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Post by dodger on Oct 24, 2013 21:45:11 GMT
www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20131021/the-sugar-industry-in-negrosThe sugar industry in Negros
Since the beginning, the sugar industry has been tied to foreign interests and has never served local needs and development. Like other export-oriented industries, it operates within the frame of unequal treaties entered into by the Philippine government, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
The biggest sugarcane plantations in the country owned by big landlords are found in Negros. At present, more than half or 360,000 hectares out of the island’s 670,000 hectares of agricultural land is planted to sugarcane (up to 580,000 hectares were planted to the crop during the height of the sugar industry).
Negros’ economy is dependent on sugar. Since 1775, the island has been the biggest sugar exporter in Asia. By 1880, it was the world’s third biggest sugar producer. But as an economy tied to the vagaries of the international market, the sugar industry has been through booms and busts, such as its collapse in the 1980s. Up to now, the industry has failed to recover its former status. Nonetheless, it remains the Negrenses’ main source of livelihood.
The industry’s former landlords, however, remain economically and politically powerful. Some of them have shifted to other agribusinesses, such as Danding Cojuangco who is now into planting cassava for biofuel, ylang-ylang, fruits and wood for export. But most have persisted in planting sugarcane. Whenever the industry is down, the bourgeois state comes to the rescue by allotting public funds to the hacienderos and big comprador bourgeoisie, but none for the farm workers who suffer the most.
There are 13 sugar mills operating in Negros. The biggest, which are owned by big comprador bourgeoisie include Victorias Milling Co. controlled by Lucio Tan; Central Azucarera de la Carlota and Hawaiian-Phil. Co. which is owned by Roxas Holdings Inc.; Lopez Sugar Corp. of the Lopezes; Universal Robina Sugar Mills Co. and Southern Negros Dev. Corp. of the Gokongweis; and Central Azucarera de Bais and Binalbagan-Isabela Sugar which is owned by Jose Mari Chan.
Up to 350,000 farm workers in the haciendas receive a daily wage of P80-P120, which is less than half of what the law stipulates for agricultural workers in the region. On the other hand, there are 20,000 workers in the sugar mills.
Labor flexibilization is likewise enforced in the plantations, through the system of gang labor and contractualization. Under these systems, regular farm workers have been displaced and hacienderos deal only with contractors or labor gang foremen.
The reactionary state’s bogus land reform has never been able to touch the vast sugarcane haciendas. Under the Marcos dictatorship, Presidential Decree 27 was strictly confined to rice and corn lands only. Under CARP and CARPER, loopholes were deliberately included in the law to enable hacienderos to evade the breakup of their estates. Negros became the laboratory for the various schemes concocted to evade land distribution before they were tried elsewhere in the country. One example is the Stock Distribution Option (SDO). Out of the 14 haciendas under the SDO, ten are in Negros.
Meanwhile, the further plunder of the land and the more intensive exploitation of the island’s cheap labor loom with the expansion in southwest Negros of mining companies, the entry of oil palm plantations and the expansion of Del Monte Corporation’s pineapple plantations.
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Post by dodger on Oct 24, 2013 21:57:39 GMT
VICTORIOUS NPA OFFENSIVES
Ambush in Capiz
Three soldiers from the 61st IB Alpha Coy were killed and several others were wounded in an ambush by the New People’s Army under the Jose Percival Estocada Jr. Command (JPEC) in Barangay Nayawan, Tapaz, Capiz on October 7.
Fascist troops under the 301st Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army were then conducting operations in the mountainous barangays of Tacayan and Nayawan when they were ambushed by the Red fighters at around 6:45 a.m. It took more than six hours before three Huey helicopters arrived to collect the military casualties, said JPEC spokesperson Ka Jury Guerrero.
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Post by dodger on Oct 24, 2013 22:10:22 GMT
www.philippinerevolution.net/publications/ang_bayan/20131021/military-s-onslaught-against-national-minoritiesMilitary’s onslaught against national minorities
EN PI
In the guise of “peace and development teams,” troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines continued their rampage in the countryside this October, especially in Lumad communities in Agusan del Sur and Compostela Valley and in Tumanduk areas in Capiz.
In Agusan del Sur. Fifty-seven year old Lumad leader Gabriel Alindao, 57, was shot to death on October 10 in Barangay Kauswagan, Loreto town. He was a member of the Kahugpungan Alang sa Kalambuan (KASAKA).
Alindao was on his way home to Purok LBC (Lumad, Bol-anon, Cebuano) when he was gunned down by suspected elements of the 26th IB near the Kauswagan Elementary School.
Alindao had earlier been accused by the military of supporting the New People’s Army (NPA). To bely the accusations, Alindao attended a military-sponsored activity that morning called “Bayanihan” held at the 26th IB camp.
The 26th IB has been encamped in the village since July 19, after the NPA allegedly killed Kauswagan’s barangay chairman.
Prior to this, KASAKA treasurer Benjie Planos was brutally killed by suspected military elements on September 13 while he was on his way home in the same barangay at around 2 p.m. Planos was one of the leaders of the Manobo-Agusan Lumad who evacuated towards Davao City where they exposed military abuses in Loreto.
On August 22, Planos joined a dialogue on militarization held at a Davao hotel that was likewise attended by Loreto local officials, Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, military officers and Lumad leaders.
In Compostela Valley. Two-hundred and twenty-seven Matigsalog Lumad from Sitio Side 4, Barangay Manggayon, Maco evacuated towards Compostela town on October 4 to protest the military’s encampment in their barangay.
They urgently demanded from the local government the withdrawal of the 25th IB’s troops from their barrio to allow them to recover economically after being devastated by typhoon Pablo.
Up to 120 soldiers arrived in Barangay Manggayon on October 2 armed with high-powered rifles and artillery.
The residents told the military to pull out from their village. When the soldiers said they would remain until the conclusion of the 25th IB’s military operation, the residents decided to leave.
