News of Struggle
14 rifles seized in Davao Del Norte raid
Fourteen high-powered rifles (M14s and M16s) were confiscated by the New People�s Army (NPA) in a raid on a joint AFP/PNP detachment in Barangay Bacungan, Magsaysay, Davao del Norte on March 19. A sergeant was killed during the raid. Also wounded were two other soldiers and three police officials, including Supt. Wilfrido Cabrera.
That same day, Red fighters raided the detachment of Task Force Monkayo in Diwalwal, Compostela Valley. Killed in the raid was one policeman. The NPA assaulted Task Force Monkayo because of its gross human rights violations and its defense of the interests of big local and foreign businessmen in the area.
NPA raids PNP detachment in Bordeos
Red fighters attacked a PNP camp at Bordeos, Quezon on March 2. The NPA confiscated six assorted firearms from the police. The fighters also confiscated five VHF radios from the Kabalikat Civicom Group based in the same camp.
The three policemen manning the camp were taken by surprise and were unable to resist. The guerrillas took advantage of the fact that the PNP�s communication lines were down. Bad weather also made it more difficult for the police to escape or call for reinforcements.
Buan to be released � NDF
Comrade Luis Jalandoni, head of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, ordered on March 16 the release of prisoner of war Maj. Noel Buan. Accordingly, the NDFP also declared a ceasefire in seven provinces in Southern Tagalog from March 17 to April 11 to pave the way for Buan�s release.
In a letter ordering the release of Buan, Comrade Jalandoni stated that the release of the prisoner of war shall be carried out on the basis of a decision by the National Executive Committee of the NDFP, in the name of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People�s Army and the organs of political power of the democratic people�s government and in abidance with the Geneva Conventions, its protocols and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL.
Comrade Jalandoni also said that "the democratic people�s government has once again stressed and proven its status of belligerency in its capacity to take a prisoner of war under its care for a long period of time and accord him humane treatment and respect for his rights." He said that the NDFP received on March 14 and 15 copies of the PNP�s SOPO and the AFP�s SOMO. He added that the Melito Glor Command is set to pass Major Buan on to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC shall in turn hand Buan over to his family, with the help of other groups and individuals.
Mining project in Mindoro opposed
Residents of Victoria, Oriental Mindoro strongly opposed the plan of Canadian firm Crew Minerals Philippines (CMP) to conduct mining in the area.
In a rally held in the last week of February, the residents of the adjacent municipalities of Victoria, Naujan, Socorro and Pinamalayan opposed the exploration being conducted by the CMP, which has caused flooding in these towns. The rally was joined by thousands of farmers, fisherfolk, national minorities, students, teachers, church workers, environmentalists and members of non-government organizations. They said that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources hastily granted a permit to the Aglubang Mining corp., a close associate of the CMP, without conducting any consultation with the residents.
The residents are planning to put up barricades to prevent mining machinery from entering the area. They added that they could follow the example of Antipolo City and Semirara residents who put up barricades and were able to prevent government�s plan to dump garbage in their area.
Villanueva and Reyes appointments assailed
Militant organizations assailed Macapagal-Arroyo�s choice of Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva as new Armed Forces of the Philippines chief and the appointment of retired general and former AFP chief Angelo Reyes as new defense secretary.
According to the Moro Christian People�s Alliance, Villanueva was the chief of the Southern Command when the all-out war in Mindanao, which destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, was carried out. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) meanwhile stated that Villanueva�s appointment ran counter to the Macapagal-Arroyo government�s declaration of a "peace policy".
In a separate statement, Bayan condemned Reyes� appointment to a civilian post, saying that this provided further proof that the Macapagal-Arroyo regime is highly militarized.
Oust Lacson�s puppets in the PNP � Pamalakaya
The Pambansang Samahan ng mga Mamamalakaya (Pamalakaya) demanded the immediate and unconditional ouster of police generals campaigning for Panfilo Lacson for senator. According to Pamalakaya, the officials� politicking proves that they are "full-time members of the Estrada-Lacson conspiracy", and must no longer remain in power.
