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Lawyer shot dead in Negros Oriental as chief of village where 4 cops killed allegedly commits suicide

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By Visayas Today

A lawyer was shot dead while his wife and a pedicab driver were injured when the couple was attacked by two motorcycle-riding killers in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental Tuesday afternoon, July 23.

The same day, the chief of the village in Ayungon town where four policemen were killed by communist rebels in a July 18 ambush also died in a hospital, one day after allegedly drinking pesticide, Negros Oriental police director Colonel Raul Tacaca said.

Barangay Mabato chairman Sunny Caldera (Photo from Visayas Today)

A police report said lawyer Anthony Trinidad and his wife Novie Marie, both 53 and residents of San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, were in their SUV when they were fired on in the center of Guihulngan.

Their vehicle hit the pedicab driven by Guillermo Magdasal, 52, before hitting a concrete wall.

The three were rushed to the Guihulngan District Hospital where the lawyer was declared dead.

Last year, Trinidad was reportedly among the names in a hit list by an alleged anti-communist group called Kawsa Guihulnganon Batok Komunista (KAGUBAK), according to Defend Negros #StopTheAttacks Network.

Defend Negros condemned the senseless killing of the lawyer.

Meanwhile, Tacaca said Barangay Mabato chairnan Sunny Caldera, 51, had been found vomiting by the roadside with a pesticide container near him on Monday.

He was brought to Bindoy District Hospital then transferred to the Silliman University Medical Center in Dumaguete City where he expired the next day.

Earlier, police Region 7 chief Brigadier General Debold Sinas said they were looking into Caldera’s possible involvement to the deaths of the four personnel of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion.

Sinas said the village chief, who had reportedly been seen talking to one of the policemen before they were killed, had not warned them that the area was a “mass base” of the rebels.

Tacaca acknowledged they had yet to talk to Caldera’s family.

The Mt. Cansermon Command of the New People’s Army owned responsibility for the ambush on the policemen.

“Based on our intelligence report, the four police operatives were gathering information and surveilling the area for another round of Oplan Sauron or Synchronized Enhanced Management of Police Operations where innocent civilians are killed by uniformed personnel in the guise of counter-insurgency efforts,” the rebels said in a statement released Monday.

“These police officers have been long harassing the residents of the area for allegedly supporting the revolutionary movement,” they claimed. “In fact, the residents were forced to evacuate because of continued intimidation.”

Multiple murder and theft charges have been filed against 20 suspected rebels for the ambush.

Also charged was Victoriano Anadon, a reported contact who the policemen were supposed to meet but who was later found to be allegedly linked to the rebels. #

‘A little bit bigger’ is not enough, teachers tell Duterte

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Teachers are unhappy with Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of a salary increase, saying they find no confort in the President’s latest promise of a pay hike that that is only ‘a little bit bigger.’

“We find no comfort in President Duterte’s announcement of a pay hike that is ‘a little bit bigger than before’ for teachers, nurses, and all other government employees under another SSL (salary standardization law), which he urged Congress to pass,” the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said immediately after Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address last Monday.

Duterte urged lawmakers to pass a new SSL to benefit teachers, nurses and other government employees.

“To the teachers who toil and work tirelessly to educate our young, what you have been asking for is included here. It may not be so big but it will tide you over,” Duterte said in a mix of English and Filipino.

ACT expressed disappointment over the President’s announcement, saying it was not what Duterte promised three years ago.

“If anything, it raises further anxieties among teachers who are hardly making ends meet due to very low pay amid incessantly soaring prices, and who have waited restlessly over the last three years for the fulfilment of President Duterte’s promise to give due recognition to the value of our service and profession,” ACT said.

The group said new promise of a pay hike that is “a little bit bigger than before” is best exemplified by Senator Bong Go’s proposed bill of a Php588 increase in the pay of salary grade 1 employees, with the rest of the grade levels following accordingly.

“Such an amount is an insult to our service and contribution to national development,” ACT said, adding a minimal salary increase will fail to feed their families and bring their children to school.

“It will not free us from the chains of debts which our economic situation has forced upon us,” ACT said.

The group added that Duterte’s latest promise will not raise the standards of living of more than a million civilian employees, afford them decent lives nor bring dignity to the teaching profession.

“’A little bit bigger’ is not what he promised us. Hence, we pledge to remain steadfast in our demand for a substantial salary increase because we deserve a lot more than what this administration is offering us, and we shall not cease until we get what is rightfully ours,” ACT said.

Duterte has more than doubled the salaries of soldiers as well as police, jail and fire protection officers in January 2018. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Army holds, harasses Lumad protesters in Surigao Sur

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Nearly 200 Lumad are being held by the Philippine Army in Surigao del Sur to prevent them from participating in a rally on the occassion of President Rodrigo Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Tandag City today, human rights group Karapatan said in an alert.