On October 6, four Matigsalog youth age 13-18 years were harassed and illegally detained by elements of the Military Special Forces in Sitio Bongkilaton, Compostela town. They were on the way to their village to bring four sacks of rice for their school when they were harassed by the soldiers. The youth were hogtied and blindfolded while being maliciously accused of bringing rice supplies to the NPA. The soldiers also choked the victims, aimed a machete at them and threatened to kill them if they did not reveal the NPA’s whereabouts. They were forcibly brought to the forest to serve as guides in the soldiers’ operations against the NPA.
In Capiz. Pastor Laranja Mirasol Jr. was killed and Rolando Diaz Sr. was wounded when troops from the 61st IB Alpha Coy opened fire at the house of Abelardo Diaz Sr., a village councilor. The victims were all Tumanduk farmers. The strafing incident occurred at 9:30 a.m. in Barangay Nayawan, Tapaz while the victims were gathered in Diaz’s house.
The residents, including Barangay Chairman Garson Catamin were further terrorized when the soldiers trained their guns at them and subjected them to investigation. The military also warned them against leaving the area.
Catamin had gathered a number of nearby residents at Diaz’s house to discuss their course of action after an NPA ambush in their village that morning.
Three helicopters strafed the thickets, forests and farms in nearby Tacayan village in Tapaz town later that day at around 12:30 p.m. to collect their casualties, without considering the safety of civilians.
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Post by dodger on Oct 24, 2013 22:23:27 GMT
www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20131022_eliminate-corruption-which-weighs-down-on-the-peasant-massesEliminate corruption which weighs down on the peasant masses
October 22, 2013  CPP Ang Bayan The vast countryside is a picture of extreme oppression and abuse. It is where millions of peasants and farm workers suffer from intensifying feudal and semifeudal exploitation and where hunger and penury are the fruits of their efforts to enrich the land and produce food. It is where they are victimized by widespread landgrabbing, back-breaking debts, and incomes that are woefully inadequate to buy even food and other basic needs.
Thus, it is doubly enraging to know that the peasants’ poverty and oppression have been invoked by corrupt bureaucrat capitalists in connivance with other exploiters as pretexts to amass ever larger sums of money for themselves.
The syndicate of Janet Lim-Napoles and high-ranking officials of the reactionary government has stolen mind-boggling amounts of public funds through the use of bogus non-governmental organizations purporting to serve the interests of the peasant masses. These racketeers have used the peasants’ needs and demands to cause the release of billions of pesos for the purchase of seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and other agricultural inputs.
In truth, however, these so-called farmers’ programs and fake NGOs have been mere conduits for the laundering of billions of pesos of public funds and served as smokescreens for corruption.
Instead of benefiting the peasant masses, these humongous amounts of public funds have merely ended up in the pockets of bureaucrat capitalists. This anomalous system of using NGOs became widespread under the Arroyo regime. Under the Aquino regime, the practice persists, especially in the agricultural sector, but with the “righteous road” slogan as a cover. Aside from the funds flowing from Congress and the Senate, huge amounts have also been sourced directly from Malacañang through the DAP program.
Avaricious bureaucrats and their cohorts have also made bundles of money by feeding on the suffering of the rural poor who have been victimized by strong typhoons and massive floods and landslides.
But however startling these cases are of stealing from the public coffers, they are minuscule compared to the hundreds of billions of pesos plundered by various reactionary governments in implementing one of the grandest and most deceptive projects in the country’s history—bogus land reform.
From the Marcos dictatorship’s PD 27 to the CARP of the Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada regimes to the CARPER under Gloria Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III, the reactionary state has spent P259.5 billion for land reform. But the face of feudal and semifeudal exploitation has hardly changed even on the eve of CARPER’s conclusion in 2014.
There is no other instance of land reform’s failure more striking than the agonizingly slow process of land distribution in Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by the Aquino-Cojuangco clan. Aquino likes to boast of how “historic” CARP’s implementation at the vast estate is. In fact, the only things that have been distributed at the hacienda are certificates requiring decades of amortization on the part of the farm workers.
Meanwhile, landgrabbing is rampant nationwide as haciendas and plantations expand anew and land is cleared to give way to mining companies. Amortization papers held by CARP “beneficiaries” are being cancelled on a massive scale, with landlords and compradors never running out of means sanctioned by reactionary laws to continually expand their landholdings.
All reactionary land reform programs have resulted in the further entrenchment of land monopoly because like other farmer-oriented programs of the bourgeois state, they are nothing but money-making schemes. They are no different from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program which purportedly aims to alleviate poverty, especially in the countryside. Greedy bureaucrats lost no time in seizing on the CCT as a means of raiding the public coffers.
The peasantry can never expect any change in their wretched conditions, especially under the Aquino regime. Aquino and his fellow corrupt bureaucrats will continue using their poverty to plunder state funds unless the system that engenders corruption, exploitation and oppression is put to an end.
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Post by dodger on Oct 26, 2013 1:39:18 GMT
Million-peso 4Ps fund, stolen by AFP-led syndicate
October 23, 2013  bhb NPA Quezon Provincial Operations Command (Apolonio Mendoza Command)
The reported theft of million-peso fund for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps in San Francisco, Quezon on October 18 is orchestrated by a syndicate led by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), according to the Apolonio Mendoza Command of the New People’s Army (AMC-NPA) in South Quezon Bondoc Peninsula (SQBP).
“The hold-up incident is suspicious. This crime is certainly planned and organized by a syndicate protected or even led by elements of the AFP and the reactionary police,” said Armine de Guia, spokesperson of AMC-NPA.
Based on reports, unidentified men pulled over and held-up the Philpost vehicle used to deliver the 4Ps fund in San Francisco. The vehicle containing millions of public funds was unaccompanied by security personnel, inviting suspiscion that the theft was set-up by reactionary authorities.
Thefts involving the AFP are not uncommon in the province of Quezon, added de Guia.
“In SQBP, elements and units of the AFP-PNP-CAFGU are proven accomplices of common criminals stealing from the people. The most recent case is the hold-up incident in Barangay Tayuman, San Francisco where an official of the 74th Infantry Battalion was uncovered as mastermind behind the armed robbery of a business establishment,” said de Guia.
De Guia also condemned AFP’s coddling of CAFGUs involved in the theft of carabaos in various barrios in SQBP.