Pamalakaya likewise condemned the continued presence of Estrada and Lacson henchmen who hold sensitive posts under the new regime. They also called on the Macapagal-Arroyo regime to seriously pursue the investigation against Estrada, Lacson and their cohorts for gross human rights violations and other crimes.
Some of the officials who should be ousted were identified by Pamalakaya as Chief Supt. Jose Ayap of the Ilocos PNP Regional Office; Chief Supt. Tiburcio Fusillero, chief of the PNP Central Visayas regional office; Chief Supt. Dominador Domingo, chief of the PNP Central Mindanao regional office; Senior Supt. Gregorio Dolina, chief of the PNP Southern Mindanao regional office; Renato Paredes, Traffic Management Group director; Chief Supts. Romeo and Reynaldo Acop; Director Victor Batac; and Senior Supts. Caesar Mancao, Michael Ray Aquino and Diosdado Valeroso.
NEWS FROM EASTERN VISAYAS
21 firearms seized by NPA in Samar
Twenty-one, and not 15, firearms were confiscated by the NPA in a raid against a patrol base of the 34th IB in Barangay Babaclayon, San Jose de Buan, Samar on February 12. According to the latest correspondence reports from the Efren Martires Command (EMC), one M60 machine gun, one M203 grenade launcher, eight M16 armalites, seven M14 rifles, two cal .45 pistols, two cal .38 revolvers, a set of communication radios, ammunition and other military equipment were confiscated by the NPA. Eight (not seven) enemy troops were killed and four (not five) were wounded during the assault.
According to the EMC, the NPA raided the 34th IB�s detachment because of its long list of crimes against the peasant masses and the revolutionary movement. "The latest was an attack on comrades in the Matuguinao area where five were killed," stated the EMC. It added that the fascists raped a woman comrade before killing her. The same troops also murdered an elderly farmer in Barangay Canbais in December, aside from committing other abuses.
The EMC belied claims by the enemy that the NPA fired at soldiers who had surrendered. They also condemned military reports stating that the NPA hacked the bodies of the slain troopers, and clarified that NPA principles prohibit the desecration of dead enemy soldiers.
Said the EMC: "The Macapagal-Arroyo government is no different... from the US-Estrada regime." It declared that the NPA shall continue advancing the democratic revolution until genuine freedom and democracy are achieved.
NEWS FROM THE ILOCOS-CORDILLERA REGION
Six enemy forces were killed and four were wounded in two firefights in the Ilocos-Cordillera Region in December 2000 and January 2001.
According to correspondence reports, five soldiers were killed and two were wounded when a unit of the NPA Leho Cawilan Command in Kalinga ambushed troops of the 21st IB in Barangay Gawaan, Balbalan, Kalinga on January 22. Among those killed was troop leader 1Lt. Bienvenido Bermal. The soldiers were returning from an operation when ambushed by the NPA. The firefight lasted for 20 minutes. There was no casualty on the side of the NPA.
The people in the area rejoiced over the successful tactical offensive. Philippine Army units previously deployed in Kalinga (such as the 45th and 48th IBs) were all abusive and despised by the masses. But of all the troops assigned in Kalinga, the masses consider the 21st IB as the most abusive and most ruthless. It was named Best Battalion of the AFP from 1995-98.
Before this, a CAFGU member was killed in a clash on December 13, 2000 between a team of the NPA Agustin Begnalen Command and troops belonging to the 17th IB who were conducting an operation in Boliney, Abra. Another CAFGU member and a soldier were wounded in the same encounter. There was no casualty on the NPA side.
According to reports, the enemy troops who were frightened out of their wits and caught by surprise, scampered in various directions. They left the body of the slain CAFGU element behind, showing utter disregard for their own personnel, especially those of lower rank. The slain CAFGU was merely reported as "missing in action". Relatives who searched for him found his body abandoned at the scene of the encounter.
