The Mount Cansermon Command-New People’s Army (MCC-NPA) dismissed 3rd ID commander Maj. Gen. Marion Sison’s claim as “nothing but an excuse for another round of their human rights violations that have mostly targeted innocent civilians or hors de combat” as opposed to Sison’s call to end insurgency in the island within the year.

In a statement released on October 17, Ka Dionesio Magbuelas, MCC-NPA spokesperson called out the AFP for the long list of crimes it has committed in South Central Negros, including the recent killing of farmer couple Jolina and Marvin Encancion in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan City. Magbuelas said that state troops are “mercenaries” and “butchers” who also “profit from the corrupt and bloody counterrevolution mounted by the Marcos Jr. administration”.

“Akin to the boy who cried wolf, Sison and the 3rd ID cannot be believed by Negrosanons anymore. They have failed and are bound to fail to dismantle the guerilla front because they are part of the reactionary system that exploits and oppressed the masses of farmers and workers, and are given more just reasons day by day to take up arms and revolt. Communities and the people in them will continue to cherish and support the armed revolution because they know that the NPA is the genuine army that promotes their welfare,” Magbuelas added.

“For starters, there was never a high standard of discipline for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), as they lead in vices such as gambling, drinking, and drugs in the communities they pester, unlike the NPA who continues to secretly maintain close ties with masses as the real soldiers of the poor,” continued Magbuelas.

The rebel spokesperson also noted that Sison’s call for his troops to target the so-called “urban operations of NPA allied organizations” is a command that will target legitimate people’s cooperatives, non-government institutions, environmental and human rights defenders, and other groups that are standing up for their rights amid the intense duo of militarization and neoliberalism in Negros island. He also added that this will also “inevitably cause bloodshed in the election season, where it is an open secret that the AFP, Philippine National Police (PNP) and NTF-ELCAC also act as death squads of politicians.”

“In short, this is business as usual for the likes of Sison and his AFP henchmen. Their brazenly corrupt and fake surrender campaign will continue to pressure and hogtie the masses in fear and impunity, while falsely declaring peace and continuing their killing spree at the same time. The laurels they rest on are stained with blood and tears of the poor. They are ashamed to declare their inability to defeat the just armed revolution that has stood firm for over 55 years,” said Magbuelas.

He ended his statement saying that in reality, the AFP are being “pressured by the US to declare internal peace to swerve towards external defense, so they can continue receiving second-hand equipment and military aid and eventually become cannon fodder between the war of imperialists US and China.”