Maoist rebels brand "colossal stupidity" how Manila handled bloody hostage-drama

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 24, 2010) – The underground Communist Party of the Philippines on Tuesday branded as “colossal stupidity” how police and government officials handled the hostage-drama in Manila that left at least 7 Hong Kong nationals dead.

It said: “Government and police officials failed to draw out the hostage-taker through negotiations. Police actions, including the arrest of his brother and nephew later in the day, only drew the ire of the hostage-taker and made worse the situation."

The Communist Party of the Philippines, which is fighting for decades now for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country, said the fumbled police assault resulted in unnecessary bloodshed.

"Colossal police incompetence was highlighted in almost every aspect of the hostage crisis. The Filipino people are dismayed at the monumental foul-ups and deplore the incompetence and stupidities of government and police in handling the hostage crisis," it said.

It was referring to the bloody end of the hostage-drama that also killed Rolando Mendoza, a former police captain. Mendoza was shot in the head and body near the bus’ front door where he fought it out with commandos. At least 15 people were held hostage by Mendoza, officials said.

Mendoza, who was dismissed from the service after being accused of robbery and extortion, hijacked the bus on Monday morning. Mendoza later demanded that he be reinstated to the police service after denying all accusations against him.

At least 9 people had been released earlier on Monday by Mendoza and the bus driver escaped later in the night after jumping out of the window.

Earlier in the night, policemen arrested a brother of the hostage-taker, Gregorio Mendoza, after he was accused of instigating and agitating, instead of convincing the armed man to surrender peacefully, according to Director Leocadio Santiago, chief of police forces in the National Capital Region.

The arrest of Mendoza’s elder brother may have prompted him to shoot the hostages. Mendoza’s brother told reporters that policemen would kill him after accusing him of conspiring with the hostage-taker, an accusation he vehemently denied.

Moments after the arrest of Mendoza, several shots rang inside the bus where the tourists were being held by the former cop. Officials said Mendoza hijacked the bus to air his gripe. His brother and wife also urged him to surrender peacefully.

Hong Kong on Tuesday has warned Chinese nationals against travelling to the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine rebels demand pullout of US troops

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 30, 2009) – Communist rebels on Wednesday demanded anew the pullout of US troops in the Philippines following the killing of two American counterterrorism specialists in a roadside bombing in Sulu province.

The outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines warned the US against using the killing of the soldiers to justify an escalation of its military intervention in the country.

"The killing yesterday of two US soldiers in Sulu underscores the need to put an immediate end to the deployment of US soldiers in the Philippines, especially where there is a raging armed conflict between the Philippine government and anti-government armed groups. This is neither the first nor the last case where US soldiers' intrusion into combat zones and actual participation in combat operations in Philippine territory has been exposed," the CPP said in a statement.

The two slain US soldiers SSG Jack Martin and SFC Christopher Shaw were killed Tuesday in the town of Indanan where security forces are fighting Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants. A Filipino marine was also killed in the bombing.

"We urge the Filipino and American people to demand that the Obama government immediately pull out all its interventionist troops in the country and thus prevent the escalation of combat operations involving American troops from turning the Philippines into another Iraq and Afghanistan," the CPP said, adding, “the American people would not want to be drawn into another Vietnam-like quagmire."

It also called on Manila to scrap the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement that allows continued US military presence in the Philippines.

"The repeal of the VFA and all other unequal military treaties between the US and Philippine governments has now even more become an urgent clamor of the Filipino people," the CPP said.

"With hundreds of US troops carrying out various combat, combat-related as well as covert operations in the Philippines, it is inevitable that more and more US soldiers and operatives will be targeted by various armed groups that view them as interventionist forces aligned with the Armed Forces of the Philippines," it said.

Philippine military and US Embassy officials said the slain US soldiers were noncombatants and that they were in the area to supervise a school project.

But local Muslims in Sulu said US forces were involved in clandestine operations aimed at capturing or killing known Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militant leaders.

“The Filipino people do not accept the US and Philippine governments' spin that the US soldiers killed in Indanan were non-combatants and involved only in development projects," the CPP said.

"As always, those US interventionist troops were armed to the teeth, self-confident in their military prowess and actually combat-ready, but they failed to anticipate the blast that hit them as they entered hostile territory. Their so-called humanitarian and development projects serve only as entry points for their presence and participation in combat and combat-related operations," it added.