The NPA also exposed the 21st IB�s scheme of forcing parents of suspected Red fighters into signing bogus certificates stating that their children were minors, even if they were of age. The parents of three young men from Apatan, Pinukpuk, Kalinga were forced to sign a "certificate" that their children, whom the troops suspected to have joined the NPA, were merely 14-16 years of age.
NEWS FROM CAGAYAN VALLEY
Reactionary politics in Isabela assailed
The Benito Tesorio Front (BTF) of northeastern Isabela assailed the dominance of dynasties of warlords, big landlords and bureaucrat capitalists in reactionary politics in Isabela.
In a statement dated March 3, Ka Delio Baladon, spokesperson of the Benito Tesorio Command of the NPA, said that those who have long been dominating politics in Isabela such as the Dy and Albano families, shall remain in power. However, he said, the voices of poor farmers, farm workers and other marginalized folk who constitute the majority in the province, will again be hardly heard. Furthermore, Baladon said that politicians who promote dirty and violent elections and governance fraught with anomalies and corruption shall flourish.
Baladon stressed that because of this, the correctness of the revolutionary movement�s principle that the oppressed masses can attain political power only by means of people�s war, shall become ever clearer.
Nonetheless, said Baladon, the revolutionary movement shall try to influence the elections for the people�s benefit. The Benito Tesorio Front also called on candidates in the province to include the followng in their platforms of governance:
- Immediate prosecution and punishment of Joseph Estrada and his cohorts for plunder and other crimes against the people;
- Opposition to the establishment of the CAFGU; and
- Opposition to government projects that are antipeasant, antiworker and antipeople, such as mining by giant corporations.
Candidates and parties that shall advocate these issues, said Baladon, will reap the support of tens of thousands from the revolutionary mass base, including thousands of voters, in eastern Isabela. He said that they would also be permitted to campaign in the territories of the democratic people�s government.
On the other hand, said Baladon, candidates who are antipeople and active in counterrevolutionary campaigns of the AFP will not be allowed to campaign inside guerilla zones and will be meted appropriate punishment.
AFP�s deception regarding "witnesses" condemned
The BTF exposed the AFP�s deception regarding the alleged testimony of Jay-Ar "Ka CJ" Bulusan, a prisoner of war, against students Kerima Tariman and Eric Amodo. Tariman and Amodo were captured last year in Echague, Isabela, and slapped with trumped-up charges of illegal possession of firearms. With these cases about to be dismissed in court, the AFP decided to present Ka CJ as an "NPA commander" who shall stand as witness against Tariman and Amodo. This, despite the military�s prior declaration that Ka CJ was a new recruit.
In a related development, a man posing as Ka CJ was made to speak on the radio against the NPA. Prior to this, a woman posing as Sheryll "Ka Andrea" Arcilla also spoke over the radio. "Ka Andrea" was captured in June 2000 at Barangay Linumot, Jones. She escaped from prison in January.
Antimining group founded
PUMALAG or People�s Union Against Mining and Landgrabbing, was launched at the Isabela State University in Echague, Isabela on March 6. More than 200 peasant leaders from mining sites in Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya participated in the launching.
The activity was led by a local chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas in Isabela, KALIKASAN, Center for Environmental Concerns, progressive organizations, church workers and other middle forces.
Prior to this, residents of Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya attended a national mass action against foreign mining held on March 5 at the Mendiola Bridge. Didipio is one of the barrios operated in by ARIMCO Mining, a giant Australian company conducting exploration in the area.
In a related development, around 200 people staged a picket on February 23 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya to oppose mining by ARIMCO. They picketed a meeting of the Regional Development Council (RDC) of Cagayan Valley.
Three bishops, namely Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao (Cagayan), Bishop Sergio Utleg of the Diocese of Ilagan (Isabela) and Bishop Ramon Villena of the Diocese of Bayombong (Nueva Vizcaya) as well as other priests in Cagayan Valley joined the picket.
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