Carabao theft has a long history in the province of Quezon, with the most infamous syndicate in the 1970s led by Sgt. Batibot. The NPA imposed capital punishment on Sgt. Batibot and his minions in 1978, and afterwards eradicated the syndicate.
“ It is ironic that the eight battalions of soldiers, police and para-military agents in SQBP could not prevent petty crimes like robbery. Either the reactionary government’s army and police are useless, or they are guilty of committing these crimes against the people,” said de Guia.
According to AMC, the hold-up incident proves that the 4Ps program is a waste of people’s funds and a magnet for corruption. Local politicians conniving with reactionary armed forces milk the billion-worth of 4Ps fund, raising suspicions that the million-peso fund stolen in San Francisco might be used in the upcoming barangay elections.
The 4Ps program began under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s regime and continues as a banner program of the Noynoy Aquino administration.
Various groups and sectors have criticized the 4Ps program, where cash subsidy is directly handed by the Deparment of Welfare and Social Development to the poorest Filipinos, as determined by the government agency.
“The 4Ps program is a dole-out and band-aid solution to the deepening poverty, and only creates opportunities to further deceive and exploit the poor,” said de Guia.
AMC said that the only solution to poverty is the implementation of genuine land reform in the countryside, through the destruction of land monopoly and the confiscation and distribution of lands owned by the landlord class.
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Post by dodger on Oct 26, 2013 6:01:22 GMT
www.rappler.com/nation/42256-npa-seize-prisoners-warNPA declares seized candidates 'prisoners of war'
BY KARLOS MANLUPIG POSTED ON 10/26/2013 11:28 AM | UPDATED 10/26/2013 12:05 PM  STRONGHOLD. NPA guerrillas in a gathering in Agusan del Sur. Photo by Karlos Manlupig DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The New People’s Army (NPA) seized 5 barangay election candidates in Loreto town, Agusan del Sur on Thursday, October 24 and declared them "prisoners of war."
Ka Aris Francisco, spokesperson of the NPA’s ComVal North Davao South Agusan Sub-regional Command, said heavily armed communist guerrillas swooped down on the village center in Barangay Mansanitas capturing a re-electionist barangay captain, a re-electionist incumbent barangay councilor, and 3 others who are also running as barangay councilors.
The captured candidates were armed militias and are members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, Francisco said.
“Captured and considered as prisoners of war were barangay captain Lito Andalique, barangay kagawad Marvin Bantuasan, Crisanto Piodos, and Balaba Andalique, and Cafgu tribal member Pepe Subla. The 5 are currently accorded rights as prisoners of war (POWs), their health and safety at the auspices of the NPA's custodial force,” Francisco said.
Simultaneously, the communist guerrillas raided a detachment of the 26th Infantry Battalion in the same village, the NPA claimed.
Agusan del Sur is identified as one of the strongholds of the NPA in the country.
5 soldiers killed
Francisco said they also engaged the reinforcements sent by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), killing at least 5 government soldiers.
“Red fighters also thwarted a platoon of reinforcement forces of the 26th IB in a gunfight that yielded at least 5 fatalities on the military side. AFP's Eastmincom responded by sending two military helicopters that dropped 14 bombs in the community; the helicopters later secured their fatalities,” Francisco said.
Capt Alberto Caber, chief of the public information office of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, asserted that 6 were captured and that no soldier was killed in the incident.
“Only one soldier was grazed in the head. They should explain what they did with one of the captives. They are responsible to the 6 persons they kidnapped,” Caber said.
The military officer also said that members of CAFGU are not regular soldiers.
“Why did the NPA do that? Duties of the CAFGU are only for 15 days and they only receive honorarium and not salary,” Caber said.
Government militias automatically resign from their duties once they run for public office, Caber said.
“These are resigned CAFGU members,” Caber added.
Election-related violence
The military said the incident proves the alleged intention of the NPA to interfere with the elections through harassment.
“The NPA is trying to let the people see that they are capable of sowing fear. That they can do anything anywhere here in Eastern Mindanao,” Caber said.
The NPA, he added, is also harassing the candidates for extortion purposes.
“We consider this as an election-related violence. And the Eastern Mindanao Command condemns these atrocities by the rebels,” said Caber.
However, the NPA denied the accusations, saying that the “POWs” are legitimate targets for participating in “anti-people” activities.
“The five POWs are not ordinary civilians and reelectionist village officials, but are counter-revolutionary paramilitary forces, and are, thus, legitimate targets of the NPA. The POWs are psychological warfare agents, who banned the masses from going to their farms and forcing them to remain at the village centers, in a blatant attempt to control their movement,” Francisco said.
“These POWs have campaigned hard against the NPAs, harassed peasant leaders, and strongly endorsed the entry of palm oil and mining projects — projects that will eventually dislocate the masses and deprive Lumads of their ancestral domain,” the communist spokesman added.
Francisco said the raid was a “campaign against a fascist Army unit and its paramilitary machinery” who are allegedly responsible for “butchering two peasant leaders — Gabriel Alindao and Benjie Planos of the peasant group Kahugpungan Alang sa Kalambuan sa Kauswagan or Kasaka — detaining and torturing two civilian Lumad minors, and conducting massive harassment and counter-revolutionary drive against the peasant masses in Loreto, Agusan del Sur.”
Francisco said that as the government continues to intensify its counterinsurgency operations, the revolutionary movement will also step up its attacks and expand its “barrio councils” while establishing “welfare projects to sustain the basic needs of the masses.”
Three tribal leaders were sent by the local government of Loreto to negotiate for the release of the captives.
Caber said the rescue and pursuit operations would temporarily slow down to give way to the talks. –
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Post by dodger on Oct 26, 2013 20:04:33 GMT
Abusive army unit punished,5 dead, 5 Cafgus held as NPA POWs
October 25, 2013 Aris Francisco
Spokesperson
NPA Comval-North Davao-South Agusan Sub-region__Sub-regional Command
The New People’s Army raided the 26th Infantry Battalion detachment in Brgy. Mansanitas, Loreto, captured at the village center five Cafgu paramilitary forces, four of whom were armed village officials, and confiscated two shotgun rifles and one. 357 pistol on October 24, at 11am.
