News
Fake surrenders in Negros condemned
The Roger Mahinay Front (RMF, the NPA guerrilla front in southwestern Negros) denied reports that eleven of its fighters surrendered to the enemy on September 12. In a statement issued September 14, RMF spokesperson Nilo Magtanggol said the so-called surrenderees presented at the provincial capitol in Bacolod City by Col. Jeffrey Sodusta of the 303rd Bde and Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Mara�on were ordinary peasants.
This was not the first time the enemy distorted the real events, said Magtanggol. He disclosed that two elements of a composite team of Scout Rangers, Philippine Army and RPA-ABB elements were killed and two wounded in an encounter with Red fighters on August 17 in Sitio Mambut-oy, Barangay Locotan, Kabankalan City. The NPA suffered no casualties. The enemy reported the opposite, claiming that many NPA guerrillas were killed and that the military troops sustained no casualties.
Earlier, the military also reported a strafing incident by soldiers against civilians in Sitio Buyog, Barangay Nabulao, Sipalay City on June 22 as an encounter.
Comrades pay tribute to martyr in Cagayan Valley
The revolutionary forces and the masses in Cagayan Valley honored Valeriano "Nonoy" Susa, a regional Communist Party cadre who died of leukemia on August 30.
Susa, who was known by his nom de guerres Ka Gani, Ka Diego and Ka Dasig, was a member of the Regional Party Committee in Northeastern Luzon and the leading cadre of the NPA Venerando Villacillo Command and the Benito Tesorio Front before he passed away.
Susa was captured by elements of the 5th ID and PNP in July while undergoing treatment at the Cagayan Valley Medical Center in Tuguegarao City. He was subjected to 24 hours of interrogation, forced to stay seated, deprived of sleep and denied his medication even if the enemy knew that he was suffering from a terminal illness.
Despite this, Susa remained steadfast. He escaped after a few days and reestablished contact with comrades. He was transferred to a medical facility in Metro Manila where he spent his last moments with comrades and relatives.
NDFP pays tribute to Bishop Mercado
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) negotiating panel honored the memory of Bishop La Verne Mercado, Secretary General of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) who died in July.
In a statement on July 24, the NDFP hailed Bishop Mercado for his courageous opposition to the Marcos dictatorship and the warm support he extended to political prisoners and other victims of human rights violations.
The NDFP said Bishop Mercado showed that church people should take a stand on the side of the oppressed and exploited and join them in their struggle against injustice.
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