Straight from the fascist's mouth

Communist Party of the Philippines
May 14, 2005

Without declaring martial law, the Arroyo regime has established itself as an open fascist regime employing the military as the principal instrument of state fascism to terrorize and cow the people into submitting to increasingly oppressive and exploitative conditions.

In Eastern Visayas, the notorious fascist Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who Philippine president Gloria Arroyo has rewarded and promoted several times over, is on a rampage. In doing so, he has shed all pretensions and has put himself forward as the Arroyo regime's most rabid and reliable fascist.

In a radio interview by Radio Diwa-Tacloban broadcaster Jasmine Bonifacio aka Bantay Jasmin aired on April 29, General Palparan was unapologetic about his fascist crimes. He expressed no remorse over the string of murders of peasant activists and has instead openly endorsed them. He callously celebrates the bombings and forced hamletting of communities.

We present hereunder the statements made by Major General Palparan to show what kind of monsters Gloria Arroyo has chosen to commend. We enjoin the Filipino people and the international community to condemn Major General Palparan's fascist crimes and demand his expulsion from Eastern Visayas:

• (a) In a public meeting called by Palparan in Tacloban City, he announced that the military would be abducting one peasant activist every month from so-called "NPA-infested" barrios. Should the barriofolk and barangay officials protest the abduction, the AFP would kill the detained peasant activist because the protests would prove that the residents have indeed been organized by the NPA, said Palparan.

  When asked about this by Bantay Jasmin, Palparan replied: "Pasensya na kayo sa paisa-isang kinukuha at ninunyutralisa natin sa mga baryo. Kailangan nating gawin iyon dahil kung hindi natin inaalis ang paisa-isang bulok na mansanas ay mabubulok ang lahat." (I'm sorry if we have to seize and neutralize these rotten apples one-by-one. If we don't, it is these bad apples that will spoil the whole bunch).

• (b) Asked about the recent cases of forced disappearances in Catbalogan, Northern Samar, Palparan replied:

  "... yung masasamang tao na nawawala, mabuti naman na mawala sila. These are the bad eggs. Gumagawa sila ng kagaguhan. They are the ones killing people. If you do not do anything, patuloy lang silang gagawa ng masama. Ngayon, kinuha ang mga ito, tinanong-tanong, galit kayo." ("... it is a good thing that those bad elements are missing. They are the bad eggs. They do bad things. They are the ones killing people. If you don't do anything, they will just go on doing bad things. Now that they've been seized, you question why. You are angry.")

• (c) When asked to comment on his bloody record as the "Butcher of Mindoro" from 2001 to 2004, Palparan replied:

  "Kung tinatawag akong berdugo, berdugo na nga. ("You call me a butcher, so be it.") I will not deny, but also I will not admit.... The more you (referring to the media) talk about it, the more I will be inspired."

• (d) Asked to comment on the AFP's responsibility for creating paramilitary vigilante groups that carry out some of the dirty work for the military, Palparan said: "Nabuo yung Alsa Masa sa Mindoro noong dumating ako. Kumikilos ang mga ito sa alanganing oras. May sarili silang pagkilos. Hindi na kami makapahinga kung pati lahat ng pagkilos nila ay susubaybayan namin. Nakatutulong naman sila sa paglaban sa NPA. Gayundin ang mga katulad ng RHB." ("The Alsa Masa in Mindoro was formed when I arrived. They do their work at night or in the wee hours of the morning. They work on their own. We would have no rest at all if we had to monitor all their movements as well. Besides, they help in fighting the NPA. So do groups like the RHB.")
• (e) Palparan displayed his utmost contempt for the peasant masses in his reply to a question on why the revolutionary movement is strong in Samar: "Dahil tamad ang mga tao rito at ayaw magtrabaho para pahusayin ang kabuhayan nila." ("It's because the people here are lazy and don't want to work to improve their lives.")