Local authorities said the Abu Sayyaf is coddling Jemaah Islamiya militants in Sulu and among them were Dulmatin and Umar Patek, tagged as behind the deadly 2002 Bali bombings; and several others that included Mauiya and Quayem. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Army says 152 rebels surrender in Mindanao

A photo released by the Philippine Army shows Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the 10th Infantry Division in Mindanao, hands over cheques to New People's Army rebels who surrendered Tuesday, July 28, 2009 to the military after a series of negotiations. The army says a total of 152 NPA rebels have surrendered the past six months in southern Mindanao region. (Mindanao Examiner)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2009) – Some 152 communist rebels have surrendered to the military in the southern Philippines the past six months after a series of negotiations, officials said Wednesday.

Army Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the 10th Infantry Division, said the rebels, who were members of the New People’s Army, had also surrendered 32 assorted weapons, mostly rifles, and were provided livelihood aid as part of the government’s amnesty program.

“The former rebels who availed the government’s Social Integration Program ensures them of livelihood benefits that aims to help them return into the mainstream of the society and live with their families,” Manuel told the Mindanao Examiner.

Under the program, NPA rebels who surrender to the government will receive P20,000 each on top of P50,000 paid for their M16 rifle. Rebels are also given livelihood skills training and aid worth P50,000 for them to start their own business.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, aA regional army commander, urged rebels to surrender peacefully and avail of the government offer of amnesty for them to start a new life.

“We are moving forward towards peace and progress. This is the first step to the healing process and I am sure we are getting closer to achieving our goal of getting our brothers back into the folds of the law so that as one nation, we can jointly step forward to development.”

“We call on our brothers still on the mountains to go back into the folds of the law and give peace a chance. Our government is sincere in reaching out to them and we are waiting to give them the care and necessary help they need in order for them to enjoy a peaceful life with their families. We are all Filipinos and the only way for us to gain progress is to have lasting peace,” Mapagu said.

But Fidel Agcaoli, chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, has branded the Social Integration Program as a money-making scheme for corrupt military commanders.

“The so-called Social Integration Program is nothing but a money-making scheme for Armed Forces of the Philippines field commanders to buy their loyalty to the Gloria Arroyo regime and project through press releases the image of making strides in the regime's much vaunted objective of wiping out or rendering irrelevant the New People's Army by 2010,” Agcaoili said.

“These rebel returnees are actually local AFP agents and assets or civilians forcibly conscripted and coerced by the AFP to take part in elaborate surrender ceremonies and SIP graduation rites presided over sometimes by the fake president herself,” he added.

Agcaoili said the government allegedly spent P18.8 million last year for the bogus program. “In truth, the fake surrenderors retain only a little amount of that money while the huge chunk of the bounty goes to the pocket of field commanders and AFP officials," Agcaoili said.

The army spokeswoman denied Agcaoili’s accusation and branded them as propaganda to cover the truth about the surrender of many rebels to the government.

“There are a lot of process and safety measures in the granting of livelihood aid and assistance to the rebels who surrender to the military. We make sure that those who surrender are genuine members of the New People’s Army. All the funding released by the government for the Social Integration Program undergoes strict and regular audit procedures,” Manuel said.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines is the political wing of the New People’s Army and the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines. The rebels have been fighting the past for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Digos Massacre Remembered (Contains Graphic Images. Reader's Discretion Is Advised)

Digos Massacre Remembered (Contains Graphic Images. Reader's Discretion Is Advised)

PHILIPPINES (Indybay.org / June 19, 2009) - It is quite common these days to read from the newspapers violence being perpetrated by the communist New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) that most Filipinos no longer care as long they are not the poor victims.

People have become so passive that when rebels committed atrocities to civilians, none would make a fuss about it or chastise the perpetrators -- except for the families of the victims and the authorities. None would take the initiative to launch a crusade to seek justice. This is also what happened 20 years ago today.

Very few would likely remember that on June 25, 1989, in a small village in Digos, Davao Del Sur, 39 people, many of them children, were mercilessly gunned-down by CPP-NPA rebels while they were attending a Sunday mass. Two of the victims, UCCP Pastor Ruben Ayap and his brother were beheaded. The motive: the village leaders refused to cooperate with the rebels.

The CPP-NPA general command later admitted responsibility for the brutal killings and promised indemnification of the families of victims, which never happened.

The incident which became known as the “Digos Massacre,” captured the national attention back then. The entire country was enraged by the carnage. However, none have taken the matter too seriously except the government. Even the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), later on, in an ironic twist, gravitated towards the left who perpetrated the killings of its flock. It even placed the blame on the government. Eventually, the incident slowly faded in the people’s memory. There was no justice attained.

Now, after two decades since the Digos incident, the CPP-NPA continue to perpetrate atrocities without remorse, especially now that they are operating more and more like a criminal gang (or, rather, several dozen separate gangs united by ideology and tactics). Aside from killing civilians opposed to them, they have also ventured into numerous criminal activities like extortion, robbery, raids, etc in order to get the money to buy needed supplies and provide for the families of the leadership. Sadly, even up to now, the people remained passive of them.

