Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas ANG Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

English Edition Vol. XLV No. 7 April 7, 2014 www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial Declaration The Tiamzons' arrest of National is a blow Sovereignty and to the peace talks he arrest of Benito Tiam- trumped-up criminal charges and Patrimony zon and Wilma Austria, arresting the negotiators, con- Tboth leading cadres of the sultants and staff of either party Week Communist Party of the Philip- are strictly prohibited by the pines and peace talks consult- Joint Agreement on Safety and ants of the National Democratic Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). n the face of heighten- Front of the (NDFP) is Aquino and his officials por- ing US intervention, in- a gross violation of the peace tray the arrest of Comrades Be- Icreasing presence of US process. nito and Wilma as a step that and allied foreign troops, They were arrested with five moves the country closer to intensifying foreign eco- others in Aloguinsan, on peace, exposing anew their nar- nomic plunder and the wor- March 22. To justify their pro- row-minded view on peace. For sening puppetry of the longed detention, the arresting Aquino, peace will be achieved if Aquino regime to the US police and military operatives he could effect either the surren- government, the Commu- planted firearms and arrested der or arrest of the people's rev- nist Party of the Philippines them on a trumped-up case of olutionary forces struggling for (CPP) calls on the Filipino multiple murder. national liberation and democra- people and all their patri- The Aquino regime has once cy. For the revolutionaries, this otic, democratic, progres- more demonstrated in this inci- would be tantamount to meekly sive and revolutionary for- dent its wanton disregard for the subjecting themselves to the pre- ces to launch a widespread peace talks. Sur- vailing exploitative and oppress- campaign to banner the veilling, ive social order dominated call for national freedom. filing by the imperialists Let us declare April 22- and local ruling 30 as National Sovereignty classes. and Patrimony Week to The NDFP jumpstart this intensified continuously propaganda and education lays the foun- campaign and drum up the dations of patriotic demands of the genuine, Filipino people. just and Let us recall the Filipino lasting people's heroes in ther peace by struggle for national inde- empower- pendence, from Andres ing the Fil- ipino peo- go to page 3 ple in sta- ges and attaining their national and dem- litical and constitutional re- people's democracy, social jus- ocratic aspirations, whether or forms before proceeding to the tice, national liberation and last- not it engages in negotiations. resolution of the armed conflict ing peace. In the NDFP's view, once and the disposition of the It is not the genuine peace popular unrest is dispelled be- armed forces involved in the workers like Comrades Benito cause the people are no longer current civil war. and Wilma, Alan Jazmines and hungry and receive just wages, Since it took power in 2010, other detained NDFP consultants enjoy decent housing, education, the Aquino regime has denigrat- who should be imprisoned and health care and other social ed The Hague Joint Declaration deprived of the right to be with services, the firm foundation for as a "document of perpetual divi- the masses whom they cherish peace shall have been laid down. sion" in its desire to disregard and serve. On the other hand, poverty, hun- needed social changes and go The Aquino regime, however, ger and injustice are fertile straight to the last item in the is more interested in utilizing grounds for social unrest and agenda and achieve a contrived precious time and resources to people's uprisings. peace. capture revolutionary leaders in- In a message from his prison As revolutionaries deeply stead of seriously sitting at the cell, Comrade Benito explained rooted in the exploited and op- negotiating table to decisively the real meaning of peace. He presses masses, Comrades Beni- discuss and resolve the roots of said that contrary to being a to and Wilma both have a sharp the civil war. In its narrow-mind- mere sentiment, as the regime grasp of what any agreement ed and shallow view, it could put and its drumbeaters claim, peace aimed at resolving the roots of a stop to the people's revolution- is a socio-political construct that the raging civil war in the Philip- ary struggle in this manner and will resolve the basic ills of socie- pines should contain. They have dispense with the necessity of ty. It is the real foundation and therefore been providing highly negotiating in order to entrap substance of any peace negotia- significant inputs to the peace and pacify it. tion and agreement. process. The Aquino regime has al- This is the basis for The Whether seated at the nego- ready meted a series of blows Hague Joint Declaration, which tiation table or not, they are part on the peace negotiations be- provides the proper order for of the great and historic process cause of its non-compliance agreements on the substantive of building peace. By waging rev- with, and violations of, existing agenda of human rights, social olution, they are not only peace agreements with the NDFP, es- and economic reforms and po- advocates but ardent creators of pecially its long-term incarcer- ation of JASIG-protected con- sultants. Talking with a regime that ANG Contents not only has a narrow-minded Editorial: The Tiamzons’ arrest is a blow to the and shallow concept of peace peace talks 1 Vol. XLV No. 7 April 7, 2014 but reneges on signed agree- Editorial 2: CPP declares National Sovereignty ments is indeed fraught with Ang Bayan is published in Pilipino, and Patrimony Week 1 Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligaynon, Waray and difficulties and danger. The on- US-GPH meet assailed 5 English editions. ly way for the Aquino regime to Tiamzons’ arrest condemned 6 It is available for downloading at escape going down in history as the Web Central Activities on the NPA’s 45th year 7 located at: the killer of the peace talks is Victorious military actions 8 for it to respect its agreements www.philippinerevolution.org. Interview with Ka Oris 9 with the NDFP, notably The Ang Bayan welcomes contributions CPP to MILF: Hague Joint Declaration and The Aquino regime is duplicitous 10 in the form of articles and news. JASIG and release the detained Readers are likewise enjoined to send Andrea’s arrest is fascist payback 11 NDFP consultants. It must also in their comments and suggestions for Minority leader killed 11 the betterment of our publication. You comply with the Comprehen- can reach us by email at: Infant dies during evacuation 12 Relentless harassment in HLI 13 sive Agreement on Respect for [email protected] 6,000 join Capalla’s funeral cortege 13 Human Rights and Internation- al Humanitarian Law General strike paralyzes Paraguay 14 (CARHRIHL) and release all po- Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committee litical prisoners detained on of the Communist Party of the Philippines trumped-up criminal charges.~

