong maapektohan ang panginabuhian, sama sa pagpanguma, pagpangisda ug pagbiling-biling og bulawan kilid sa suba. Suma-total, mokabat sa kapin 800,000 ka mga lumulupyo gikan sa Maramag, Bukidnon padulong sa mga Moro nga komunidad sa Liguasan Marsh hangtud na sa syudad sa Cotabato sa Maguindanao ang maapektuhan niini nga proyekto nga nagsandig sa tubig gikan sa suba sa Pulangui alang sa ilang irigasyon, pangisdaan ug uban pang panginabuhian.

I-kumbert usab sa Maramag-Don Carlos Airport ang gatusan ka ektaryang umahan aron matukuran og tugpahanan. Bisan kung nakasinati na og mga kalamidad ang probinsya ug rehiyon tungod sa mga pagbaha, pagdahili sa yuta ug pagkasunog sa mga kalasangan, walay paglurang ang mga kompanya sa Del Monte, Dole-Itochu, Sumifru, Davco ug A. Brown sa pagtandog bisan sa gilatid sa Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) nga mga watersheds ug protected areas.

Busa, haom ang pagkakarong kahimtang sa balaod-militar sa Mindanao ug mas gipasubsob nga opensiba batok sa rebolusyonaryong kalihukan ug sa armadong pagdepensa sa mga Moro nga yak-an og daghang mga tropa sa AFP ug mga sulugoon nilang bandidong grupong mga Lumad ang mga yutang ansestral. Busa, hilabihan ka tataw nga ang nag-unang mandato sa 88th IB, ubos ni Lt. Col. Allan Ortal, mao ang pagpanalipod sa interes sa mga kompanyang naglaway nga kawkawon ang maong mga kayutaan. Sa duol nga umaabot, laoman ang mas kaylap nga militarisasyon, paglapas sa katungod-tawo sa mga mag-uuma ug pagyatak sa katungod alang sa kaugalingong paghukom sa mga Lumad.

Labing nahimong tataw lamang ngadto sa katawhan ang mga laraw sa rehimeng US-Duterte nga dali-dalion ang pagtukod niining mga maki-langyaw’ng proyekto, pinaagi sa “Build, Build, Build,” aron itugyan ang bahandi ug kusog-pamuo sa nasud ngadto sa iyang among Estados Unidos, China ug uban pang gamhanang nasud. Walay laing tinguha ang pagpangdaug-daog militar, kundili labaw pang pagpahimulos sa kinabuhi sa masang nilupigan.

Isip tugbang niini, malaoman nga pagatagbuon sa armado ug dili-armadong pagsukol ang maong laraw sa 4th Infantry Division. Ang NPA – North Central Mindanao anaa sa tukmang pulitikanhon ug moral nga posisyon sa pagpakyas sa armadong pagpangatake sa maong batalyon, asa mang bahin sa probinsya ug unsa mang orasa niini gustuhon.

Ang pagpanghasmag sa higanteng mga langyaw’ng kampanya labaw lang nga mopadilaab sa pagsukol nga nasugdan na sa katawhan sa Bukidnon. Gihawiran nila ang mabayanihon ug palaban nga tradisyon sa pagsukol ug paglahutay sulod na sa kapin upat ka dekada sa wala pa gipakanaog ni Presidente Marcos ang balaod militar kaniadtong 1972. Angay timan-an sa 88th IB ug sa tibuok organisasyon sa AFP nga milig-on, milapad ug nagmalampuson ang NPA sulod sa 48 ka tuig tungod sa pasismo ug mapanumpoong sistema nga sa adlaw-adlaw nahimo nang kinaon sa masang dinaugdaug ug pinahimuslan. #

Ka Malem Mabini
Tigpamaba
NPA-NCMR