When will the people take active role in condemning the CPP-NPA? Will it take another “Digos Massacre” for the people to act? The fight against the CPP-NPA is not solely the duty of the government. It is the duty of every freedom-loving Filipinos who abhor violence and value justice. If the people will not provide even vocal support, the effort to defeat the rebel-turned bandits will be futile.

The Filipinos should not remain deaf and blind. This is the least they can do for the victims of the “Digos Massacre” and the numerous other victims of CPP-NPA cruelty. (Mariz Quimpo. This article is written in remembrance of the victims of the Digos Massacre.)

Link: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/06/18/18602498.php

Murdered Philippine rebel leader's daughter laid to rest

At least 3,000 people joined the funeral march of the 20-year daughter of New People’s Army rebel leader Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago, in Davao City in the southern Philippines on Saturday, March 14, 2009. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and former Bayan Muna Representative Joel Virador were also spotted among the huge crowd that paid their last respect. The woman’s family blamed the military for the brutal murder. Her father linked 11 military intelligence agents in the murder. Rebelyn Pitao is cremated. (AKP Images / Keith Bacongco and Ruby Thursday More)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 14, 2009) – Some 3,000 people joined the funeral march Saturday of a murdered teacher, the daughter of one of the Philippines’ top communist rebel leader in Davao City in Mindanao.

Many were chanting anti-government slogan and blaming the military for the brutal murder of Rebelyn Pitao, whose father Leoncio Pitao, also known as Kumander Parago, is on top of the government’s most wanted man.

The woman’s father is chieftain of the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command, one of the most feared by soldiers in Mindanao.

Pitao’s daughter was found dead March 5, a day after she was abducted in Davao City. Her naked body was found floating in a shallow creek in the village of San Isidro in Davao del Norte’s Carmen town. Her body bore torture marks and was believed raped before she was stabbed in the chest.Hr father tagged 11 military agents as behind the murder, an accusation strongly denied by the authorities.

Communist rebels vowed those involved in the killing, four of them have already been identified as Sergeants Adan Sulao and Ben Tipait of the Armed Forces’ Military Intelligence Group XI and Corporal Alvin Bitang of the Military Intelligence Battalion (MIB) of the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division, and Orly Pedregosa, another intelligence agent.

“These fascist agents are believed to have carried out this dastardly crime in accordance with instructions from higher ups in their desperate campaign to shatter the determination of Commander Parago and his fellow NPA Red fighters in advancing the people’s revolution,” the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said in a statement.

“These suspects should be sought and arrested so they could undergo investigation by duly authorized revolutionary authorities and face criminal charges,” the CPP said.

The CPP also held the highest officials of the Arroyo government and the AFP responsible for the murder of Rebelyn.

“Ultimately, it is Gloria Arroyo and her top fascist henchmen who are to blame for the crimes against Rebelyn Pitao. Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya 2 has long regarded civilians as targets of military operations including killings, abductions, torture and other forms of fascism. This has now been most hideously extended to apply as well to loved ones and relatives of armed revolutionaries the fascists cannot get hold of.”

Oplan Bantay Laya is the government anti-insurgency campaign in the country.

The CPP also dismissed as “empty rhetoric” the pronouncements of President Arroyo and her defense officials that it is investigating the murder of Rebelyn.

“How can the Arroyo and her factotums be sincere in seeking justice for Rebelyn’s murder when they have, in fact, made this inevitable in the strategy, tactics and course of their counter-revolutionary war? By commending, promoting and rewarding her notorious fascist generals, Arroyo has in fact directly encouraged the Armed Forces of the Philippines to engage in such brutal and dastardly crimes,” it said.

”Rebelyn’s murder highlights the Arroyo regime’s innumerable crimes against unarmed civilians who are invariably regarded by the military and its counter-insurgency strategists as combatants in the raging civil war,” the CPP said.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division said it has already restricted to Bitang and Pedrogosa so they can answer any investigations into the killing of Pitao’s daughter.

The two soldiers, who were former NPA rebels, denied accusations against them, said Capt. Rosa Manuel, a regional army spokeswoman. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels ordered to arrest 4 military men in brutal murder of commander's daughter in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 11, 2009) – Communist rebels vowed Wednesday to arrest four soldiers linked to the killing of a commander’s daughter in the southern Philippines.

The underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said it instructed the New People’s Army (NPA) to arrest the four military men for the murder of Rebelyn Pitao, who was abducted in Davao City on March 4. She was tortured and raped and stabbed several times in the chest.
The woman is the daughter of Leoncio Pitao also known as Kumander Parago, chieftain of the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command.