Red fighters also thwarted a platoon of reinforcement forces of the 26th IB in a gunfight that yielded at least five fatalities on the military side. AFP’s Eastmincom responded by sending two military helicopters that dropped 14 bombs in the community; the helicopters later secured their fatalities.
Thursday’s tactical offensive was the NPA’s campaign against a fascist Army unit and its paramilitary machinery responsible for butchering two peasant leaders — Gabriel Alindao and Benjie Planos of the peasant group Kahugpungan Alang sa Kalambuan sa Kauswagan or Kasaka — detaining and torturing two civilian Lumad minors, and conducting massive harassment and counter-revolutionary drive against the peasant masses in Loreto, Agusan del Sur.
Captured and considered as prisoners of war were barangay captain Lito Andalique, barangay kagawad Marvin Bantuasan, Crisanto Piodos, and Balaba Andalique, and Cafgu tribal member Pepe Subla. The five are currently accorded rights as prisoners of war (POWs), their health and safety at the auspices of the NPA’s custodial force.
Nothing can be so farther from the truth as to the far-fetched claim by Eastmincom Commander Lt. Gen. Rainier Cruz that the arrest of the barangay officials was the NPA’s act of involving itself in the forthcoming reactionary exercise of barangay elections.
The five POWs are not ordinary civilians and reelectionist village officials but are counter-revolutionary paramilitary forces and are, thus, legitimate targets of the NPA. The POWs are psychological warfare agents, who banned the masses from going to their farms and forcing them to remain at the village centers, in a blatant attempt to control their movement. These POWs have campaigned hard against the NPAs, harassed peasant leaders, and strongly endorsed the entry of palm oil and mining projects — projects that will eventually dislocate the masses and deprive Lumads of their ancestral domain.
In the midst of the US-Aquino regime’s intensified counter-revolutionary campaign, backed up by a fascist mayor in the person of Dario Otaza, the revolutionary forces are persevering in their anti-feudal and anti-fascist struggle, expanding numerous barrio councils while putting up welfare projects to sustain the basic needs of the masses. It is only warranted for the NPA to protect the successes of the People’s Democratic Government by punishing the enemy and enforcing revolutionary justice. |
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Post by dodger on Oct 26, 2013 20:17:41 GMT
Camp Bagong Diwa Political Prisoners Greet the Caravan Para sa Kalayaan
October 25, 2013
Missing Political Prisoners at Camp Bagong Diwa
Taguig City
We, political prisoners in various jails here in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, greet with great enthusiasm the Caravan para sa kalayaan that Samahan ng mga Ex-detainee laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya (SELDA), KARAPATAN and other advocates of freedom and justice for all political prisoners are launching today, highlighted by a tour of detention centers where political prisoners are being kept in Metro Manila, and a rally before the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) to demand the release of detained National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultants and other political prisoners and to call for the resumption of the stalled peace talks between the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH). The Caravan para sa Kalayaan is also giving emphasis on the gross inhumanity and injustice in the continuing detention of political prisoners who are sickly, elderly, minors or arrested as minors, and have long been under detention.
Political prisoners in various jails here in Camp Bagong Diwa include those being kept in the Female Detention at the Taguig District Jail (FD-TDJ), in the Special Intensive Care Area (SICA), and in the Metro Manila District Jail-Main (MMDJ-Main), practically all of whom have been unjustly, arbitrarily and illegally arrested, detained and charges in courts.
Among us are five peace consultants of the NDFP (Ma. Loida Magpatoc, detained at the TCJ-FD, Tirso Alcantara, Emeterio Antalan, Leopoldo Caloza and Alan Jazmines, detained at the SICA). Four at the MMDJ-Main, and some 200 more at the SICA, some 25 of whom are associated with the national democratic movement, another of the same number associated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and more than a hundred ordinary community folk – - practically all unjustly, arbitrarily and illegally arrested, tortured, detained and swamped with trumped-up criminalized charges, and mostly under intentional “mistaken identities” just so that those behind their arrest and detention could collect all and pocket huge bounties provided by the U.S. “anti-terrorist” aid and by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
There are also (particularly here at the SICA) a handful of U.S. rendition victims (all Indonesians), who were surreptitiously transferred (under U.S. FBI direction and Philippine police, military and intelligence connivance and implementation) to Philippine detention and made to undergo the exceedingly rotten and slow justice system in the country, just to keep those rendition victims indefinitely detained in a Philippine version of Guantanamo.
As of August 2013, there are 449 political prisoners in the country, all victims of gross violations of justice and human rights, including numerous provisions in the NDFP-GPH’s CARHRIHL (Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law). The current Aquino regime has been responsible for the arrest and detention of about a third of these, and yet it lies through its teeth in denying that there are political prisoners in the country.
Among political prisoners are some 14 NDFP peace consultants, whose arrest, torture, detention and prosecution have been in arrogant violation of the NDFP-GPH’s JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees), which is supposed to protect peace consultants and peace process staffs from arrest, torture, detention, prosecution and other antagonistic acts that would deter their effective participation and work in the peace process. The adamant refusal of the current Aquino government to abide by the JASIG, as well as CARHRIHL and other standing peace agreements, has caused the stalling once again of the NDFP-GPH peace talks.
Earlier GPH regimes had in varying degrees been more open to abiding by peace agreements, including guaranteeing the freedom and safety of NDFP peace consultants and staffs. The Ramos regime was the most open, such that the NDFP-GPH peace talks achieved the most progress during its reign.
There were also a number of agreements up to the Gloria Arroyo regime. But the problem was that most of those agreements were actually only on paper and not implemented. It was also under that regime when a number of NDFP peace consultants became victims of involuntary disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Eventually the Gloria Arroyo regime even went as far as suspending the JASIG and conniving with the Dutch police to arrest the NDFP’s Chief Political and Peace Adviser, Jose Ma. Sison.
The current Aquino regime agreed to resume the NDFP-GPH peace talks and revive the suspended JASIG and other peace agreements. But it did not do so in actual practice. It denied JASIG protection for NDFP peace consultants and staffs, and in fact had an NDFP peace consultants and member of the NDFP Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms arrested and detained on the very eve of the resumed peace talks, had a number of other NDFP peace consultants and JASIG holders arrested and continue to be detained, despite the NDFP peace panel’s demand for their release.