The group said 36th Infantry Battalion-Philippine Army soldiers in full battle gear put up a check point at Barangay Gamut, Tago town to prevent the Lumad from attending the local People’s SONA protests Surigao del Sur’s capital city today.

Rico Maca and 36th IBPA soldiers at this morning’s checkpoint. (Karapatan-Caraga photo)

Around 15 soldiers in full battle gear put up the check point and were joined by intelligence officers in civilian clothing and Philippine National Police officers, Karapatan’s Caraga chapter said in its alert.

The soldiers ordered the Lumad to alight from their habal-habal motorcycles and told to assemble on the side of the road from four to eight o’clock this morning, the group said.

Karapatan said the soldiers later called up controversial local Indigenous People Municipal Representative to the National Commission on the Indigenous Peoples Rico Maca who arrived on board a white van after just 30 minutes.

Maca confiscated the Lumad’s identification cards and proceeded to check each from his book of photos of alleged New People’s Army rebels.

“Ah, nakaila ko ani. Mga pulang araw man mo! Mga rebelde mo! Solid na sila didto sa Purok 8 [Tambonon, Bolhoon, San Miguel,” Maca reportedly exclaimed. [A, I know you people. You are “red suns”. You are rebels. You are already solid here in Area 8.)

Maca was alleged to be connected to the paramilitary group led by a Hasmin Acevedo operating in barangays Umalag, Saigao, Caromata in San Miguel town, Surigao del Sur.  He frequently joins patrol missions of the 36th IBPA that harasses Lumad communities in San Miguel.

He was among the three self-declared datus presented by Malacañan Palace to the media last September 2015.

Rico Maca (Second from left), with his fellow Malacañan-declared datus and their handler Arthur Tariman of the National Alliance for Democracy (Third from left). [File photo/R. Villanueva]

Photos and videos of the Lumad were taken and their names were listed in a military logbook, Karapatan said.

Many of the participants are still being held at the checkpoint while their motorcycles have been impounded, the group reported.

Progressive groups all over the country are conducting protest rallies against Duterte today. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

(This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.)

Joma asks Isko: ‘What are your plans for the poor vendors?’

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Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairperson Jose Maria Sison asked Manila Mayor Isko Moreno his plans for the poor vendors of Manila who many fears are being swept aside in the ongoing campaign to clear the capital city’s streets of obstruction.

In a video message shown at the end of Moreno’s speech before the Rotary Club of Manila at the New World Hotel in Makati City last Wednesday, Sison asked if Moreno is looking after the poor vendors.

“I have only a simple concrete question: No doubt that it is highly commendable that you have cleared the major streets of Manila of the graft-laden anarchy of vendors. But are there provisions for the poor vendors to peddle their goods in some permissible areas or to have alternative means of livelihood?” Sison asked.

Moreno gamely replied to the question, addressing Sison as “Manong Jo,” an honorific used by both government and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace negotiators.

“What we did was to clear the backbone of the city. Then ang tinatanong po ni Manong Jo, saan natin inilagay ang mga naapektuhan ng pag-aayos? Sila yung inilagay natin sa mga…side street,” Moreno said.

“That is why, when you go to Quiapo, when you pass by Carriedo, open ang Plaza Miranda. You can see Hidalgo and Villalobos, naroroon ang mga mahihirap natin na nagtitinda,” the mayor said.

“So sa inyo ang Carriedo, ang Plaza, sa gilid naman ang mga vendor,” he added.

Before winning in last May’s election, Moreno served as an NDFP peace consultant for the urban poor in its peace negotiations with the Duterte government in 2016 and 2017.

In 2018, Moreno was appointed by President Duterte as Department of Social Welfare and Development assistant secretary.

Screen-grabbed from Isko Moreno’s FB page.

In his video message, Sison recalled it was him who introduced Moreno and Rotary Club of Manila president Jackie Rodriguez in The Netherlands at the time of the fourth round of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-NDFP peace negotiations in 2017.

Rodriguez is a prominent businessperson from Davao City.

“I wish that they would help each other to bring changes for the benefit of the people of Manila,” Sison said. Sison also recalled another connection between himself, Moreno and Rodriguez in the late showbusiness icon German Moreno who groomed the young actor into stardom early in his acting career.

“I wish to share with ‘Ka Isko’ the fact that German Moreno, or Kuya Germs, his adopted father, was a classmate of Jackie and myself in Letran,” Sison said.

Sison also congratulated Moreno in his “resounding success” in becoming Manila mayor.

“In so short a time, he has done so much to impress the people of Manila and the entire Philippines with his determination and effectiveness in serving the people,” Sison said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘NAGAUGTAS AKO’: Approval of BACIWA-Prime TOR ‘hurried,’ ‘without proper study’ – GM

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Visayas Today

The decision to approve a “certificate of successful negotiation” for ongoing talks between the Bacolod City Water District and Prime Water Infrastructure Corp. for a controversial 25-year joint venture agreement was “hurried” and done “without proper study,” the general manager of the water utility said.

