PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

CPP demands retraction, discloses details of 56th IB's Oplan Thunder in Bulacan
December 7, 2004

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today demanded a retraction from Malacanang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of their statements claiming that a section of the Philippine Army's 56th Infantry Battalion that was ambushed by the New People's Army (NPA) last week was on a relief mission, even as it disclosed details of the 56th IB's operational plan.

CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said the NPA has in its possession a military map and other documents recovered from the person of 56th IB Charlie Company commanding officer 1Lt. Ben Puyao, who was killed along with 13 of his men in the ambush at Barangay Pasong Bangkal, San Ildefonso, Bulacan on November 30 .

Rosal said the documents and other items of high intelligence value provided details of Oplan Thunder, a military operation that targeted an NPA unit operating in eastern Bulacan. "They utterly belie Malacanang and the AFP's concocted story-line about a so-called rescue operation," Rosal added. He said that the NPA was willing to submit these documents and other items to any independent body that is willing to conduct a serious investigation of the November 30 ambush.

Rosal said the Arroyo regime's deceitful statements slandered the New People's Army and sought to portray it as "callous to the people's plight" in a desperate bid to isolate it from the people.

Rosal explained that the NPA carefully observes international rules of war and provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) that prohibit attacks on military units carrying out humanitarian missions.

According to Rosal, the documents recovered by the NPA detail how Oplan Thunder mobilized at least two companies of the 56th IB to scour a 17x20 square kilometer area and march towards Barangay Kamatsing in Dona Remedios Trinidad town, believed by the AFP to be the site of an NPA encampment. Oplan Thunder covered the mountainous areas of Norzagaray, Dona Remedios Trinidad, Angat and Pandi towns.

For about a week, the NPA unit operating in the area closely monitored the AFP's movements with the help of the massses, successfully evaded the attacking military forces and withdrew to San Ildefonso. It was here, however, that the 56th IB's Bravo Company and a section of the battalion's Charlie Company had begun its maneuvers on November 29.

Aware of the operation, the NPA hiked to an isolated area away from the populated sections of Barangay Pasong Bangkal to avoid civilian casualties and awaited in ambush. On the afternoon of November 30, it engaged a section of the 56th IB's Charlie Company, killing 14 out of the 20-man contingent and wounding six others. The wounded, who positively responded to the NPA's calls for surrender were treated humanely in accordance with international rules of war. Seized from the troops were an M60 light machine gun, an M203 rifle, three M14 rifles and 13 M16 rifles.

The documents recovered, the heavy firepower carried by the military unit, the absence of any implements or supplies for use in a humanitarian mission and the soldiers' distant location from the calamity-affected areas all betray the fact that the 56th IB was actually on a combat mission and was definitely not part of any relief operation, said Rosal. "It was therefore a legitimate military target."

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



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