The current Aquino Regime also left hanging and did not bother to touch, much less to implement, specific peace agreements entered into by the NDFP and GPH peace panels during the Gloria Arroyo regime, including the following:
The review and evaluation of cases about 300 political prisoners documented by KARAPATAN and the immediate release of those found to have been arrested, detained and charged or even convicted of what were made to appear as common crimes, contrary to the Hernandez Doctrine (which prohibits charging with common crimes those with supposed political offenses), as those political prisoners were only involved in political opposition and had nothing to do with common crimes they were arrested, detained, charged or even convicted for — or in many cases were only innocent civilians);
The immediate release (within 30 days, i.e. by November 3, 2004 of specifically named political prisoners, consisting of women, minors, ailing and elderly.
Except in the case of a very few who won rare acquittals in court, bulk of the 300 political prisoners supposed to be processed for release by the Gloria Arroyo regime were only passed on to the current Aquino regime, who, instead of continuing with the processing for their release, declared that there are no political prisoners in the country. The current Aquino regime even added another half to the number of political prisoners it inherited from the Gloria Arroyo regime.
Upon resuming the peace talks with the NDFP in February 14, 2011 up to now, the current Aquino regime still has not even released the 30 women, minors, ailing and elderly political prisoners agreed upon by the NDFP and GPH peace panels way back in 2004.
Four of the minors the list (Taufic Muner, then aged 14; Bimbas Abubakar, then aged 14; Omar Galo, then aged 16 and Jammang Palili, then aged 17 are all still detained at the SICA, Camp Bagong Diwa. There are further eight more political prisoners who were minors when arrested and still detained at SICA, Camp Bagong Diwa. Included among them are Grego Guevarra and Reynaldo De los Santos, who were only 17 years old when arrested and detained by the current Aquino regime for more than two years ago to just several months ago.
Another stark phenomenon, especially at the SICA, Camp Bagong Diwa, is the big number of ailing and elderly political prisoners, most of whom have been detained for about a dozen years or more already. Because of their overly long detention already; the poor cramped conditions; poor food rations; lack of medical attention; and the indifferent treatment and severe restrictions they have been undergoing in jail, they have suffered and continue to suffer further deteriorations of their health.
A number of these have died in prison. One of the latest death at the SICA, Camp Bagong Diwa (last “Good Friday”, March 29) was that of Intong Amirol, past 70 years, who suffered a hypertensive stroke more than two years ago and became totally paralyzed and bedridden since then, was not brought to any hospital or given adequate medical attention, and had to totally rely on his cellmates for full-time caregiving. His family could not assist him at all or even just visit him as they are poor and too far away. State authorities were asked to release him, as his precarious health condition could surely only deteriorate further in jail, and as his further detention was not only inhuman but also illegal, since he was already past 70 and, in the first place, he is totally innocent of the charges against him. He was actually a victim of intentional “mistaken identity” as he was arrested, detained and charged as another person (a certain “Intong Aninol”, supposedly of the Abu Sayyaf Group. But the indifferent state did nothing about all these. This indifference killed him.
Another case of a political prisoners, who also unfortunately suffered a lot and died because of the indifference of prison authorities, was that of Alison Alcantara, who had been seriously suffering since early September and who his fellow-political prisoners at the New Bilibid Prison has asked the jail authorities to immediately bring him to a hospital. The jail authorities, however, refused and only did bring him to a public hospital when he collapsed and fell unconscious after six more days of suffering. It was too late and he died from complications from diabetes, pneumonia, infections and other ailments.
A number of other elderly and ailing political prisoners need not only immediate and medical attention, but also the return of the freedom deprived of them. These include Ramon Argente, who had to go through a heart by-pass operation; Alvin Langlang, who has suffered paralysis from the waist down due to brain injury; Vanessa delos Reyes, who is paralyzed from waist down; Miguela Piñero, who has long been suffering from thyroid and spinal problem; Felicardo Salamat, who has also been suffering from spinal problems.
We, political prisoners, whose existence the current Aquino regime keeps on denying and the demand for whose release has long been an issue, are heartened by the Caravan para sa Kalayaan’s call for our release, including the urgent release of women, minors, elderly and ailing political prisoners.
The call for the release of political prisoners need further to be raised again and again, and echoed widely through various sectors of society to be able to penetrate the thick and tough buffers of the present ruling state and regime.
All advocates of freedom, justice, human rights and the betterment of society need to press on and further intensify the campaign until it eventually bears fruition the face of the prevailing state and regime’s indifference at present.
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Post by dodger on Oct 30, 2013 3:26:20 GMT
OCTOBER 29, 2013 NPA taxation a reality, just pay them – Duterte
“It’s a matter others want to avoid. But it’s a reality that has to be talked openly, since the NPA is more active now in Region 11, notwithstanding the statements from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Duterte said.
By DAVAO TODAY City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had this advice to agri-business players who might be asked for ‘revolutionary taxes’ by the New People’s Army: just pay them.
The mayor raised this point, along with other concerns on peace and order, in his address during the opening day of the Davao Trade Expo 2013 last Thursday at the SMX Convention Center.
“It’s a fundamental question for business: is it good to do business in the mountains? Do we give in to them?” the mayor asked.
He said as mayor of a city in Mindanao dealing with “revolutionary” and “ideological” groups such as the Communist Party of the Philippines and Moro revolutionary groups, the way to deal with them is to talk to them.
“It’s a matter others want to avoid. But it’s a reality that has to be talked openly, since the NPA is more active now in Region 11, notwithstanding the statements from the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” Duterte said.
December last year, Duterte drew flak when his pronouncement during a visit at the Communist Party of the Philippines quoted him as saying that he pays revolutionary tax. A youtube video later circulated accusing him of giving P125 million as annual revolutionary taxes.