“Naga-ugtas ako (I am exasperated),” Juliana Carbon declared in an interview.

Carbon stressed that, while she saw nothing inherently wrong in allowing private sector participation in improving BACIWA’ s services and systems, the local utility has, given the needed funding and direction, the capacity to accomplish the task.

A joint venture, she said, “is only one of the solutions and it is not the best; there are many other options.”

From daily noontime rallies staged by the BACIWA Employees Union, opposition to the proposed deal, which many consider “privatization,” has grown steadily, joined by various sectoral organizations. As of this week, four barangay councils – those of Sum-ag, Pahanocoy, Tangub and Barangay 21 – have passed resolutions against the joint venture, with others expected to follow suit.

The joint venture, says the BEU and others against the joint venture, would turn water from a natural resource to a profit-generating commodity, to the detriment of consumers. For starters, the union says, a 12 percent Value Added Tax will be automatically tacked onto water bills once the deal is closed.

The BEU, like Carbon, has pointed to other options, most of which, it says, can be carried out by BACIWA itself – for example, entering into agreements to purchase abundant surface water from neighboring water districts like those of Murcia, Bago or Talisay.

While Carbon acknowledged that BACIWA does not have the funds for expansion, she pointed out that the Development Bank of the Philippines “has written us, offering us standby credit of P3 billion.” The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged BACIWA to take advantage of this.

Yet, in the end, “the board makes policy and it is their decision to go into the (joint venture agreement) as head of the procuring entity” even as she stressed that the governing body created the Joint Venture Selection Committee to study and evaluate (offers) if these are for the good of BACIWA, the people and the workers.”

Carbon said she herself has “practically no role.”

But even if a joint venture were really necessary, Carbon said, the one being negotiated with Prime Water is fraught with problems, not only for BACIWA but, more important, its employees and its consumers.

In fact, Carbon said that, in comments she was asked to make on the negotiation report following the Joint Venture Selection Committee’s last meeting on July 4, she concluded that “the negotiations are not over yet and in fact failed in some aspects.”

Despite these findings, the board approved the issuance of the certificate of successful negotiation.

While admitting she had yet to receive a copy of the certificate, “I understand that there were refinements based on some of my comments.”
However, she noted that these changes were “most likely done by the board” outside the regular JVSC meeting and should, therefore, be subject to a board decision.

The issue of BACIWA’s earnings from the joint venture readily stood out as a major problem.

Carbon said BACIWA, which she stressed “has never been losing,” had asked Prime Water for P80 million a year, “which is our current average net income.”

“But Prime would agree to only P35 million a year from year 1 to 5, and P36 million a year from year 6-10,” she said. “This includes money for wages.”

Under this arrangement, BACIWA will hardly earn anything, Carbon said, something the Commission on Audit would surely question.

Another major flaw Carbon sees is the lack of detail in many of the proposed agreement’s provisions which, she says, could make the deal grossly disadvantageous to the government.

“If they say they will build a building for BACIWA, the dimensions – the floor area, the number of stories – should be specified” otherwise, Prime Water could build a small building and claim it as compliance with its commitments, she explained.

“If you enter into a partnership, you have to lay down all your reasonable goals and then convince the partner to agree and comply with these. It cannot be only what the partner wants. We cannot leave this to Prime Water to decide,” Carbon stressed.

She pointed out that in the terms of reference, Prime Water committed to supply a minimum of 10 psi (pound-force per square inch) during the first year of the joint venture.

“But in the new TOR, this has been moved to the fourth year,” she said.

The BACIWA general manager notes that while Presidential Decree 198, which created local water districts, mandates that water districts acquire, install and facilitate water systems, the joint venture hands over management and operations to Prime Water and “relegates BACIWA to a mere regulating and monitoring unit,” a point critics of the deal raise to argue why it is privatization in all but name.

Carbon also questioned why Prime Water is not obliged to assume BACIWA’s obligations, like the P400-million balance of its original P507-million debt to the DBP.

Although Prime Water will give BACIWA the funds to meet its annual payments, “what if somehow it becomes unable to do so? Since all revenues go to Prime Water, what happens to BACIWA since, in the contract, BACIWA remains the debtor?”

In contrast, she said, Metro Pacific paid off the debt of the Metro Iloilo Water District.

Another snag Carbon saw is Prime Water’s use of BACIWA’s assets, which she said COA has opined “should be considered asset rentals and subjected to a separate agreement.”

“But the negotiation terms provide that Prime Water will pay net usufruct – a legal term meaning to use and enjoy a thing and which is usually free – payments of P25 million a year. This is really still rental,” she said.
But what riled Carbon most are the provisions covering BACIWA’s personnel.