2 ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 “Declaration...,” from page 1

Bonifacio to Macli-ing Dulag, (2) opposing increasing US tion of the oil industry, the fur- from Amado V. Hernandez to military interventionism in pro- ther liberalization of the power Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran, from viding the puppet regime with industry, the privatization of Ka Bert Olalia to Ka Roger, from military funding and arms sup- water services, the use of public Teresa Magbanua to Juvy Capi- port, conducting surveillance funds to augment crony invest- on, and all those who have died operations, providing logistical ments in tollways and other in- fighting for the Filipino people's support and direct participation frastructure projects and so on. aspirations for genuine inde- during combat operations and in We must develop strong na- pendence. conducting bombing runs; tional criticism of the Aquino re- The National Sovereignty (3) opposing the planned gime and all previous puppet re- and Patrimony Week will cover amendment of the 1987 consti- gimes over the past seven dec- the scheduled swing-by visit of tution ("chacha" or charter ades for their failure to develop US imperialist chieftain Barack change) which seeks to remove a national industrial base and in- Obama. It will also cover the up- restrictions against foreign dependent economy capable of coming anniversary of the Na- ownership of land and business producing the needs for domes- tional Democratic Front of the operations in the Philippines in tic consumption and production Philippines (NDFP). It covers as order to fulfill the conditions set and sustaining employment. We well as the death anniversary of by the US government to facili- must expose the import-depend- Macli-ing Dulag and the celebra- tate the Aquino regime's appli- ent, export-oriented and debt- tions of International Earth Day cation to join the Trans-Pacific financed production that op- which underscore the issue of Partnership Agreement. presses the workers with low increasing foreign plunder of (4) opposing the Aquino re- wages and the peasants with the country's non-renewable re- gime's campaign to open up wid- widespread landgrabbing. sources and the resulting envi- er tracts of land for rubber, oil We must condemn the reac- ronmental destruction. palm, pineapple and banana tionary puppet state for sub- The struggle to uphold na- plantations and entice more jecting the country's national tional sovereignty and patrimo- mining operations to extract patrimony to foreign plunder, ny is set to become one of the black sand, gold, zinc, coal and allowing foreign big capitalists Filipino people's central points other mineral resources. to siphon out non-renewable of resistance in the rest of the (5) opposing the neoliberal mineral resources; and grab year and in succeeding years as policies of privatization, dereg- tens of thousands of hectares of they amplify their demand for ulation, liberalization and dena- land and carve out large tracts the ouster of the current puppet tionalization, especially the into chemical-fed plantations Aquino regime. Aquino regime's crony-con- which cause massive soil ero- trolled Public-Private Partner- sion and widespread public This struggle currently in- ship projects; health problems including air volves: (6) opposing the Aquino re- pollution and the poisoning of (1) opposing the planned gime's refusal to heed the peo- rivers and streams. signing of the Agreement for En- ple's demand for genuine land We must expose how for- hanced Defense Cooperation reform and national industriali- eign-owned mines and big log- which will allow the US to carve zation and instead generating ging and plantation operations, military enclaves and maintain an empty economic bubble of of- like foreign-owned semi-manu- permanent military presence in fice space, mall and condomini- facturing plants in the so-called the Philippines of several thou- um construction. "economic zones" do not serve sand US troops in the guise of to develop local production and "joint exercises," "humanitarian In the economic field, we fail to generate a substantial assistance and disaster re- must set the spotlight on the number of jobs correspondent sponse;” and demanding the ab- prevailing grave socio-economic to the extent of its super-prof- rogation of the Mutual Defense conditions that are a result of its and how these are interested Treaty (1956), the Visiting For- US-imposed neoliberal policies only in exploiting the cheap la- ces Agreement (1998) and the which have brought about un- bor and cheap raw materials in Mutual Logistics Support Agree- precedented hardships on the the Philippines. ment (2002). people, including the deregula- We must expose Aquino's

ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 3 "rapid economic growth" as China's aggressive assertion of embassy operates as the center "ampaw" or having a hollow its claim over the South China of political power of the reac- core and nothing but an illusion Sea land formations. tionary state in the Philippines conjured by the influx of the We must show how Aquino's where policies, laws and pro- oversupply of money in US and assertion is no different from grams emanate and Filipino pol- China banks and which is set to the justification of Gen. Emilio iticians kowtow to the US am- explode the moment the US and Aguinaldo who wel- bassador and seek his stamp of Chinese financial systems comed US colo- approval. We must expose how make adjustments causing nial troops to the US military directs the Phil- the massive withdrawal supposedly ippine military in the conduct of of portfolio invest- fight the the counterrevolutionary war ments. Spanish Oplan Bayanihan, which was We must aim to re- colonial- patterned after the US Counter- invigorate the Filipino ists. The insurgency Guide of 2009. people's sense of patri- result will We must shatter the illusion otism and national digni- not be dif- of a "globalized" world being ty by carrying out, among ferent: for- promoted by the imperialists' others, a sustained campaign eign military, ideological and cultural agen- to review Philippine history from political and eco- cies which seeks to break down the nationalist point of view. We nomic dominance. We must as- the national boundaries of must revive the Filipino people's sert and prove that upholding third world countries and sub- historic resistance against US and defending national sover- ject these to military interven- military bases. eignty and national patrimony tion and economic plunder while We must expose how the US can only be carried out as an in- the imperialist countries race to has been involved in surveil- dependent act of a country. To erect high protectionist walls in lance, joining trainings, bombing claim that one's country can as- their home economic. We must runs, logistical support and oth- sert its sovereignty with the assert the necessity of achiev- er combat operations through help of a superpower is to beg ing national sovereignty and de- its Zamboanga-based Joint Spe- to become a protectorate of fending the country's patrimony cial Operations Task Force-Phil- that power. as key factors for securing the ippines (JSOTF-P). We must ex- We must relentlessly oppose country's future as a modern pose the public relations cam- US interventionism in the inter- and progressive state amid the paign being conducted by the US nal affairs of the Philippines. prolonged and continuing crisis military to make US basing and We must expose how the US of global capitalism. ~ interventionism more palatable, making use of loose change from the overflowing funds of the US military in token school con- BAYAN assails 7th US-GPH meet struction and village electrifica- tion projects. embers of the Bagong Alyansang (BAYAN) ral- We must expose how the Mlied in front of Gate 2 of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City Aquino regime is serving to jus- on March 25 to assail the seventh meeting between military and tify the "US pivot" towards Asia security officials of the US and Aquino governments under the involving the deployment of 60% so-called Strategic Defense Dialogue. of US overseas naval troops and The meetings are being held to draft the Agreement on En- 50% of its land-based troops in hanced Defense Cooperation, a new pact that will grant the US the Asia-Pacific. We must ex- permission to establish military bases and facilities in the Phil- pose, debunk and oppose the ippines. claim of the Aquino regime that BAYAN challenged the Aquino government to provide the it is defending Philippine nation- public with the draft agreement as well as the details of the al sovereignty in allowing the US talks between the two regimes. BAYAN said it was ready to military to maintain its presence launch protests, especially in view of US Pres. Barack Obama's in Philippine seas and have un- visit to the country this month. ~ restricted access to Philippine facilities in order to confront

4 ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 CPP-NDFP leaders' arrest spurs tasks assigned to them by the CPP and NDFP. In particular, widespread condemnation they were investigating the con- ditions of the toiling masses in arious revolutionary organizations both here and abroad, as the Visayas devastated by su- well as progressive groups and patriotic individuals con- pertyphoon Yolanda and victim- Vdemned the illegal arrest of Comrades and ized by the Aquino regime's neg- Wilma Austria, both well-known senior leaders of the Communist ligence. They were closely moni- Party of the Philippines (CPP) and peace consultants of the National toring the rehabilitation work Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). being conducted by the New People's Army (NPA) in the dev- They were arrested on 29, NDFP-Cavite members ral- astated areas. March 22 in Aloguinsan, Cebu lied right in front of Camp They were also in the middle along with Rex Villaflor; Lor- Crame where the two leaders of performing tasks in connec- raine Castillo; Joel Enano; Jeosi were being held. tion with their roles as consult- Nepa; and Arlene Panea and The arrest is a violation of ants on the Comprehensive slapped with a trumped-up case the Joint Agreement on Safety Agreement on Social and Eco- of illegal possession of firearms and Immunity Guarantees (JAS- nomic Reforms (CASER), which even if no firearms were found IG). The agreement, which was forms part of the substantive in their possession, as stated in signed in 1995 by the NDFP and agenda currently being dis- the report of the local police. the Government of the Philip- cussed. Negotiations on the CA- Comrades Benito and Wilma pines (GPH) stipulates that per- SER have failed to prosper be- were also implicated in the "Hi- sons involved in the peace talks cause of the GPH's failure to longos massacre" along with are exempted from being arrest- comply with previously signed about 50 other progressive and ed, charged, surveilled and be- agreements such as the JASIG. revolutionary leaders. ing subjected to other forms of In fact, at the time of their In successive statements, persecution. The JASIG aims to arrest, Comrades Benito and the CPP, Ka Luis Jalandoni of create a positive atmosphere for Wilma were on the way to a con- the NDFP Negotiating Panel, the peace talks and provide sultation on the resumption of NDFP chief political consultant guarantees to persons involved informal talks this May, as Jose Ma. Sison and Ka Oris in the talks to perform their du- agreed upon by NDFP chief ne- (Jorge Madlos) of NDFP-Min- ties without interference or gotiator Jalandoni and GPH danao assailed Tiamzon and danger. chief negotiator Alexander Pa- Austria's arrest. The arrest was Jalandoni said that Com- dilla. The May discussions would likewise condemned by the CPP- rades Benito and Wilma are have explored ways on how to Southern Tagalog, NDFP-Bicol, both listed as NDFP peace talks resume the stalled formal nego- (KM), consultants. Ka Wilma is listed tiations—a possibility once more Pambansang Katipunan ng mga under her real name while Ka derailed by the Tiamzons' ar- Magbubukid (PKM), Revolution- Benito is listed under rest. ary Council of Trade Unions the assumed name of According to the NDF-East- (RCTU), MAKIBAKA, Compatri- Crising Banaag. They ern Visayas, the arrest of the ots, NDFP-Cavite, KM-, both had their docu- two CPP leaders is a huge BHB-Southern Min-danao, BHB- ments of identifica- insult to typhoon Yolanda Quezon, RCTU-Southern Taga- tion in their pos- survivors. The NDF-EV log and many others. session when they called for the continuation Revolutionary forces were arrested. of the peace talks and launched several rallies calling Their arrest and de- genuine reconstruc- for Ka Benito and Ka Wilma's re- tention are gross vio- tion in the Visayas. lease. MAKIBAKA rallied along lations by the US-Aqui- Meanwhile, the busy Carriedo Street in Quiapo, no regime of the peace CPP belied claims Manila on March 24. A similar talks. that the arrest of rally was launched by NDFP al- The CPP disclosed the two leading CPP lied organizations on March 28 that upon their arrest, cadres spells the end in Mendiola, near Malacañang the two leaders were for the armed revo- Palace on March 28. On March busy performing lution. Although the

ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 5 role of individual leaders is important, the collect- Among the revolutionary parties overseas that ive leadership of Party committees at various lev- called for the immediate release of Tiamzon, Aus- els is more crucial. tria and their five companions were the Central Whatever the setbacks resulting from Ka Beni- Committee of Revolutionary Initiative-Canada, the to and Ka Wilma's arrest, these are temporary, Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany and the Maoist said Ka Oris. Ka Joma Sison added that the ad- Communist Party of Manipur. vance of the revolutionary movement did not stop Meanwhile, statements were also issued by mil- with his arrest in 1977 when he chaired the Central itant organizations like , BAYAN, Bayan Committee. In fact, within 24 hours from his ar- Muna, KARAPATAN, Desaparecidos, Kilusang rest, another comrade immediately stepped in to Mayo Uno (KMU), League of Filipino Students assume his duties, and the entire revolutionary (LFS), Victims United for Justice (Hustisya) and movement continued to gain strength. many others. In statements issued by the revolutionary for- Church people also aired their views. In a fo- ces in ST, Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Southern rum, Catholic Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, repre- Mindanao, they were all one in declaring their de- sentative of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Plat- termination to continue advancing the armed form (PEPP) expressed concern on the implications struggle. Their common call was to bring the peo- of the illegal arrest of the CPP leaders on the peace ple's war to the next higher stage of the strategic talks. He said that principled negotiations are stalemate. needed to achieve genuine and lasting peace, not In another statement, the KM extolled Ka Beni- the surrender of one party to the other. to and Ka Wilma as models to be emulated by the On the other hand, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo youth. They said that KM chapters are open to the Duterte and former GPH peace panel chief Silves- growing numbers of youth who want to follow in tre Bello said that Tiamzon and Austria should be their footsteps. MAKIBAKA, in particular, hailed released if they were able to present genuine JAS- Comrade Wilma as a revolutionary woman and IG documents, because the government must com- cadre who should be emulated and not put behind ply with its commitments to the people and the bars like a common criminal. NDFP. ~

Activities on the NPA's 45th year

arious activities were held before and on the day of the 45th anniversary of the New People's Army (NPA). Red command- Ver and fighters and revolutionary forces in various areas led mass actions, programs and cultural presentations to celebrate the victories achieved by the NPA.

Various NPA units celebrat- col, Panay, Negros, Eastern Vis- ed days before the actual anni- ayas, Southern and Far South versary on March 29. In Min- Mindanao sent greetings. They danao, several NPA platoons hailed the victories achieved by gathered to render a 21-gun sa- the NPA in the armed struggle, lute to hail the NPA and all mar- mass base building and agrarian tyrs and heroes of the armed revolution. They likewise struggle. Similar gatherings are pledged to redouble their ef- set to be held by other NPA forts to fulfill their duties in or- units in the next several days der to attain the strategic stale- and weeks. mate of the people's war. They Spokespersons and leader- held celebrations attended by ship bodies of the NPA and the hundreds of members of mass National Democratic Front organizations, friends and al- (NDF) in Southern Tagalog, Bi- lies.

6 ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 Several lightning rallies were launched by NDF NPA. Communist and socialist movements like the revolutionary allied organizations to hail to the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Turkey/North genuine army of the people. The lightning rallies Kurdistan, the Marxistisch-Leninistische Partei were led by the Revolutionary Council of Trade Un- Deutchlands (MLPD) of Germany, the Partido Comu- ions, Kabataang Makabayan (KM), Makabayang nista de Mexico (Marxista-Leninista), the Partido Co- Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan, KASAMA and Com- munista Revolucionario del Uruguay, the Central patriots. At Philcoa, Quezon City, members of Committee of Revolutionary Initiative (Canada), the NDF-Southern Tagalog as well as the Pambansang Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Katipunan ng mga Magbubukid held a program for Kommunistiska Partiet (Sweden), the International several minutes on March 29. Members of KM and Anti-imperialist Coordinating Committee (IACC), the KASAMA likewise held cultural nights in selected Initiative for the Construction of a Revolutionary areas of Metro Manila. Communist Party of Austria, the Peoples Revolution- Meanwhile, revolutionaries from various coun- ary Movement of Brazil and the Maoist Communist tries sent greetings and expressed solidarity with the Party of Manipur sent statements. ~