The CPP identified the four soldiers as Sergeants Adan Sulao and Ben Tipait of the Armed Forces’ Military Intelligence Group XI and Corporal Alvin Bitang of the Military Intelligence Battalion (MIB) of the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division, and a certain Pedregoza, another intelligence agent.

“These fascist agents are believed to have carried out this dastardly crime in accordance with instructions from higher ups in their desperate campaign to shatter the determination of Commander Parago and his fellow NPA Red fighters in advancing the people’s revolution,” the CPP said in a statement.

Pitao’s daughter was found dead March 5, floating in a shallow creek in the village of San Isidro in Davao del Norte’s Carmen town.

“These suspects should be sought and arrested so they could undergo investigation by duly authorized revolutionary authorities and face criminal charges,” the CPP said.

The CPP also held the highest officials of the Arroyo government and the AFP responsible for the murder of Rebelyn.

“Ultimately, it is Gloria Arroyo and her top fascist henchmen who are to blame for the crimes against Rebelyn Pitao. Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya 2 has long regarded civilians as targets of military operations including killings, abductions, torture and other forms of fascism. This has now been most hideously extended to apply as well to loved ones and relatives of armed revolutionaries the fascists cannot get hold of.”

Oplan Bantay Laya is the government anti-insurgency campaign in the country.

The CPP also dismissed as “empty rhetoric” the pronouncements of President Arroyo and her defense officials that it is investigating the murder of Rebelyn.

“How can the Arroyo and her factotums be sincere in seeking justice for Rebelyn’s murder when they have, in fact, made this inevitable in the strategy, tactics and course of their counter-revolutionary war? By commending, promoting and rewarding her notorious fascist generals, Arroyo has in fact directly encouraged the Armed Forces of the Philippines to engage in such brutal and dastardly crimes,” it said.

”Rebelyn’s murder highlights the Arroyo regime’s innumerable crimes against unarmed civilians who are invariably regarded by the military and its counter-insurgency strategists as combatants in the raging civil war,” the CPP said.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division said Wednesday that it has already restricted to Bitang and Pedrogoza so they can answer any investigations into the killing of Pitao’s daughter.

The two soldiers, who were former NPA rebels, denied accusations against them, said Capt. Rosa Manuel, a regional army spokeswoman. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine communist rebels deplore killing of commander's daughter

MANILA, Philippines (AKI / Mar. 6, 2009) – The outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines said on Friday it deplored the murder on southern Mindanao island of the daughter of a commander of its armed wing, saying her slaying was part of Manila’s dirty war.

Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of the New People’s Army commander Leoncio Pitao, was found dead on Thursday night, a day after she was abducted by armed men while on her way home in the outskirts of Davao City, the largest city on Mindanao.

“The army has no justification at all for abducting, molesting and murdering Ka Parago's (Leoncio Pitao)'s daughter Rebelyn.

"By killing Rebelyn, the army has committed a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the rules of war, which gives foremost protection to those not taking part in the armed conflict,” the CPP said in a statement on Friday.

“Rebelyn's murder and the barbarities committed against her are undoubtedly part of the dirty war being carried out by the Army under Oplan Bantay Laya 2."

Oplan Bantay Laya 2 is the operation launched in 2002 against Al-Qaeda-linked militant group Abu Sayyaf and other rebels Muslim-majority south. It began to target the CPP and the NPA in 2003.

The victim had recently passed the national teacher's examination and was set to teach at the St. Peter's School in Toril, Davao City.

Her body, clad only in underwear, bore several stab wounds. Her hands were tied and her mouth was bound with masking tape, fueling speculation she was tortured and sexually assaulted.

In June last year, Pitao's brother, Danilo, was also abducted and killed.
Major General Raymundo Ferrer, a regional military commander of the Philippines army, denied its soldiers were involved in the kidnapping and killing of Pitao's daughter.

“It is not the policy of the military to involve the family or children of the rebels into our fight,' he said, adding that the army was open to investigation of alleged crimes.

Since 2001, hundreds of members of left-wing political parties, human rights activists, journalists, and outspoken clergy have been killed in the Philippines. The number increased sharply after President Arroyo's June 2006 declaration of an "all-out war" against the NPA.

The latest peace talks between Manila and the CPP were suspended in 2004, after Manila refused to pressure the United States and the European Union to remove the NPA from their lists of foreign terrorist organizations.

The aim of the CPP and the NAP, both founded in the late 1960s, is to turn the Philippines into a Maoist State. (adnkronosinternational)

Philippine soldiers kill 2 communist rebels in Mindanao clash

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 22, 2009) – Government soldiers clashed with communist New People’s army rebels on Sunday, killing two fighters in the Mindanao province of Davao del Norte, the military said.

The military said the clash broke out in the village called Dagohoy in Talaingod town after patrolling troops encountered a band of rebels.

