News of Struggle
1 soldier dead, 3 wounded in Compostela Valley ambush
A soldier from the 60th IB of the Philippine Army was killed in an ambush launched by Red fighters in Barangay Casoon, Monkayo, Compostela Valley on June 20. Two other soldiers and a CAFGU element were wounded. The enemy forces were on combat patrol when they were ambushed.
PNP forces ambushed in Mindoro
Two policemen were killed while one was seriously wounded in an ambush by the NPA on June 13 in Paluan, Occidental Mindoro. The policemen were part of the 408th Provincial Mobile Group which is based in Mamburao and active in counterrevolutionary operations.
Prior to this, another policeman was killed and two others were wounded in an NPA ambush on May 13 in Calintaan town of the same province.
US, GRP navy men disarmed by the NPA
Red fighters disarmed five elements of the US Navy and four Philippine Navy soldiers on June 5 at the foot of Mt. Pinatubo in Barangay Sapang Bato, Angeles City, Pampanga. Two M16 rifles and one cal .45 pistol were confiscated by the NPA.
The soldiers were trekking down Mt. Pinatubo when Red fighters blocked their way. An American official, Lt. JG (Junior Grade) Scott Allan Washburn, scampered and hid himself upon hearing warning shots coming from the guerrillas. He wandered along the slopes of Pinatubo for two days before he was able to regroup.
The US and Philippine Navy elements were all participants in CARAT (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training) 2001, one of the joint military exercises conducted by the US and Philippine armed forces this year under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The exercises began on June 1 in Clark Field, Pampanga.
AFP troops ambushed in Mt. province
Four souldiers from the 22nd Special Forces Coy were killed and one was wounded in an ambush by New People's Army fighters under the Leonardo Pacsi Command. The ambush was launched at 7:30 in the morning on June 13 in Lake Danum along the border of Sagada and Besao in Mountain Province.
Policemen on patrol ambushed in Albay
Two policemen were killed and one was wounded in an ambush by Red fighters under the Santos Binamera Command (SBC) in Barangay Pawa, Manito, Albay on May 30. The guerrillas confiscated the weapons and other military equipment of the enemy. The policemen were aboard their patrol car when ambushed.
In a statement on June 7, the SBC said that the ambuscade against the PNP elements formed part of the NPA's continuing intensification of tactical offensives in the Bicol region.
2 CAFGU elements killed in sniping operation in Negros
Two CAFGU elements were killed when Red fighters sniped their detachment in Barangay Sikatuna, Isabela, Negros Occidental. The sniping operation was conducted at around 7 p.m. on June 21. The NPA took advantage of the CAFGU elements' preoccupation with a television drama they were watching.
PNP informer punished in Cebu
The Vicente Padayao Command (VPC) of NPA-Cebu punished Valentin Berenguel in Tabuelan town of the same province on June 6. The VPC immediately issued a statement after meting out the death penalty on Berenguel. According to the VPC, Berenguel was punished because he had long been working for the PNP in its counterrevolutionary campaigns.
The VPC said that Berenguel was proven to be a paid PNP spy against the revolutionary forces. He was active in enticing Red fighters and members of revolutionary mass organizations to surrender. Many comrades had also been arrested or killed because of Berenguel.
PLUNDER WATCH alliance formed
Organizations and individuals involved in Edsa II formed Plunder Watch on May 29. Plunder Watch will monitor the forthcoming trial of ousted president Joseph Estrada and his cohorts.
In its statement of unity, Plunder Watch pledged to oppose any attempt by pro-Estrada forces and opportunistic politicians to reverse the gains of People Power II. Plunder Watch said that it is a continuing movement for truth and justice. It aims to help ensure a just and swift trial on the plunder cases against Estrada and his henchmen.
Representatives of Kadamay, Kairos Phililppines, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Bayan Muna, NCCP, August Twenty One Movement, League of Concerned Professionals and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines attended the founding of Plunder Watch.
Attorney Capulong elected to international court
NDFP legal consultant Atty. Romeo Capulong was elected as one of 27 ad litem or alternate judges in the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY). The ICTY was formed by the United Nations in 1993 to try the persons responsible for the grave violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated during the recent war in Yugoslavia. The trials will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Capulong garnered the third highest votes (141 out of 171) among those nominated as ad litem judges of the ICTY. Thus, he is third in line among those who could be called upon as replacement for any of the 14 permanent judges of the court who may be unable to perform his duty.
Capulong is also a senior lawyer of the Public Interest Law Center, an association of attorneys advocating and defending the interests of the oppressed for free. He was also one of the private prosecutors in the unfinished impeachment trial and continues in this capacity in the current trial of former president Estrada and his co-conspirators.
Capulong's election to the ICTY is a big help to his role as NDFP legal consultant, especially with regard to monitoring the implementation of CARHRIHL.
Protests mark EU summit
Large protest actions confronted and assailed the 2001 European Union (EU) Summit held from June 14-16 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The protest actions were not unlike other large-scale mass actions against the World Trade Organization, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and other organizations advancing imperialist "globalization".
More than 20,000 demonstrators stormed and trooped to Gothenburg and launched rallies during the summit. On June 15, policemen attacked, fired at and truncheoned a group of demonstrators. About 500-600 were arrested and hundreds of others were injured in the dispersal. Three of the 70 injured who were hospitalized had bullet wounds, with one of them in critical condition.
The EU Summit was attended by representatives of the 15 leading imperialist countries of the European Union. Highlighting its agenda was EU expansion in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.
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