Victorious military actions Sitio Apya of the same barangay on March 3, wounding a soldier. There were no casualties among ed fighters launched eight victorious military actions in vari- the Red guerrillas in these two ous parts of the country to welcome the 45th anniversary of firefights. Rthe New People's Army (NPA). Ifugao. Two 54th IB troop- ers were wounded in a sniping Quezon. Ten soldiers were six-by-six trucks bearing 26th operation by a unit under the killed, including their command- IB and Scout Ranger troops at Nona del Rosario Command ing officer 1Lt. Rey Jun Blanca- Km. 22, Side 2, Don Alejandro, (NPA-Ifugao) on March 21. The da and five others were wound- San Luis at around 12:30 a.m. of military unit was then conduct- ed when a unit of the Apolonio March 20, killing two soldiers ing patrols in Barangay Ca- Mendoza Command (NPA-Que- and wounding 15 others. One of mandag in Asipulo town. The zon) used a command-detonat- the trucks was destroyed. Red fighters made a safe re- ed explosive (CDX) and rained Misamis Oriental. A team treat. bullets on a 15-man mercenary under the Eastern Misamis Ori- Compostela Valley. Nine sol- force of the 85th IB riding a ental-Northeast Bukidnon Sub- diers under the 9th IB were Hummer-type jeep in Barangay regional Command harassed killed and 13 others were Ilayang Cogorin, Lopez on 58th IB troops on patrol in Li- wounded in two ambushes March 24. bertad, Gingoog City, at around staged by Red fighters under Agusan del Sur. An NPA 4 p.m. of March 15, killing two the Comval-Davao Gulf Subre- team under the Western Agusan enemy soldiers. gional Command in Maco. The Norte-Agusan Sur Subregional . Eight AFP troopers NPA seized eight military back- Command deto- were wounded in back to back packs, a pair of night vision nated a CDX on a tactical offensives launched by goggles and important docu- convoy of four Red fighters under the NPA Nar- ments from the two gunbattles. ciso Antazo Aramil Command Five troopers were killed (NAAC) in Baran gay Ca- and ten others were wounded lawis, Antipolo City on when NPA Red guerrillas am- March 3 and 7. bushed patrolling military units Seven soldiers were in Barangay Panuraun on March wounded when an NAAC squad 12. Earlier, on February 16, an- ambushed elements of the 16th other unit under the same NPA IB conducting military opera- command ambushed elements tions on March 7. Earlier, an- of the 9th IB in Barangay New other NAAC squad harassed a Barile, killing four soldiers and detachment of the 59th IB in wounding three others. ~

ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 7 Interview with Ka Oris also been able to establish bar- rio revolutionary committees, or organs of political power where n the first week of March, Ang Bayan interviewed NDF-Minda- the people themselves run their nao spokesperson Comrade Jorge Madlos, or Ka Oris on the government with the legal reac- I 45th anniversary of the New People's Army, the strengthening tionary government seemingly of the armed struggle in Mindanao and the challenges it faces, as still existing. Some organs are at well as the current tasks of the revolutionary movement in the is- the municipal level. land. Aside from this, the NPA has "The 45th anniversary of the Another factor is that the also established many units of New People's Army is a major NPA has expanded and taken the people's militia to support victory because we have over- deep roots among the people in it in its military work. At pres- come so many enemy attacks, the island. So, no matter what ent, there are at least 30 to 40 the many problems we have en- the enemy does to isolate the battalions all over Mindanao countered, and the challenges New People's Army from its when concentrated. They are we face... So I congratulate the mass support, it is the people present in the island's five re- Communist Party of the Philip- who voluntarily support their gions: the Southern Mindanao pines because due to its abso- army because it is their only Region; the Northcentral Min- lute leadership, the revolution- hope to achieve land reform and danao Region; the Northeast- ary armed struggle continues to national industrialization. The ern Mindanao Region; the Far advance and gain strength all NPA now operates in more than South Mindanao Region; and over the country." 200 towns and more than 2,000 the Western Mindanao Region. Particularly in Mindanao, barangays. They directly support the more the the main factors for the con- In the past several years, than ten battalions of NPA reg- tinued advance of the NPA is hundreds of thousands of people ular forces. first, its observance of the Com- have benefited from agrarian The advance of armed strug- munist Party of the Philippines' revolution which has raised the gle in the entire island can be absolute leadership. With its wages of farm workers and re- measured by the number of tac- adoption of an offensive pos- duced land rent and rentals of tical offensives launched by the ture, it has never lost the initia- agricultural equipment like rice NPA in the last four years. In tive amid the brutal internal se- mills. 2010, there were only about 250 curity plans (ISP) of successive The benefits gained by the plus tactical offensives in the reactionary governments. Under people from the agrarian revolu- entire island. This grew to more the latest ISP, Oplan Bayanihan, tion being launched by all the than 300 in 2011, to 400 in 2012 not a single guerrilla front was revolutionary forces in the up- and more than 400 in 2013. dismantled. Instead, from 40 lands are also a factor in the These offensives were launched guerrilla fronts, we now have 46 growth, deepening and expan- despite the successive attacks guerrilla fronts throughout the sion of mass support in the en- under Oplan Bayanihan. In island. tire island. From this, we have 2014, the NPA will definitely be able to launch more than 500 tactical offensives all over Min- danao. Consequent to these tactical offensives, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, PNP and CAFGU have been suffering at least a battalion of casualties annually in the last four years. On