There were no military casualties in the fighting and soldiers captured two automatic rifles left behind by fleeing rebels, according to a military report.

Soldiers also recovered the bodies of the slain rebels.

Early this month, the military said it killed seven NPA rebels in fierce fighting in North Cotabato’s Tulunan town, scene of bloody clashes in recent months between the two groups.

But rebel leaders denied the reported casualties and branded the military report as propaganda.

The NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

Rebel leaders broke off peace talks with the Arroyo government in 2004 after the United States listed the NPA, including the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front, as foreign terrorist organizations and froze their assets abroad on Manila’s prodding.

The NPA vowed to intensify attacks against police and military targets in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Pursue Peace Talks With Reds, Lawyers' Group Urges Manila

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 17, 2008) - The local chapter of the Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao called on the Arroyo government to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and to issue immediate suspension of military operations (SOMO) to pave way for the safe release of an army official and a police officer being held captive by the New People's Army rebels.

The NPA is holding First Lieutenant Vicente Cammayo since November 7 after rebel forces attacked his unit and killed two soldiers and a government militia in a fierce firefight in Casoon village in the town of Monkayo in Compostela Valley province.

Aside from Cammayo, the rebels also captured Police Officer 3 Eduardo Tumol, a member of the 1105th Provincial Mobile Group, who was arrested on November 5 by the NPA at a checkpoint in the village of Baogo in Davao Oriental's Caraga town.

The UPLM said the continuing militarist approach of the Arroyo government only hinders the imminent release of the two prisoners of war and reinforces the escalating human rights violations in the Lumad and peasant communities in the southern region.

The group also cited previous statements made by Presidential Secretary Jesus Dureza that the Arroyo government would leave the matter to the military.

"With such, the GRP effectively abandoned the headways and breakthroughs of the peace talks in general. We refer to the previous agreements such as The Hague Joint Agreement, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHIHL)," said UPLM Davao City Chairperson Atty. Eduardo Estores.

"A rational government would hear the plea of the POWs' family. But the Arroyo government seems to play deaf and mute to such appeal. The government must do all it can to uphold at all times the security of the civilian populace and the POWs as guaranteed by the international humanitarian laws," Estores said.

"The GRP has the obligation of ensuring the immediate and safe release of the POWs and the respect of the human rights and the international humanitarian laws," Estores added.

NPA Rebels Ambush Army Patrol In South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 23, 2008) – Communist insurgents ambushed an army patrol, sparking a firefight that left one soldier wounded in the southern Philippines, a security spokesman said Tuesday.

Major Armand Rico, of the Army’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said the fighting in the village of Kabungsuan in Surigao del Sur’s Lingig town lasted about 25 minutes.

He said about ten New People’s Army rebels attacked the patrol on Monday afternoon. “One of our soldiers was wounded in the fighting,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Rico said troops, who were members of the 36th Infantry Battalion, had recovered four anti-tank and claymore mines left behind by insurgents. “We have reports suggesting that the insurgents had suffered an undetermined number of casualties,” he said.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF), which is fighting the past decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the Philippines.

The rebels broke off peace talks with Manila in 2004 after they accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on a deal that would have freed hundreds of political detainees and a put a stop to extrajudicial killings of activists in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Reds Demand Manila To Abide By Agreement Before Peace Talks Can Resume

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 17, 2008) – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines on Saturday demanded that Manila complies with agreements it previously signed with communist rebels.

The NDFP, political wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, ended a three-day informal meeting with Filipino peace negotiators in Norway which brokered the talks.

“We are pleased with the opportunity provided by this informal meeting to exchange views with regards to the impediments that must be overcome for the formal meetings to resume,” said Luis Jalandoni, chief NDFP peace negotiator.

The NDFP praised the Royal Norwegian Government for making possible the meeting between peace negotiators aimed at finding ways of resuming talks stalled since 2004 after rebel leaders accused Manila of reneging its agreements with the CPP.

The informal talks were held from May 13-15m but Jalandoni said the Filipino peace panel failed to come with solutions that will lead to the resumption of the negotiations.

“The NDFP delegation expressed its strong desire for the resumption of the formal meetings and took pains to persuade the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) delegation to do away with said impediments.”

“It is unfortunate that the GRP delegation did not bring any idea towards the resolution of any problems that impedes the resumption of the formal meetings,” he said, adding, his group presented 13 impediments that must be overcome before formal peace talks could resume.

