The NDFP�s Conviction
Respecting the rights of prisoners of war

Basahin ang artikulong ito sa Pilipino

The people and the prisoners of war (POW) themselves bore witness to the revolutionary movement�s firm commitment to mete out revolutionary justice. For the prisoners of war, the humanitarian treatment accorded them and their subsequent release embody a concrete case of revolutionary justice. From their capture until their release, the prisoners of war witnessed the New People�s Army�s (NPA) faithful adherence to the policies of the people�s democratic government and the NPA and to international laws governing war.

The prisoners of war were captured in a series of NPA tactical offensives. This shatters the illusion and propaganda of past and current regimes that the revolutionary forces have been vanquished or strategically defeated.

The regime underestimated the NPA�s capability to wage battles. But the offensives that have been launched by the NPA since 1997 have brought great embarrassment to the government. Thus, the Estrada regime shifted its propaganda towards branding the NPA�s tactical offensives as simple criminal acts and the capture of military and police officials as mere cases of �kidnapping�.

The NPA-Melito Glor Command of Southern Tagalog captured T/Sgt. Wivino Demol on February 9, 1998 in Rodriguez, Rizal. Demol is an intelligence officer of the 16th Intelligence Unit of the Philippine Army�the unit responsible for the capture of Comrade Danilo Borjal, consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in the peace talks. As a spy, he was also involved in planting agents within the ranks of the revolutionary forces, particularly the NPA.

In a separate incident last February 17, Army Brig. Gen. Victor Obillo and Capt. Eduardo Montealto were arrested in Brgy. Carmen, Baguio, Davao City. General Obillo was the commander of the 55th Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army while Captain Montealto was the brigade logistics officer. The Merardo Arce Command arrested them for undertaking counterrevolutionary activities in Davao.

Four days after the two military officials� arrest, Chief Insp. Roberto Bernal was captured by the Santos Binamira Command (NPA-Sorsogon). Bernal is a PNP intelligence officer. On March 5, the NPA-Pulang Diwata Command arrested Sgt. Alipio Lozada in Lianga, Surigao del Sur. All the prisoners of war were engaged in counterrevolutionary activities against the national democratic movement. Worse, four of the five prisoners were involved in espionage�a crime that calls for heavy penalties in the revolutionary movement and is punishable by death in accordance with the international rules of war.

It is the revolutionary movement�s policy to treat POWs humanely and leniently and to observe due process should they be put on trial. This is the exact opposite of the reactionary state�s practice. With respect to their treatment of POWs, the Party, NPA and NDFP have long upheld a tradition of respecting the rights of prisoners of war.

The Estrada regime was inutile in addressing the issue of the prisoners of war. Instead of taking concrete steps to show its seriousness in confronting the matter, it resorted to propaganda and attacked the Party, the NPA and the NDF through the media. Joseph �Rambotete� Estrada, the movie actor, preoccupied himself with projecting a macho image, which proved nothing more than his ignorance of and irresponsibility towards the peace talks. The Estrada regime arbitrarily suspended the peace talks and feigned refusal to negotiate for the release of the prisoners. In fact, the negotiations were held through third parties. Progressive individuals and organizations had to step in to facilitate the release of the prisoners. In a humanitarian mission, Archbishop Fernando Capalla�s group talked with the negotiating panel of the NDFP.

Senator Legarda and other personalities from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) also extended assistance. A series of negotiations took place, resulting in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed last March 17.

The MOA stipulated that the NDFP and GRP were jointly responsible for securing the safe release of the prisoners. The memorandum also clearly stated the need to withdraw military and police troops from NDFP territories where the actual release of prisoners might be held. It also called on the military and police to suspend offensive operations in NDFP territories from March 22 to April 19�the period within which the prisoners would be freed.

Due to this and the widespread public protests against his stubbornness, Estrada was compelled to declare a SOMO (suspension of offensive military operations) from March 28 to April 19.

As usual, the GRP violated its own SOMO. Until April 1, AFP and PNP troops remained and military offensives continued in Davao del Norte, North Cotobato and Bukidnon despite Estrada�s announcement. Worse, the delay of T/Sgt. Wivino Demol�s release, which should have taken place before April 19, was also caused by unrelenting military operations throughout the Southern Tagalog region. This, even after Comrade Gregorio �Ka Roger� Rosal, the CPP spokesperson, had identified Rizal, Laguna or Quezon as probable sites for the release. The NDFP�s basis for releasing its captives is clear.

The negotiating panel presided over the prisoners� release in accordance with the authority vested upon it by the National Council of the NDFP. The releases conform to the rules and processes of the People�s Democratic Government and were conducted in abidance with the Comprehensive Agreement for the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Unilateral Declaration of the NDFP in the Implementation of the Geneva Conventions and Protocol I.

Granting amnesty especially to prisoners who have been convicted by the people�s court of having committed the crime of espionage places the NDFP on a high moral ground. It was a demonstration of justice and good faith on the occasion of the 30th anniversaries of the Party and the NPA. This is the NDFP�s positive response to the appeal of well-intentioned parties and personalities for a unilateral and negotiated release of the prisoners.

The disparate class standpoints of the NDFP and the GRP were manifest in the issue of the capture and release of the prisoners of war. The issue makes clear the need for the Party to redouble its efforts to lead the revolution and for the New People�s Army to intensify the people�s war.

Major Bernal raised his clenched fist as he faced the mass media during his release. Meanwhile, Army T/Sgt. Wivino Demol begged the people and the revolutionary movement for forgiveness for the crimes that he committed. �I will not allow myself to be used by the military ever again,� he said.

Experience has taught the NPA�s former captives which side of the war is on the side of justice.

04 March 1999
English Edition

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