He clarified that he attended the CPP anniversary at a Typhoon Pablo-affected area where he gave some amount for the typhoon victims; the funds were sourced out from private donors. He said he merely kidded that the funds were the taxes that he would pay to NPAs, but because there was no barangay captain around to receive the donation, he coursed it through local NPA leaders.
In Thursday’s trade expo, Duterte said, “I can talk, but I can’t talk them out of their ideology. You have to realize the Communist Party is entering its 45th year here. You have to admit there’s been historical injustice committed on the people.”
Duterte said the national government should deal with the revolutionary groups by talking peace.
“Crimes I can deal with it. But with the revolutionary (groups), I give it to the (national) government, but here, I advised government not to make arrests of revolutionaries” he said.
As to the NPAs asking taxes he said “I cannot put it to a stop. So factor that in your investments. If you pay to the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue), you prepare also for the NPA.” Some participants giggled and smiled on this remark.
Duterte went on and explained that the NPAs are open to discuss terms.
“You give credit to these revolutionaries, you can exchange words and deal with them,” he said, citing experience that the NPA could be negotiated in the release of captured government soldiers and police.
The mayor added his account when the NPA apologized for the grenade attack in a gym in Paquibato district that injured civilians and paid 5,000 pesos for all the victims.
“When they informed me they will pay 5,000 pesos, I said ‘good’. When I asked where they will get the money, they said they will get it from banana planters,” Duterte quipped.
The mayor also assured investors of safety from crime and from corrupt officials and police in the city.
He also assured efficiency in business applications in local government services, as he emphasized his “72-hour policy that all transactions will be done.”
“If this fails, bring your papers to my office and I will work on it,” the mayor said.
This year’s Davao Trade Expo, organized by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce, focused on the region’s agricultural expansion to boost production and income. The expo promoted “five golden crops” in agriculture namely coconut, coffee, cacao, corn and cassava. The event drew in around 500 participants and 200 exhibits in agri-business products. Reposted by (http://bulatlat.com) - See more at: bulatlat.com/main/2013/10/29/npa-taxation-a-reality-just-pay-them-duterte/#sthash.Ur3EYRVb.dpuf>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.. Two things in life are certain, for capitalists, here at least....."Death and Revolutionary taxes!" No apology for the vulgar plagiarism. It's a fact. The Mayor of Davao, head of the largest City in Asia together with his daughter over many years--a Duterte Bailiwick. One can say that he is a consummate political operator. A realist. The balance of forces are clear to all. The NPA and Revolutionary Government only chase the big boys. Not at all like back in Britain. So no "Final Demands" for payments have come through our letterbox or any of our neighbours, here. Already I heard one Mining Exec crying....told him to pay up and look happy. Not your money..the shareholders back home don't pay a penny in tax....so it will be a novelty for them!! |
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Post by dodger on Oct 31, 2013 2:41:13 GMT
Ambush against 38th IB troopers in North Cotabato is legitimate;
red fighters confiscate 7 high powered rifles
October 23, 2013  .ndfp Ka Efren
Spokesperson
NDFP Far South Mindanao Chapter
Warm salute to the Red fighters of the Mt. Alip Command-Front 72 of the New People’s Army for the victorious attacks carried out against the units of the fascist 6th ID-AFP in October 21!
The Red fighters confiscated four M14 and three M16 rifles in an ambush staged against a squad of 38th IB troopers in Sitio Mangui, Brgy. Bituan, Tulunan, North Cotabato. The soldiers on board a military service vehicle were put out of action at once when a command detonated land mine mounted by the NPA fighters in the ambush site hit them. The action left eight troopers dead and a lone wounded survivor. The Red fighters also confiscated the soldiers’ backpacks containing various belongings and AFP logistics.
The 38th IB troop routed in the action is undisputedly a legitimate target being active combatant elements of the said territorial infantry.
Nearly an hour later, a separate team of NPA fighters harassed the reinforcing troops of the 57th IB as they pass through the vicinity of Itochu-Dole’s banana plantation in Brgy. Luna Norte, Makilala, North Cotabato. The troop came from the battalion headquarters in Makilala town onboard a 6×6 military truck. A soldier was killed and four others were wounded in the harassment ambush that also employs a command detonated bomb.
These related actions are a whopping blow to the AFP who insistently set up CAA detachments under the 38th IB close to civilian communities. As a consequence of the presence of military detachments, the residents are vulnerable to violations and harassments by the military and CAFGU elements. The 38th IB and 57th IB are mercenaries bribed to protect the interests of plundering big businesses of the local ruling classes, the bureaucrats and multinational companies operating in the area.
The NPA have efficaciously resolved the people’s persistent request to punish the 38th IB for their vicious doings. It has long been known to people that the 38th IB is a key handler of bandits and criminals they recruited as CAFGU elements or intelligence assets.
The NPA has once again proven the cleverness and audacity of guerilla warfare with the triumph of the back-to-back actions at a place and time the fascists least expect the attacks.
The AFP is blandly concealing its military defeat by declaring that the NPA is purportedly undertaking armed operations within the declared peace zones. Unquestionably, the Red cadres and commanders are certain that the safety of the civilians and the legitimacy of conducting a battle are essentially mulled over in setting up the offensive. The site in Sitio Mangui where the ambush incident took place is more than a kilometer from the borders of the Bituan peace zone.
Contrary to their charge against the NPA, it was the AFP forces who recurrently conduct combat operations and military activities within the peace zones since these were created more than a score ago. The long list of AFP violations that took place in these locales is an affirmation of their defilement of the provisions in the creation of peace zones.
Consequently since 2010, the AFP have conducted their so-called peace and development operations, a fundamental component of the counterrevolution and anti-people Oplan Bayanihan of the US-Noynoy Aquino regime, in the barangays comprising the peace zones. The rapid expansion of palm oil, rubber and banana plantations and the incoming operation of the British multinational Alphaville Mining Corporation are the reasons behind the 6th ID mandated PDOP in the area.
In her statements, North Cotabato governor Emmylou “Lala” Talino-Mendoza reechoed the AFP’s contentions and denounces that the incident is “only creating turmoil and will drive away the investors”. What the GPH governor was implying is that she is preserving her “serbisyong totoo” but for the interests of the local ruling classes, the bureaucrat capitalists that she represents, and the big foreign plunderers.