Jalandoni said among the impediments are the terrorist tag by the United States and the European Union, on Manila’s prodding, of the NDFP chief political consultant Prof. Jose Maria Sison, the CPP and the NPA; the illegal “suspension” of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

And also the Oplan Bantay Laya and the consequent gross and systematic violations of human rights; the persecution, murder, arrest and enforced disappearance of NDFP consultants; the demand for capitulation of the NDFP to the GRP in the guise of prolonged ceasefire before addressing the fundamental problems of Philippine society and the roots of the armed conflict; and the failure to indemnify the victims of human rights violations under the Marcos regime.

“We stressed that overcoming these impediments is not a precondition but an obligation of the Arroyo government to comply with the agreements it has signed with the NDFP,” Jalandoni said.

The Philippine Army said it would abide by the decisions of the government as far as the possibility of the resumption of the peace talks with rebels.

“We will follow the decision of our political leaders. Whatever would be the outcome of these talks (with the NDFP), we will abide like a true soldier that we are,” Major Raymundo Aguada, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

But many soldiers in the southern Philippines are disgruntled by the news that Manila is trying to reopen peace talks with communist rebels, saying, it the NPA will only use the negotiations to recruit and strengthen its forces.

“This has been a cycle already. All presidents of this forsaken country had tried everything and failed to bring back peace, but the NPA remains defiant and victorious and all it wanted is to topple this democratic government and install a dictatorial government.”

“There should be no peace with rebels who waged war and sow terror through out all these years,” said a local army soldier, who asked not to be named for fear that he would be reprimanded by his commander for speaking to the media about the peace talks.

Government soldiers are not allowed in the Philippines to speak out about their feelings or opinion, especially if it concerns national interests or government decisions.

The NPA is the military wing of the CPP, which the Philippine military said was founded in the 1968 by Sison, who is living in exile in The Netherlands since 1987.

Sison was arrested by the Dutch police on charges of masterminding the killings of two former NPA rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, but had been subsequently freed.

Since its founding, the CPP has been fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the Philippines.

Aside from the communist rebels, Manila is also negotiating peace with a Muslim separatist guerrilla group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has also accused the government of reneging on its commitment to grant them ancestral lands in Mindanao.

The seven-year old peace talks with the MILF have been stalled since last year and are now threatening the fragile truce and security in the southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)

3 Soldiers Killed In Clash In Southern Philippines: NPA

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Sept) – Three government soldiers were killed in fierce fighting Thursday with communist insurgents in the southern Philippines, a rebel spokesman said.

Nestor dela Cruz said the fighting erupted in Loreto town in Agusan del Sur province after New People’s Army rebels attacked an army unit. “Two other government soldiers were wounded in the fighting,” Dela Cruz said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

He said there were no NPA casualties.

The Army’s 4th Infantry Division did not give any statement about the fighting and officials ignored telephone calls from journalists.

Other reports said five rebels were allegedly killed in the clash, but this could not be independently confirmed.

Rebel forces on Sunday also raided a police base in Surigao del Sur’s Cantillan town and took away assorted weapons after disarming policemen.

NPA rebels also stormed last week a veneer factory in Compostela Valley province and killed one militiaman. The rebels, from the NPA's Armando Dumandan Command, carted four automatic rifles and a handgun from militias guarding the Li Chiang Veneer Plant in Montevista town.

The NPA branded the firm as “despotic” and accused it of actively supporting the military operations against innocent farmers in the town, said Marcella Valiente, of the Armando Dumandan Command.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been fighting for decades to establish a Maoist state in the country.

The Philippine government opened peace talks with the rebels, but the negotiations collapsed in 2004 after the United States listed the CPP and the NPA and its political arm, the National Democratic Front, as foreign terrorist organization on Manila’s prodding. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA Rebels Raid Police Base In Southern Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 23 Sept) - Communist insurgents raided Sunday a police base and carted away assorted weapons in the southern Philippines, military reports said.

Reports said dozens of New People’s Army gunmen stormed the base in the town of Cantilan in Surigao del Sur province and disarmed policemen before ransacking the place.

It said the rebels fled on trucks after the raid and leaving behind stunned policemen. There were no reports of firefight. Security forces were sent to the town to help policemen hunt down the rebels.

Last week, NPA rebels also stormed a veneer factory in Compostela Valley province and killed one militiaman after he tried to attack the raiders.

The rebels, from the NPA's Armando Dumandan Command, carted four automatic rifles and a handgun during the raid. The militias are working for the Li Chiang Veneer Plant in Montevista town.

The NPA branded the firm as “despotic” and accused it of actively supporting the military operations against innocent farmers in the town.

“The NPA disarming operation was a punitive action against the company which uses its goons to harass and intimidate residents,” Marcella Valiente, of the Armando Dumandan Command, said.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been fighting for decades to establish a Maoist state in the country.

