PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Murders of activists will swell NPA ranks
March 14, 2005

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today said that the string of murders of activists will swell the ranks of the New People's Army (NPA) as the Arroyo regime and its fascist minions "suppress legitimate dissent."

CPP spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal released the following statement today:

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns in the strongest terms possible the murder of Fr. William Tadena, a supporter of the striking workers and peasants of Hacienda Luisita, yesterday morning in La Paz, Tarlac.

The CPP condemns the string of murders and abductions of activists, including the killing of Tarlac City Councilor Abelardo Ladera and Bayan official Romeo Sanchez and the forced disappearance of Bayan Nueva Ecija officer Danny Macapagal.

The CPP holds the Arroyo regime and its fascist minions responsible for this wave of suppression. It is using state terrorism to silence dissent against the imposition of heavier tax burdens, soaring prices of oil and other basic commodities, unrestrained foreign debt payments and foreign military and economic intervention; and stifle widespread demands for wage increases and land reform.

The heightened suppression of legitimate forms of dissent is pushing the people to take up arms. It is Arroyo and her increasingly open fascist regime that is convincing the people to join the New People's Army.