PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

CPP hails demolition of Marcos bust, vows to punish Marcoses
December 30, 2002

The Communist Party of the Philippines congratulated the NPA for demolishing the infamous bust of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in Tuba, Benguet. The bust was destroyed yesterday by operatives of the Chadli Molintas Command of the NPA in the Cordillera region.

In a statement, CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said that the bust, now in shambles, has been transformed from a symbol of dictator-worship to a symbol of the dismal justice and human rights situation in the Philippines.

Rosal said "the Filipino people are overjoyed" by the demolition of the Marcos bust.

In his statement, Martin Montana of the Chadli Molintas Command said that Marcos bust "is a monument to a dictator's absolute arrogance and egotism".

"It is a blight upon a land that is the ancestral home of the Ibaloy people. It is a grim reminder of the monstrous crimes that the Marcoses have committed against the people", added Montana.

Rosal assailed the fact that remnants of the martial law era continue to dominate the scene and that none of them has been punished for crimes against the people. He cited, in particular, Imelda Marcos, her son Bongbong and daughters Imee and Irene, Marcos cronies Danding Cojuangco, Roberto Benedicto, Henry Disini and other politicians and big comprador capitalists.

"The destruction of the bust is an expression of the people's deep-seated hatred of the fascist dictatorship and anger over the failure of the successive regimes from Aquino to the present to punish the Marcoses and their principal cohorts," Rosal said.

He also said that victims of human rights violations have yet to be paid damages due them. Rosal said it is only the revolutionary movement that is capable of giving justice to the people who have been oppressed and abused by the Marcos dictatorship.

Rosal stressed that a CPP Central Committee directive issued in 1999 to the NPA to arrest, put on trial and punish the principal implementors and beneficiaries of martial law still stands.

"The revolutionary forces have the time and initiative to determine where and when (revolutionary justice) will be carried out", Rosal added.

He cited the case of Rodolfo Aguinaldo, a notorious PC colonel during the dictatorship, who was meted punishment by the NPA in 2001. Rosal said that like Aguinaldo, who was killed despite being meticulous about his security, the Marcoses and their minions will definitely be caught someday by the long arm of revolutionary justice.

Montana added that "the damaging of the Marcos bust by the CPP-NPA is but an initial and symbolic step. Let the ruins be an ugly reminder that the Marcoses have yet to pay for their crimes."###

Reference:
Anne Buenaventura
Media Officer
Cellphone Number: +63910-240-3553



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