News
PNP station in Catanduanes raided
NPA Red fighters successfully raided the municipal police station in Bagamanok, Catanduanes on July 12. Seized in the breakthrough tactical offensive were two M16s, two M14s, a shotgun, a .45, a .38 and a 9 mm. Two policemen died in the firefight.
74th IB troops ambushed in Marinduque
The NPA ambushed 74th IB troops in Barangay Dolores, Sta. Cruz, Marinduque on July 15.
A soldier and seven CAFGU elements were wounded in the ambush.
The 74th IB has a long record of violating human rights and the rules of war in Southern Luzon.
NPA annihilates RHB team
The NPA annihilated an eight-man team of the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan (RHB) on June 29 in a surprise attack in Barangay Taliptip, Bulacan, Bulacan. Two RHB elements were killed, including the team leader, while the others were either wounded or surrendered. Seized from the offensive were five high-powered firearms, two boats and other military equipment.
According to a statement from the NPA in Western Bulacan-Pampanga, the RHB bandits were despised by the people due to their criminal activities. They also support the fascist military in vilifying and conducting pursuit operations against the revolutionary movement.
Oust Bohol governor�NDF-Central Visayas
The National Democratic Front (NDF) in Central Visayas (CV) called for the ouster of Bohol governor Erico Aumentado.
According to NDF Visayas political consultant Vide Alguna, Aumentado is an enemy of the Boholanos. He said that Aumentado is the principal implementor of neoliberal and fascist policies in Bohol. The NDF also criticized Aumentado for his antipeople projects that will evict tens of thousands of people. The other projects he has been implementing in the province are destructive to life and property.
In addition, Aumentado has been intensifying the conduct of military campaigns. He has accelerated the entry of more fascist troops in the island and aggressive recruitment for the CAFGU, which now comprises six battalions or 2,400 men. The severe cases of human rights violations have compelled even the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and officials of the provincial CHR office to conduct an investigation.
NDF-Negros exposes RPA�s crimes
The National Democratic Front (NDF) in Negros once more called attention to the criminal activities of the �Revolutionary Proletarian Army� and the latter�s collusion with corrupt politicians, the reactionary classes in Negros and even the fascist AFP.
According to NDF Negros leader Frank Fernandez, the RPA should be charged and brought to trial along with its politician cohorts for the various crimes they perpetrated in relation to the concluded elections.
Among others, they intimidated voters to ensure the victory of the United Negros Alliance and the National People�s Coalition, both parties of Eduardo �Danding� Cojuangco.
Fernandez also said that the RPA has actively served big compradors and landlords in the island since 1996. He said it was high time that RPA leader Arturo Tabara and military officials in Negros admitted that the RPA was part of the 303rd Brigade of the Philippine Army. In fact, he called the RPA safehouse raided by the NPA on July 22 a base of the �CAFGU-RPA�.
The raid took place in Sitio Mag-anay, Barangay Bi-ao, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental when an NPA platoon assaulted the safehouse at around 12:15 p.m. Seized were an M14, six M16s (including a baby armalite), a Garand, a carbine, an M203, pistols, thousands of rounds of ammunition and a cellphone. Caught by surprise, the RHB was unable to put up a fight.
Harassment of mass leaders continues in Davao
Militant groups in Davao condemned the filing of rebellion and criminal charges against leaders of KARAPATAN-Davao, BAYAN-Southern Mindanao, Farmers Association of Davao City and 20 others. They were among NPA commanders and fighters named in the suit. The case was filed by 73rd IB commander Col. Eduardo del Rosario. The charges filed against them are baseless and aim to stifle them from exposing and condemning intensifying violations of human rights.
Among such violations are the massacre perpetrated in Pangyan, Tamugan, Marilog District, Davao City on April 15. Six were killed and seven were wounded in the massacre, including three children.
The CHR dismissed in July the case filed against the 73rd IB, saying that the massacre was an accident. The victims were even blamed for attending the wedding of an NPA member. The three wounded children were also alleged to be Red fighters.
In a related development, progressive organizations filed a case against PNP Region XI director Chief Supt. Eduardo Matillano for his violent dispersal of a rally on July 1 in Tagum City.
Opposition to PPA continues. People in various parts of the country continue to oppose the purchased power adjustment or PPA. In Mabalacat, Pampanga, some 20,000 consumers aired their dismay over the PPA and for the successive blackouts they have been experiencing since the start of July. In Camarines Norte, the Camarines Norte Electric Cooperative unanimously approved a resolution calling for the abolition of the PPA. In Iloilo, up to 100 provincial and municipal officials signed a manifesto against the PPA and the Electric Power Industry Reform Act on July 10. They united with the People Opposed to Warrantless Electricity Rates (POWER) and BAYAN.
Expulsion of gays from Bahrain resisted. Gays belonging to the Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (Progay) condemned the planned expulsion of some 2,000 Filipino gay workers from Bahrain. Instead of defending them, the Macapagal-Arroyo even sided with the plan.
15 Palestinian civilians killed in Israeli bombing. Fifteen civilians, including nine children, were killed after an Israeli F16 fighter jet hit an apartment building in the center of Gaza City with a missile in the early morning of July 23. One-hundred forty-five others were wounded. The Israeli government bombed the residential area to liquidate Salah Shedadeh, leader of the militant group Hamas. Even as the indiscriminate bombing earned widespread condemnation, the US was content with stating that Israel�s actions were �excessive�.
Strike paralyzes London subway. A 24-hour strike paralyzed almost the entire London subway on July 17. Led by the Rail and Maritime Transport, the workers resisted the planned partial privatization of the subway system.
Prior to this, a one-day strike had also been launched on July 16 by 750,000 government employees from various towns to demand a wage hike. The mass action was the first walk-out in the country in more than two decades.
Hong Kong government employees march. Up to 35,000 Hong Kong government employees and their families staged a march on July 7. They assailed the Public Servants Pay Adjustment Bill that aims to reduce their wages by up to 4.42% this year and cut down on the budget defi cit that has gone up to as much as US$1.8 billion.
165 Afghan civilians victims of US bombing. Up to 48 Afghan civilians were killed and 117 wounded when the US bombed a wedding party in Dehrawad, Uruzgan, Afghanistan on July 1. Most of the victims were children. Scores of Afghans marched to the UN office in Kabul on July 4 to condemn the bombing. Instead of apologizing, the US had the gall to blame the civilian casualties for their error, saying that the wedding should not have been held in a combat zone.
US exemption from International Criminal Court denied. The European Union and the Non-Aligned Movement denied on July 10 the US� proposal asking that the Americans who were part of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina be exempted from facing trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Prior to this, the US had arrogantly declared on May 6 that it will not cooperate with the ICC because of the danger that US officers and troops would be put on trial for genocide and other crimes against humanity.
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