The Duterte fascist regime’s counterrevolutionary war is becoming dirtier and bloodier. Last September 12, at least five armed state agents invaded the home and killed 78-year old Rolando Patifio Leyson Sr. in Barangay San Pedro, Sison, Surigao del Norte. The local radio station reported Duterte’s armed thugs fired at least 25 rounds at Leyson using M-16 rifles and short firearms.

Leyson Sr. is the father of Rolando Leyson Jr., who is a publicly known figure of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Surigao del Norte.

The murder of Leyson Sr. is the latest dastardly crime perpetrated by the state terrorist regime. It was carried out in line with the dirty schemes of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

The intent of Leyson Sr.’s murder is clearly to punish his son who has chosen the path of revolutionary armed resistance. It also serves as a fascist ultimatum to terrorize other NPA fighters and commanders, their families and the people.

The murder of Leyson Sr., a civilian whose only relation to the armed movement is having a Red fighter son, is a gross violation of international rules of war and of universally accepted norms of a civilized conflict. We call on the Filipino people and international humanitarian and human rights agencies to expose and condemn this treacherous crime.

The Duterte regime and its NTF-ELCAC have resorted to such cowardly criminal acts in their desperation to achieve their self-imposed deadline of crushing the NPA before the end of its term. With less than two years left, it is clear that the Duterte regime’s counterrevolutionary war is bound to fail.

The fascist regime’s counterrevolutionary war has gotten dirtier over the course of Duterte’s 4-year rule. Failing to defeat the NPA in the battlefield, its military and police forces have been targeting civilians, who have been maliciously Red-tagged as members, supporters or sympathizers of the NPA. They are targets of military and police psywar and suppression activities.

Leyson Sr’s murder comes at the heels of successive state killings over the past few months, including the recent killing of Anakpawis Chair Randall Echanis, Negros human rights worker Zara Alvarez, Kadamay Secretary-General Carlito Badion, Iloilo City Bayan Muna coordinator Jovy Porquia and scores of activists especially in the rural areas. All have invariably been red-tagged and linked by the AFP to the revolutionary underground.

Duterte’s dirty war must be put to and end. State killings must be put to an end. Its campaign of murder must be put to an end. The Filipino people must rise and put an end to Duterte’s reign of fascist terrorism, corruption and national treachery.