8 ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 the other hand, the NPA's casu- CPP to MILF: The Aquino alties average about a platoon. Thus, although the enemy en- government is duplicitous joys a strategic advantage in terms of strength and num- he Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) admonished bers—-there are ten soldiers for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) anew that the every Red fighter—the NPA has Aquino regime has no other objective for negotiating and demonstrated its superiority T forging an agreement but to disarm the Bangsamoro Islamic over the enemy in gunbattles Armed Forces (BIAF, the MILF's armed force). All the US-Aquino where the casualty ratio is one regime wants is the capitulation, pacification and division of the Red fighter for every ten enemy revolutionary forces in Mindanao. elements. Since the beginning of 2014, the US-Aquino regime has been The CPP aired its warning mous Region of Muslim Min- stepping up its counterrevolu- to the MILF regarding the danao (ARMM). A bill creating tionary war in Mindanao in a Aquino regime in the Central the Bangsamoro will be filed in desperate attempt to crush the Committee's message on the Congress and eventually rati- NPA in the island. More than NPA anniversary on March 29, fied in a plebiscite to be held in 60% of the AFP's entire combat two days after the MILF and the areas to be covered. Only force has now been deployed to the Government of the Philip- then can the Bangsamoro Mindanao. This deployment is in pines (GPH) signed the Com- Transition Authority be line with the reactionary state's prehensive Agreement on the formed, which is the commit- objective of defending foreign Bangsamoro (CAB). The CAB tee that will take charge of mining and agro-industrial cor- formally terminates the electing its officials. The en- MILF's close to 15 years of tire process is fraught with porations in the island. The im- perialists and comprador bour- armed upheaval. problems, and its completion geoisie have already invested The signing of the CAB was is uncertain. huge sums of money in these the culmination of the MILF's On the other hand, NDF- companies. Besides, US imperi- three-year negotiation with Mindanao spokesperson Ka alism is also keenly interested in the Aquino regime. It provided Oris pointedly said that the building military bases in Min- substance to the previously signing of the CAB is deleteri- danao for its troops, planes and signed Framework Agreement ous to the Moro people. The ships. on the Bangsamoro signed in CAB has no intention of pro- With the influx of AFP com- October 2012. The CPP noted viding the Moro people with bat forces in the island, the the extremely short period genuine power to govern US-Aquino government is sure left for the Aquino regime to themselves. Through the CAB, to inflict more human rights vi- fulfill its promises to the the MILF has subsumed itself olations and other gross injus- MILF. to the laws of the ruling state. tices on the people. But the The CAB comprises three With the dissolution people of Mindanao will go on agreements (or annexes): on of the MILF's armed resisting, and the NPA, CPP sharing of income and resour- strength, foreign and NDF in the island will go on ces; on power sharing in the corporate giants fighting whatever grave Bangsamoro Transitory Com- will descend in scheme the brutal US-Aquino mittee (BTC); and on droves regime has in store for Minda- "normalization" or demo- to nao. The Aquino regime will not bilizing the BIAF. oper- succeed, and will in fact have In accordance with the ate an even bigger problem in its CAB, the BTC will draft a con- hands because having concen- stitution for the soon to be trated its forces and resources established Bangsamoro, a in the island, they will have state-like entity under the given a big advantage to the jurisdiction of the reactionary revolutionary forces in all of government and its constitu- Luzon and the Visayas to ad- tion. The Bangsamoro will vance further. ~ take the place of the Autono-

ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 9 vast plantations and mines that will deprive the Moro people of the land Andrea Rosal's arrest and its resources. Ka Oris cited the recent sale of thousands of hectares is fascist payback of land in Maguindanao and Cotaba- to to multinational agribusiness ombined elements of the National Bureau of Investiga- companies. Ction, the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the He added that the signing of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police arrested Andrea CAB merely formalized the long- Rosal and her husband Rafael de Guzman on March 27 in Ba- term neutralization by the reaction- raga 169, Caloocan City. Also arrested was Barangay Chair- ary government of the Moro peo- man Ruben Gatchalian, the owner of the house they were stay- ple's armed struggle. In the past ing in. Andrea is nine months pregnant and preparing for her decade, the MILF had entered into a child's delivery. long-term ceasefire of indefinite du- Andrea, 31, is the elder daughter of Communist Party of ration, despite repeated violations the Philippines spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal. Ka by the Armed Forces of the Philip- Roger died in June 2011 while Andrea's mother Rosemarie was pines. For ten years, there has been martyred in an encounter with fascist troops in Quezon in the no real armed resistance by the same year. MILF. Andrea's arrest is clearly a form of "fascist payback" after Even with the MILF out of the the reactionary enemy's failure to capture her father Ka Ro- picture, said Ka Oris, the Moro ger. The military was angered no end at the late CPP spokes- struggle will continue. He called on person because he effectively advanced the revolution's aspi- the Moro people to draw lessons rations and exposed AFP abuses. In addition, despite the AFP from the history of the Moro strug- leadership's never-ending braggadocio, the militar was never gle. Their struggle must include able to capture Ka Roger until his death from illness. campaigns against feudalism and It is also a bitter irony for Andrea to be charged by a reac- should implement various forms of tionary court with trumped-up criminal cases like kidnapping agrarian revolution among their an officer of the AFP's Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM). ranks. In 1989, when she was merely five years old, Andrea was ab- Meanwhile, a number of govern- ducted by soldiers while she was under the care of her grand- ment officials have assailed the mother in Ragay, Camarines Sur, in a bid to force Ka Roger's CAB. One of its foremost critics is surrender. The military was eventually compelled to release ~ Sen. Miriam Santiago, who said that Andrea due to strong protests from the media. the CAB violates the 1987 constitu- tion. She said that neither the pres- ident nor the executive branch has Minority leader slain in Ifugao the authority to enter agreements that would limit the country's terri- inority leader William Bugatti, 43, was shot to death torial sovereignty or limit the GPH's Mat around 7 p.m. of March 25 by suspected military authority. Santiago added that the agents along the highway in Bolog, Kiangan, Ifugao. Bugat- provisions of the CAB are no differ- ti, who hailed from the Tuwali-Ifugao tribe, was a council ent from those of the Memorandum member of the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) and of Agreement on Ancestral Domain the Cordillera People's Alliance. He was also the provincial (MOA-AD) signed by the MILF and coordinator of . Simultaneously, he belonged to the US-Arroyo regime and already the Ifugao Peasant Movement (IPM), an alliance of progres- declared unconstitutional by the Su- sive organizations in Ifugao communities. He was aboard his preme Court in 2009. motorcycle when he was waylaid. Other Moro groups are also Bugatti was 21st on the military's list of targeted person- against the CAB, including former alities in Ifugao. In February, KARAPATAN got hold of the list BIAF commander Umbra Kato. He drawn up by the 86th IB Charlie Coy based in Tinoc, Ifugao. now leads the Bangsamoro Islamic The roster names 28 leaders of various progressive groups in Freedom Force (BIFF) which was the province. Since the list's existence became public, the mil- formed in 2012 to continue the itary has brazenly surveilled and harassed Bugatti, whom they struggle for genuine autonomy. ~ accused of being a member of the New People's Army. ~