Her accusatorial line that military actions such as those carried out by the NPA to punish rightful targets “thwarts the delivery of social services to the people” is a baseless reproach. Lest she forget, genuine services for the people must be unconditional and attainable especially at the time when the people needed it most. The governor must learn her responsibilities as a civilian authority from the people, and for the people in that manner, and not reduce herself to mere clanging cymbals of the AFP.
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Post by dodger on Nov 6, 2013 10:28:01 GMT
NDFP renders highest tribute to Father Joe Dizon
LUIS G. JALANDONI
Member, NDFP National Executive Committee
06 November 2013
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines condoles with the family of Fr. Jose P. Dizon, his relatives, comrades and colleagues, and numerous friends. His passing away two days ago deeply saddens us even as we draw strength and inspiration from his shining example of constant and fruitful service to the workers and all the oppressed struggling for freedom and justice.
Forty years as a priest of the people, always standing on the side of the oppressed in their fight against their oppressors and exploiters, Fr. Joe D never wavered in his commitment. It only grew stronger through the years. He became ever more creative and resourceful in building and fostering the various organizations and alliances for advancing the people's struggle for national and social liberation.
Already in the 1970s, he headed the vibrant church movement. Basic Christian Communities – Community Organization, which spread throughout the country, developing communities which challenged the Marcos dictatorship. He became a leader in the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA), and in the Nationalist Alliance for Justice, Freedom and Democracy.
A major achievement of his was the founding of the Workers' Assistance Center (WAC) in 1995 which organized workers in the Cavite Economic Zone into unions and labor associations, despite the repressive actions of the reactionary government and the managements of corporations. Tens of thousands of workers benefited from the WAC programs. Complementing its main aim of organizing, were the Legal and Paralegal Assistance Program (LPAP), Labor and Gender Education Program (LGEP), Research, Documentation, Information and Publication (RDIP) and the International Relations Program (IRP).
Fr. Joe D organized the Clergy Discernment Program aimed at involving priests and nuns in the social agenda of the Church. In 1998 he was the convenor of Solidarity Philippines and the Kairos religious movement.
In 2001 when Oriental Mindoro was subjected to intense militarization under the fascist military of Jovito Palparan, ten battalions were deployed to the province and more than 30 activists had been murdered. Fr. Joe D acted creatively to help save 60 families targeted by the military. He offered the huge statue of Inay Maria for a series of processions which the military did not dare attack. During the processions the 60 families were brought to safety.
In November 2005, a year after the Hacienda Luisita massacre, Fr. Joe D led other priests in confronting the Presidential Security Group under General Delfin Bangit. The soldiers barred them from entering the parish church at the National Shrine of St. Michael the Archangel near Malacañang. Fr. Joe D demanded that the parish priest, Msgr. Ernesto Cruz, and his group enter the church and concelebrate the mass. Fr. Joe D prevailed over the objections of the soldiers.
Fr. Joe D was a prominent figure in numerous mass actions and became known as the official chaplain of the Parliament of the Streets. Among his latest involvements have been as convenor and spokesperson of the poll watchdog, Kontra Daya, and spokesperson of the People's Movement for Change, PAGBABAGO.
On 13 September 2013, despite his failing health, he led the demonstration of the Abolish Pork Movement, warning President Aquino that the people could start a civil disobedience campaign. He declared, “The issue strikes at the heart of the corrupt system itself!”
On his 40th anniversary as a priest, on 15 October 2013, he concelebrated mass with Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Imus Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista. Shortly after, he collapsed and was brought to the hospital. A week later, he reiterated in an interview that all those years as a priest he was committed to the Church of the Poor. Indeed, he was always with the workers and other oppressed. He joined their just struggles against oppression and exploitation.
Through his unwavering, courageous, resourceful and fruitful service to the people over so many years, Fr. Joe D has left an inspiring legacy of service to the people. His noble memory, warmheartedness and revolutionary spirit will inspire the people in the unceasing struggle for social justice and freedom, for national and social liberation.
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Post by dodger on Nov 12, 2013 6:47:26 GMT
www.philippinerevolution.net/images/27Mobile
Despite the enemy’s superiority in number, quality of arms and training, the New People’s Army in Negros contributes fairly to the overall progress of people’s war in the country in terms of tactical offensives, agrarian revolution and base building.
“Mobile” is the first among the series of photo albums featuring NPA comrades in Negros Island and will form part of the photo albums and videos for the 45th anniversary celebration of the Communist Party of the Philippines comes December 26. Link to album above:
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Post by dodger on Nov 15, 2013 3:03:55 GMT
NDFP hails minors' release, will free 5 POWs
Thursday, 14 November 2013 09:11  By RUBI DEL MUNDO
Spokesperson, NDFP-Southern Mindanao
Provided that the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines suspends its military operations in at least 11 villages of Loreto town, Agusan del Sur, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines - Southern Mindanao will release the five prisoners of war who have been under the custody of the Comval-North Davao-South Agusan Subregional Command of the New People's Army since 24 October.
To ensure the safety and security of the POWs and their NPA custodians, the AFP, particularly the 26th Infantry Battalion, must withdraw from the villages of Binucayan, Balite, Pangkat, Johnson, Sta. Theresa, San Mariano, Kauswagan, Sabud, Kasapa 1, Kasapa 2, and Valentina, all in Loreto, as well as Barangay (village) Datu Dabaw in Laak, Compostela Valley.
No other impediments in the pardon and release are in sight for POWs Mansanitas barangay captain Lito Andalique, barangay kagawads (councilors) Marvin Bantuasan, Crisanto Piodos, and Balaba Andalique, and CAFGU tribal member Pepe Subla. They have already apologized for their counter-revolutionary and anti-people activities, and have pledged to desist from being active paramilitary forces who participate and condone the human rights abuses under Oplan Bayanihan.
The 26th Infantry Battalion's combat operations, camouflaged as rescue activities for the POWs in the last few weeks, have miserably failed in securing the release of the captives.