The Philippine government opened peace talks with the rebels, but the negotiations collapsed in 2004 after the United States listed the CPP and the NPA and its political arm, the National Democratic Front, as foreign terrorist organization on Manila’s prodding. (Mindanao Examiner)

Jailed Filipino Communist Leader Freed

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 13 Sept) – Dutch authorities have ordered the release of jailed Filipino communist leader Jose Maria Sison for lack of evidence in all murder charges against him, reports said Thursday.

Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, was arrested on Aug. 28 in The Netherlands where he is living in exile by the Dutch police allegedly for ordering the NPA killings in 2003 and 2004 of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, ex-CPP leaders.

The U.S. designated the CPP, NDF and the NPA as foreign terrorist organizations on Manila's prodding after peace talks failed in 2004. The Philippine government insisted the rebels, who fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country, to lay down their arms and sign a peace deal.

Earlier, Luis Jalandoni, of the CPP’s National Democratic Front of the Philippines, protested the decision of The Hague Court extending the detention of Sison for a further 90 days.

Jalandoni said Sison's detention is a gross violation of his right to due process.

“At a stage when he is a mere suspect, he is subjected to prolonged detention of 105 days. Moreover, the Dutch authorities are violating his internationally recognized right to receive visits from his family and his doctor.”

“The conditions of solitary confinement inflicted on him are inhuman and a disgrace to a government that claims to respect human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” he said in a statement released early on Thursday.

The NDFP has condemned the persecution of Sison on what it called “trumped-up charges” already dismissed by the Philippine Supreme Court on June 1, 2007. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels Storm Police Base In Southern RP

BUKIDNON (Mindanao Examiner / 24 Jun)- The Philippines' New People's Army rebels attacked a police headquarters in the town of Dangcagan in the southern province of Bukidnon on Sunday and carting a still undetermined number of weapons, the military said.

The military said the raid left one police officer dead. Troops were sent to pursue the attackers, numbering about two dozens.

The rebels were clad in military uniform when they raided the police base early in the afternoon. Policemen put up a firefight, but had been overpowered by the rebels.

The NPA is the armed wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been fighting for a separate Maoist state in the largely Catholic country.

Peace talks between the government and rebels failed after the United States listed the NPA and the CPP, including its political arm, the National Democratic Front as foreign terrorist organizations on Manila's prodding.

The rebels accused Manila of pressuring them into signing a peace deal that will eventually led into disarming more than 7,500 fighters across the country without a clear understanding whether they would be allowed to rule separately. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnapping Of Political Activists Continue In The Philippines

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 06 Jun) – A senior member of the militant political group Bayan Muna (People First) was kidnapped in the southern region of Mindanao, police said on Wednesday.

Police said gunmen seized Gilbert Cardeno in Koronadal City in South Cotabato province. The Philippine military tagged Bayan Muna as a leftist organization.

Cardeno is said to be the group’s regional coordinator in Mindanao. Bayan Muna is composed mainly of workers, farmers, professionals and other progressive sectors that champion the cause of “New Politics, the Politics of Change” in the Philippines.

Political activists blamed the military for the missing man. The latest kidnapping of Bayan Muna member is only one of many unresolved cases in the Philippines.

Political groups opposed to President Gloria Arroyo’s rule accused her government as behind the disappearance and murder of more than 850 activists in the country.

The Philippine military denied it was behind the extra-judicial killings of political activists.
Last month, a pastor of the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, Berlin Guerrero, was abducted by gunmen in Binan town in Kaguna province, outside Manila.

But it turned out that government soldiers were behind his abduction on suspicion that Guerrero is a senior leader of the New People's Army and is allegedly facing murder charges.

Guerrero said soldiers tortured him to force confession and denied all allegations against him.

Filipino religious groups condemned the arrest. (With reports from Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)

Power Struggle Patuloy Sa RPA-ABB!

BACOLOD (Mindanao Examiner / 29 May) – Patuloy ang power struggle sa pagitan ng mga lider ng Revolutionary Ploretarian Army-Alex Bongcayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) sa Bisayas at posibleng samantalahin ito ng New People’s Army (NPA) upang tuluyang mawasak ang pundasyon ng break-away group.

Umiikot ang kapangyarihan ng RPA-ABB sa dalawang kilalang lider na sina Lualhati Carapalli, na siyang chairman ng partido at Nilo De la Cruz, na nagsasabing siya ang tunay na pinuno ng rebeldeng grupo.

Inakusahan ni Dela Cruz ng kung anu-ano si Carapali at ilang mga commander nito at sinabing tinanggal na ng RPA-ABB ang grupo.

Ngunit pinasinungalingan naman ito ni Carapali at sa katunayan ay si Dela Cruz umano ang siyang nag-traydor sa RPA-ABB at posibleng arestuhin upang litisin.