10 ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 Infant boy dies during evacuation

12-day old boy died as more than a thousand Ata-Manobo mi- Barangay Bantak, Magpet on norities fled fierce military operations in Davao del Norte. An- March 24. A Grade 6 pupil, he Aother boy was abducted by the military in North Cotabato and was scheduled to graduate from presented to the media as a "child warrior" of the New People's Ar- the Bangkal Elementary School my (NPA). Meanwhile, in Compostela Valley, Philippine Army troops in Bukidnon on March 27 and are on a rampage to protect the expanding operations of foreign min- has complete class records, thus ing companies in the province. rendering the military's accusa- tion impossible. The military of- Davao del Norte. Twelve-day p.m. to past 4 p.m., according to ficials' sole basis for their accu- old Biboy Manayad died at Datu Dolonan Dausay, spokes- sation is the child's ability to around 1 p.m. of April 2 while on person of the Salugpongan Ta sing so-called NPA songs. the road with some 1,500 evac- 'Tanu Igkanugon. Instead of returning him to uees from Sitio Igang, Barangay The day before, 14 military his parents, the military has in- Sto. Niño, Talaingod. Biboy was troopers accosted local area stead ordered the boy's deten- already coughing and running a leader Tungig Mansimuy-at and tion at the Magpet Social Wel- fever when he was brought to community teacher Roylan Li- fare and Development Office. the care of health volunteers cayan, along with 13 students Compostela Valley. Elements who were helping the evacuees, while they were walking towards of the 9th IB abducted and killed more than half of whom are chil- Sitio Palungan, Barangay Palma Wilmar Bargas, a 21-year old dren. Gil to get the chickens and cas- resident of Sitio Tinago, Baran- On the same day, an evacu- sava prepared by the community gay Elizalde, Maco. Bargas was ee, Amlita Balite delivered an in- for their school's graduation. beaten and strangled to death fant girl while she and fellow vil- They were separately subjected by the soldiers near their camp lagers hurriedly left their upland to interrogation by the soldiers, in Tinago. The grim murder was communities. The evacuees who also took pictures of them. witnessed by Bargas' compan- hardly had any provisions ex- They were forced to return ion, who was later able to es- cept for some cassava because to Sitio Nalubas, escorted by cape from enemy hands. of the intense militarization of seven soldiers. In the middle of As the 9th IB wreaked havoc Ata-Manobo communities in Si- their hike, they met 30 other in Maco, the 71st IB has also tio Tibucag and Pangaan in Ba- soldiers who subjected them been sowing terror in the towns rangay Dagohoy; and Sitio Nalu- again to interrogation. They of Pantukan, Mabini and Ma- bas and Bagag in Barangay Pal- were released after an hour. The wab, which are being targeted ma Gil, all in Talaingod town. military, meanwhile, destroyed for expansion by US-owned min- Since March 4, soldiers be- the rice fields in Sitio Pangaan. ing giant St. Augustine Gold and longing to the 60th IB and 4th Soldiers also illegally arrest- Copper Ltd. Special Forces under the 10th ed Ubonoy Butod Manlaon while The 71st IB is currently con- Infantry Division have been rav- she was hiking towards Sitio Ba- centrating on Pantukan, where aging the area. On March 20, gasan with seeds to be used for it serves as the protector of St. four AFP airplanes and two heli- planting rice. The victim, a trib- Augustine's 4,000-hectare Min- copters al woman elder from Sitio Ba- eral Production Sharing Agree- dropped gang, Barangay Palma Gil, was ment concession. bombs in military custody for a week Bukidnon and Davao City. from 3 and forced to serve as a guide in The 4th ID conducted a surren- the soldiers' operations. She der ceremony on March 29 in its was eventually able to escape camp in Cagayan de Oro, where from the fascists. 72 individual, including a num- North Cotabato. Soldiers un- ber of children, allegedly swore der the 57th IB abducted a 14- allegiance to the reactionary year old boy in Magpet town and government. In Paquibato Dis- later presented him to the media trict, Davao City, the 69th IB as an alleged NPA child soldier. forced a number of locals to sign "Balong" (not his real name) documents portraying them as was seized in a forested area of surrenderees. ~

ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 11 merely watched while the as- Relentless harassment sault was being perpetrated. One of the peasants, Jerry in Hacienda Luisita Mesa, was hit in the head by a hammer and brought to the pro- he arrest of three members of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa As- vincial hospital, while farmer yenda Luisita (AMBALA) in Barangay Cutcut, Tarlac City on the T leader Renato Mendoza was afternoon of March 28 by elements of the Tarlac City Police forms wounded in his right shoulder part of the relentless harassment of struggling peasants at Hacienda and the left side of his body. Luisita. On March 25, another peas- ant, Rudy Corpuz, 59, a brother The renewed fascist attack their distribution to the peas- of one of arrestees, was also hit occurred when the peasants ants. Like a 258-hectare plot in the head with a hammer by blocked elements of the Tarlac earlier fenced off by TADECO in Faustino Corpuz (no relation to City Police and guards of the Barangay Balete, the plot in Ba- Rudy), a worker under contract Tarlac Development Corpora- rangay Cutcut is covered by with TADECO. tion (TADECO) from fencing a agrarian reform. Prior to this, AMBALA chair 104-hectare agricultural plot in AMBALA reported that the Floria Sibayan and another Barangay Cutcut. Arrested were peasants were hit with hammers peasant, Julius Loveland, were Romeo Corpuz, Marcelino Lugay and shovels brought by 20 also arrested on March 19. Si- and Pia Hernandez. armed guards of TADECO. bayan was charged with mali- TADECO, which is owned by Twenty-three policemen from cious mischief, direct assault Benigno Aquino III's family is the Tarlac City PNP as well as and grave coercion. It was Si- forcefully claiming more than a elements of the Special Weap- bayan's third arrest in her thousand hectares of prime ag- ons and Tactics (SWAT) and ten struggle for land at Hacienda ricultural land in Hacienda Lui- soldiers from the 3rd Mecha- Luisita. She and her companion sita despite a Supreme Court nized Battalion of the Philippine were released the next day after decision in April 2012 ordering Army who were standing nearby posting bail. ~

6,000 attend Romeo Capalla's burial

ore than 6,000 Panayanon attended a necro- dents of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Phil- Mlogical mass and joined the funeral cortege ippines strongly condemned the heinous crime and de- for slain businessman Romeo Capalla on March 23 manded justice for his brother and for the many other in Leon town, Iloilo despite a strong downpour. victims of extrajudicial killing in the country. Most of those who came hailed all the way from the KARAPATAN, PFTC, Bayan Muna (BM) and the provinces of Antique, Aklan and Capiz. Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon Capalla, 65, was chairperson of the board of di- at Aresto (SELDA) also condemned Capalla's mur- rectors of the Panay Fair Trade Center (PFTC) and der. Reps. and Carlos Zarate of served as PFTC's general manager for 12 years. He BM filed a resolution at the House Committee on was the younger brother of Davao Archbishop Human Rights to investigate the case. Emeritus Fernando Capalla. International fair trade groups likewise as- The victim was killed by suspected death squad sailed Capalla's killing. They expressed their sym- elements under the Philippine Army 3rd ID on pathies to his relatives and friends and called for March 15 right in front of the police headquarters justice for his slaying. in Oton, Iloilo. Almost simultaneously, two small The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), of sugar mills in Janiuay town serviced by the PFTC which the PFTC is a member, had earlier issued a were burned down. statement condemning the murder. The WFTO is The PFTC helps small farmers sell their pro- an international organization of more than 200 ducts like organic muscovado at high prices. groups of producers, marketers, exporters, im- In his homily, Archbishop Capalla, former presi- porters, wholesalers and retailers. ~

12 ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 General strike paralyzes ny in 1947. Paraguay is a crisis-ridden Paraguay country. It is considered the second poorest country in South America, next only to Bolivia. araguay was paralyzed on March 26 when unions and organi- There is a huge gap between the zations in various cities and regions waged a day-long strike rich and poor, with close to 90% Pagainst the Cartes administration's massive privatization of land controlled by a mere 2% plans. of the population. More than a The general strike was the through a parliamentary coup third of the population is impov- country's first in 20 years. launched by pro-US politicians. erished, with unemployment and Transportation and business The US and the local ruling underemployment rates hitting ground to a halt and schools and classes vented their ire on Lugo up to 40%. hospitals closed down. It was for his stance favoring social The countryside is ruled by the culmination of a series of justice and national independ- despotic landlords and compra- protest actions launched by var- ence against the US' neoliberal dor bourgeoisie in cahoots with ious sectors since the latter part policies. US multinational companies like of 2013. The protests were Lugo was the first Paraguay- Monsanto, Pioneer, Syngenta, joined by the toiling masses, an president to break the Colo- Dupont, Cargill, Archer Daniels small businessmen and other rado Party's 65-year rule. Lugo Midland and Bunge. Drug car- sectors. had opposed the controversial tels are also a powerful force in The demonstrators demand- Private-Public Partnership Law Paraguay. ed the junking of a law allowing that allows government to cede Reactionary politics in Para- private companies to invest in to the private sector any state- guay is ridden with corruption, government infrastructure pro- owned property or service with violence, criminality and nepo- jects in exchange for being guaranteed profits. tism. Since the country became granted concessions and the Paraguay is a country at the a neocolony, the Colorado Party, right to charge fees. heart of South America bound- a gathering of US puppet politi- They also demanded a 25% ed by Argentina, Brazil and Bo- cos, has ruled Paraguay. From hike in workers' and teachers' livia. It has a land area of 1954 to 1989, the puppet dicta- wages and a rescheduling of 406,752 square kilometers and tor Alfredo Stroessner ruled the debts incurred by the poor. They had a population of more than country until his ouster in 1989, pushed for agrarian reform, free 6.5 million in 2013. It was a but this failed to break the rule and quality education, price Spanish colony for almost 200 of puppet reactionaries from the controls in basic commodities years and became a US neocolo- Colorado Party. ~ and an end to violence against poor peasants. Pres. Horacio Cartes is a corrupt and millionaire businessman who won un- der the Colorado Party against Efrain Alegre in fraud-ridden polls in April 2013. He has twice been im- prisoned (1989 and 2000) for fraud involving govern- ment loans from which he raked in millions of dollars. He has also been implicated in drug smuggling and mon- ey laundering. In 2011, the US hatched plans to install Cartes in place of Pres. Fernando Lugo

ANG BAYAN April 7, 2014 13