The Rizal revolutionary movement and the entire Southern Tagalog region paid tribute to New People’s Army (NPA) Red commander Jordan Mopon (Ka Boyong/Ka SY), for dedicating his life to the Filipino people. Mopon was martyred at the age of 40 in an encounter with the 73rd Division Reconnaissance Company (DRC) on October 17 in Sitio Balagbag, Barangay San Mateo, Norzagaray, Bulacan.

Mopon hails from a peasant family in Antipolo City, Rizal. His father was a tenant tiller of several land parcels, and farming provided the family’s main livelihood. Mopon was a responsible son, diligent in the fields, and dependable to his parents and siblings.

He was the third among six siblings and, after finishing elementary school, became his parents’ main partner in cultivating their rice fields. Even as a young boy, he demonstrated leadership not only within his family but also in their community. He was elected and served as a member of the Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council).

At an early age, he became aware of the rotten state of society and understood the correctness of the revolution. He became a full-time organizer working among the peasantry at 16. He immediately joined NPA-Rizal upon reaching the required age of 18 in 2003.

A skillful commander and cadre

At the time of his death, Mopon served as the NPA-Rizal (Narciso Antazo Aramil Command) commanding officer and people’s army subregional commander. He was also a member of the Regional Operational Command of the NPA in Southern Tagalog (Melito Glor Command). As a Party member, he once held the position of Party Committee deputy secretary in the guerrilla zone covering Rizal-Laguna-North Quezon and also served as a Regional Committee member.

Mopon led many successful military actions. He spearheaded bold campaigns against the Retooled Community Support Program and Focused Military Operations conducted by Armed Forces of the Philippines units, and for defending the peasant masses and the environment.

The operations he led included the NPA’s bloodless raid against Monte Rock Corporation in Barangay Patiis, San Mateo, Rizal on August 12, 2018, damaging an estimated ₱100 million worth of the destructive quarry company’s equipment. NPA-Southern Tagalog spokesperson Ka Cleo del Mundo said Mopon was most admired for his ability to transform military actions from defensive to offensive.

“He was the kind of commander who, at whatever activity preoccupies the unit, in enemy presence would immediately shout, ‘On your positions, prepare to fight!’” said Ka Cleo. Mopon’s traits as a fighter and commander included high vigilance yet composure during battle and retreats, which kept his unit calm but never complacent.

“The fighters highly respected and recognized him, carrying with them his courage and daring rooted in their collective life and teamwork in carrying out the tasks of the Army and the Party,” Ka Cleo added.

According to the Party’s Regional Committee, Mopon’s capabilities as a Party cadre were comprehensive, extending beyond military work to mass work. “Even with limited education from bourgeois schools, he persisted in studying the Party’s writings and Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, striving to impart and teach them to comrades and the masses,” the committee stated.

“He exuded leadership among the troops and comrades recognized him as their leader and guide. The masses and allies respected him as well,” the committee said. Mopon was consistently active in committee meetings, executing plans, and implementing the platoon’s daily tasks. He was also critical in identifying obstacles and setbacks in the progress of daily work.

“Until his last breath, he proved his loyalty to the great revolutionary cause that he embraced, owned, and devoted his skills, intellect, sweat, and blood to. His fall will resound in the cries for justice of the peasant masses, settlers, indigenous Dumagat and Remontado peoples, and all the people,” the Regional Committee stated.

AFP fascist to the end

Mopon was buried on October 23 in his home province of Rizal. To the very end, the 80th IB and the Marcos regime failed to show respect to his grieving family, subjecting them to relentless harassment and violations of their rights.

From the retrieval of the body, former 80th IB Commander Lt. Col. Mark Anthony U. Ruby forced the family go with them instead of Karapatan paralegals to locate the remains. Because the family refused, the 80th IB withheld the information, forcing the family and human rights groups to search mortuaries on their own.

Amid hardship, sorrow, and military pressure, the family eventually agreed to the military’s conditions to locate the body. When finally found, the body emitted a stench and was already bloated due to the deliberate negligence of the AFP who left it to decompose before bringing it down from the mountains.

This prompted the family to strongly suspect that Mopon was tortured before he was willfully killed. A relative and a paralegal who briefly saw the body noticed that his hands were severed and bruises marked his body. Because of the military’s desecration, the coffin remained closed during the wake.

The family, human rights groups, and the community experienced harassment at the wake itself. At least 50 fully-armed soldiers surrounded the area while others scattered throughout the sitio. Military agents and soldiers took photos of visitors without consent and even set up a checkpoint nearby. They pressured the family to remove tarpaulins honoring Mopon.

The 80th IB did not spare Jordan’s burial itself. Soldiers shamelessly disrespected the family’s mourning, grabbing Mopon’s keepsakes and the flags of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army that were to be placed inside his coffin.

The family could not even hold a proper memorial program for their beloved because soldiers closely guarded their every move. “Even at the family’s final farewell, the criminal 80th IBPA could not even fake decency. Their mask fell, revealing their true nature,” National Democratic Front-Rizal spokesperson Ka Arman “Arms” Guerrero said.

Despite AFP’s fascist repression, the revolutionary movement in Rizal and Southern Tagalog continued to pay tribute to their beloved Red commander and Party cadre. NDF-Rizal vowed Mopon that they will carry on the struggle for which he gave his only life and that justice will be served.