Ikinatuwa naman ng NPA ang kaguluhan sa loob ng RPA-ABB at binansagan traydor ang nasabing grupo dahil nakipagsabwatan umano ito sa pamahalaang Arroyo upang was akin ang NPA.

Matindi ang hidwaan ng NPA at RPA_ABB at madalas magsagupaan ang dalawang grupo sa Bisayas at ibang bahagi ng bansa. (Mindanao Examiner)

Senior NPA Leader, Wife Nabbed In Southern Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 26 May) – Philippine authorities captured a senior leader of the New People’s Army rebels and his wife in the southern province of Misamis Oriental.

Security officials said the duo - Mar Lopez, also known as "Ka Mebel and Ka Bobit" and Lolita Gambota - were being interrogated on Saturday at an army base in the province.

Lopez is also the secretary of the SECOM 1, Front Committee 4-B of the Communist Party of the Philippines-Central Mindanao Regional Committee (NCMRC); while his wife is said to be a finance officer.

The two were nabbed late Friday in the hinterland village of Napaliran in Balingasag town after troops tracked them down.

There was no immediate statement from the CPP or the NPA, its armed wing, which has been fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the Philippines. (With reports from Romy Bwaga and Merlyn Manos)

Photo/Video: NPA Rebel Leader Yields In Southern RP

New People's Army rebel leader Erwin Moli, 3rd from left, is escorted out of a fast food chain in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines Friday 16 Mar 2007. Philippine Army officials say Moli, secretary of the Front Kara Command of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, surrendered along with 16 followers from Zamboanga del Sur province after a series of negotiations. Moli also surrendered four automatic rifles, two shot guns, an automatic pistol and two fragmentation grenades to the Army's 102nd Infantry Brigade. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Mar) – Philippine military officials presented 13 of 17 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, including their leader, who surrendered to the in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur.

Officials said the rebels headed by Erwin Moli, of the Front Kara Command of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, handed over four automatic rifles two shot guns, an automatic pistol and two fragmentation grenades to the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade.

Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the First Infantry Division, said the rebels surrendered late Wednesday in the village of Tininghalang in Lapuyan town in Zamboanga del Sur province.

“The surrender is the result of our series of negotiations with the NPA. We have received many surrender feelers and more rebels wanted to surrender and start a new life with their families. There is really no reason to continue with their unnecessary struggle because we are living in a democratic government,” Ferrer told the Mindanao Examiner newspaper.

Ara Mina Nakipagsayaw Sa Komunista; AFP Umalma!

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Mar) - PINALAGAN ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ang ginagawang pagpapasarap ni National Democractic Front (NDF) leader Jose Ma. Sison sa Netherlands habang naghihirap ang mga miyembro ng komunistang grupo sa kabundukan.

Tinukoy kanina ni AFP Public Information Office Chief Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro ang website ni Sison (www.josemariasison.org) na naglalahad ng mga larawan kung saan ay nakikipagsayaw pa sa artistang si Ara Mina ang communist leader.

May larawan rin ang mang-aawit at artistang si Janno Gibbs kasama sina Ara, Sison at NDF panel chief negotiator Louie Jalandoni na kinuha sa isang Christmas party noong nakaraang taon.

Binigyang-diin ni Bacarro na habang nagsasakripisyo at nagtitiis sa gutom ang mga rebeldeng nakikipagsagupa sa militar, relaks na relaks at maginhawa ang buhay ng kanilang lider.

"Yung mga tao nila sa ibaba ay naghihirap dahil sa naniniwalang may ipinaglalaban, samantalang si Sison ay nag-eenjoy sa buhay at ang lahat ng amenities ay nasa kanya," ani Bacarro.

Wala naman aniya sanang masama kung may social life si Sison subalit hindi na nito kailangang ipagyabang pa na tanda na hindi sensitibo ito sa kalagayan ng mga miyembro.

"I pity them. They should challenge him. There's nothing wrong with enjoying social life but he should not boast it. Maybe, nag-e-ego tripping sya," dagdag ng opisyal.

Idineklarang terorista si Sison ng Estados Unidos at European Union.

Agad namang dumipensa si Bacarro sa pagkukumpara sa gawain ni Sison sa mga lider ng AFP na nagpapasarap rin habang tinutugis ng mga sundalo nito ang mga bandido at rebelde.

Hindi naman agad makunan ng reaksyon ang CPP ukol sa batikos ng AFP. Ngunit ayon sa mga supporters ni Sison sa Mindanao ay inggit lamang umano ang militar dahil mas magandang lalaki diumano ang CPP leader kaysa Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, ang AFP Chief of Staff.

Pede naman umanong imbitihan ng AFP ang komedyanteng si Pokwang para sumayaw rin sa mga opisyal ng militar. (Juley Reyes, with a report from Juan Magtanggol in Mindanao)