The military operations have only resulted in more atrocities against the masses on top of the military's killing of two peasant leaders, dropping of 24 bombs and dislocating the masses, and torturing and detaining two Lumad minors whom they accused of killing barangay captain Ramon Diogonan.
In the last few weeks, this same military unit has ransacked the peasants' homes, destroyed their properties, and looted their farm animals.
In contrast to the blatant fascism demonstrated by the 26th Infantry Battalion and the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command, the human rights victims and the masses fought and struggled in defense of their land and families. Due to the people's clamor in Agusan, the GPH court was forced to release the two minors recently after four months of detention, based on the merits of the case, and because of the sheer idiocy of the charges filed against them.
As punishment against the fascist 26th IB and the Scout Rangers, the NPA's series of tactical offensives since July -- 21 assaults and five demo-explosions -- have resulted in the killing of 26 soldiers, including a lieutenant from the Scout Rangers, and 14 wounded on the AFP side. Only one from the NPA was wounded.
Indeed, despite the display of brutality and use of superior military force by the AFP, the masses, people's militia, and the revolutionary movement have persevered in fighting for justice and defending the gains of the armed struggle. The struggle against mining, palm oil, and other foreign incursions of the Lumad's ancestral domain and peasant lands in Agusan continues.
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Post by dodger on Nov 18, 2013 8:54:30 GMT
CPP condemns AFP for relentless offensives in
Negros and elsewhere amidst devastation and NPA ceasefire
November 18, 2013  Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for waging relentless offensives against the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Visayas amidst the widespread devastation caused by the recent supertyphoon Yolanda and the ceasefire declaration issued by the CPP to the concerned NPA units.
News reports state that the AFP offensives resulted in at least two successive armed encounters last Saturday between a unit of the NPA and the fascist troops of the 47th IB at around 9:30 am in Sitio Pating, Barangay Magbalyo, Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental. According to the commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, the AFP has been carrying out offensive maneuvers in Kabankalan for two weeks now.
“It is apparent that the AFP leadership is completely oblivious to the state of calamity and difficulties being experienced by the people of Negros,” said the CPP.
The Negros Island is among the worst hit areas during the November 8 typhoon. In Negros Occidental, record-strong winds destroyed nearly 25,000 homes in Negros Occidental and resulted in widespread damages to crops, livestock and fisheries resources initially estimated at P100 million.
NPA units in Negros, including those which figured in an armed encounter with units of the 47th IB, have gone on active defense mode in order to extend assistance to calamity victims. This is in line with the ceasefire declaration issued earlier by the CPP last November 14.
The CPP ceasefire declaration, which covers NPA units in typhoon-hit regions including those in Negros Island, will remain in effect until 2359 hours of November 24. The declaration directs concerned units of the NPA to concentrate on the immediate task of assisting the typhoon victims to carry out rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts while cautioning Red fighters against hostile movements of the APP within the territory of the people’s democratic government.
The Aquino regime has yet to issue a parallel declaration. “It is apparent that the Aquino regime does not want to reciprocate the CPP’s issuance of a ceasefire declaration because it does not want the AFP to cease its offensives against the NPA in the vain hope of meeting the targets of its Oplan Bayanihan war of suppression against the people.”
“The continuing offensives being carried out by the AFP underscore the Aquino regime’s mispriorities and criminal ineptness in preparing for and confronting the effects of the recent supertyphoon,” said the CPP. The CPP pointed out that the AFP also carried out offensives in Sorsogon province a mere four days after typhoon Yolanda.
“The AFP is also busy spreading false information claiming of armed actions by the NPA within or near disaster areas in order to justify increasing its deployment of troops to carry out surveillance, suppression and offensive operations against the people and their mass organizations,” added the CPP.
“Aquino’s failure to declare a ceasefire furthermore exposes the hypocrisy of his regime’s call for national unity,” added the CPP. “Aquino’s call for unity is a desperate effort to cover-up its criminal incompetence and gross failure to prepare for the supertyphoon and mobilize emergency relief which has resulted in unnecessarily large number of deaths and injuries.”
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Post by dodger on Nov 19, 2013 15:44:58 GMT
Condemn destruction of farms, attacks against peasants in Luisita during height of Yolanda tragedy—CPP
November 19, 2013  Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today denounced the Aquino regime and the Aquino-Cojuangco landlord clan for destroying several hectares of land planted with fruit trees and vegetables in the collective farms being cultivated by peasant masses in Hacienda Luisita.
“The Aquino-Cojuangco clan, through the Tarlac Development Corporation (Tadeco) and Hacienda Luisita Inc., with the support and protection of the police forces of the Aquino regime had the bungkalan areas destroyed using bulldozers manned by armed guards last November 12, at the height of the tragedy wrought by supertyphoon Yolanda in the Visayas” said the CPP, citing field reports.
“While all of the Filipino people’s attention was geared towards extending assistance to the victims of the Yolanda tragedy, the Aquino-Cojuangcos were insiduously carrying out their plan to drive away the several hundred peasant workers from the land they have long been cultivating,” said the CPP.
“According to reports of local residents, the Aquino-Cojuangco clan ordered the uprooting of trees and crops in the 880-hectare land within the scope of Barangay Balete and Barangay Cutcut,” said the CPP. Tadeco has also filed trumped-up charges of trespassing against at least 80 peasant workers in the area.
“The day after, at least 60 armed goons of Tadeco demolished the homes and other structures built by the peasant masses in the area, causing injuries to peasant leader Florida Sibayan, her siblings and their 76-year old mother, when they were violently shoved by the armed goons,” pointed out the CPP. “Aquino’s national police force were behind the Tadeco armed goons all the while they were attacking the peasant workers.”
The peasants of Hacienda Luisita have long been asserting ownership of the 4,500-hectare sugar estate. In 2005, members of the Alyansa ng mga Mabubukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala or Peasant Alliance in Hacienda Luisita) started to collectively cultivate several hundred hectares of land to grow fruit trees and vegetables for their own consumption and to supply the market.
Despite successive land reform laws, Hacienda Luisita has largely remained under the control of the Aquino-Cojuangco landlord clan. The current Philippine reactionary president, Benigno Aquino III, is a scion of the Aquino-Cojuangcos. |
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