Ang Paghimakas (AP), the official newsletter of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Negros Island, released its October edition today tackling the predicament of farmers and farm workers in Negros.

Describing the current conditions of the peasant class in the Island, the AP, in its editorial urged the toiling masses to “reinvigorate and expand peasant struggles and advance armed struggle to defeat Duterte’s counterrevolutionary war.”

It stated that the oppressed and exploited classes in Negros are “undeterred by Duterte’s relentless counterrevolutionary war in the countryside” and, thus, “must continue to launch widespread and sustained antifeudal campaigns and mass struggles which will serve as strong base for the people’s fight against the fascist regime.”

The Negros-based revolutionary newsletter wrote on the court’s dismissal of the petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by the families of two elderly farmers abducted by the Philippine Army in Silay City last September 30. It also reported human rights violations perpetrated by state forces particularly in the hinterlands of Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental and the cities of Canlaon and Guihulngan in Negros Oriental.

Meanwhile, according to its updates on the revolutionary armed struggle in Negros, the military suffered five casualties in separate offensives of the New People’s Army (NPA).

In this October issue, the AP carried stories on farmers engaging in “bungkalan” (land cultivation) to cope with hunger and poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic, and, also, on Marcos crony and despotic land lord Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Jr.

Facts behind the 3rd Infantry Division’s fake news regarding minors recruited in the NPA was exposed in the AP’s Sa Matuod Lang (In fact), while news of people’s protests were summarized in Balita sa Isla (News in the Island).

AP also featured tributes and poetry written for the NPA’s recent heroes and martyrs particularly the Ilog 4 and the victims of the recent Manapla massacre.

Its Medical section, Laygay Medikal, gave tips on how to avoid and cure lan-ag (athlete’s foot).

AP is released monthly in Hiligaynon together with English and Bisaya editions of its editorial. It can be downloaded at http://www.negrosrevportal.wordpress.com or cpp.ph.