BACIWA executives have given assurances that employees will be “absorbed” under the joint venture, a claim disputed by both the BEU and Carbon since what they say will happen is that the personnel will be transferred from government to private employment. The union says this is evident since their social security coverage will shift from the GSIS to SSS.

“I cannot understand how a mere contract can change the status of employees from public to private,” Carbon wondered.

“Under the agreement, the employees have only two options,” she said. “Be absorbed and become private sector employees, or retire.”

Also, the proposed agreement is silent on the fact that permanent employees have to resign and go through the pre-hiring process all over again, which she said is definitely not absorption.

And even if employees opt for retirement, “there is another problem.”
This has to do with “propriety – some even call it a bribe,” she said.

Carbon was referring to an admittedly generous offer of financial assistance equal to 250 percent of an employee’s current wage.

“But why should Prime Water, a private entity, give BACIWA employees, who are government workers, this incentive and then pass it on to the consumers? Is the employee even allowed to receive this?” she asked.

And then, she added, there is a third question: “What if the employees choose to remain with the district as government employees? Can BACIWA force them to resign or retire?”

Aside from these and other problems in what the BACIWA board has declared a “successful negotiation,” Carbon said “there are so many horror stories of what happened to the districts that partnered with Prime Water.”

“I wonder why the representatives of the water district did not see this and instead signed the certificate of successful negotiation,” she said.

BAYAN warns against police disinformation as SONA approaches

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Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) warned of a disinformation campaign that may be orchestrated by government forces to dissuade people from coming out and joining the protests on President Rodrigo Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on June 22.

“Fake news regarding the protest actions and rally organizers are expected to be on overdrive as SONA day approaches,” BAYAN said in a statement today.

The group, one of the organizers of Monday’s United People’s SONA, said the Philippine National Police have warned participants not to bring jackets and backpacks during the rally as a security precaution.

“Protesters see this as unreasonable and may only be intended to sow fear among the public,” BAYAN said.

The group said the organizers expect a generally peaceful yet militant mass action on Monday, with national sovereignty, human rights and the economy as key issues in the protest.

Bayan calls on the Duterte government to respect freedom of speech and the right to peaceably assemble.

“The practice of harassing protesters, attacking human rights defenders and criminalizing dissent should stop immediately,” BAYAN said.

The United People’s SONA will be held at Commonwealth Avenue at three o’clock in the afternoon.

Various groups will however mass up at points along the broad avenue starting at eleven o’clock in the morning.

“After the passage of a crucial UNHRC resolution on human rights the Philippines, the world will be watching how the SONA protests will turn out on Monday,” BAYAN said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

PNP putting words in Cardinal Tagle’s mouth, Sison says

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National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison said the Philippine National Police (PNP) is putting words in Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle’s mouth when it claimed the Manila Archbishop agreed to collaborate with the Rodrigo Duterte administration in staging localized “peace talks” between the government and the revolutionary movement.

Reacting to the press release published on the PNP’s official Facebook page entitled “POLICE AND CHURCH BAT FOR LOCALIZED PEACETALKS TO END INSURGENCY,” Sison said the police’s claim is misleading.

“I do not read anything which quotes Tagle directly as joining hands with the police for localized peace talks,” Sison said.

Sison initially reacted to an Inq.net report but told Kodao he is also referring to the PNP press release, “which is obviously the basis of the Inquirer report.”

“Because it quotes extensively from PNP chief Albayalde, the news story…especially its title, tends to make it appear that Cardinal Tagle has agreed to collaborate with the tyrannical Duterte regime in staging sham localized peace talks and in carrying out a campaign of psy-war (psychological warfare) and military suppression against the revolutionary movement of the people,” Sison said.

The press release said the PNP and the Roman Catholic clergy “are joining hands to explore and reaffirm the collaboration of the church and security sector to end the decades-old local insurgency.”

PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde and Tagle met Tuesday in Manila to discuss the pursuit of localized peace talks with members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the report said.

Sison however pointed out that Tagle was clear enough with his reported statement that any call for peace talks must come from the broad sector of society and not just a unilateral declaration from either government or underground movement.

Sison pointed out that the PNP’s press release reflects the one-sided presumption and talk of Albayalde that he has hoodwinked the Cardinal into siding with the “tyrannical Duterte government” on the issue.

He said he does not see Tagle as becoming an endorser of the localized “peace talks” being staged by the military and police.

“I think that Cardinal Tagle is sufficiently informed that the sham localized ‘peace talks’ are being staged by the military and police and have been condemned by the leading political organs of the NDFP and CPP and commands of the NPA at every level, from the national to the local level,” Sison said.

Sison said that the police and military’s localized peace talks activities have been exposed as a “mere psy-war and red-tagging device…in a futile attempt to divide and destroy the revolutionary movement.” # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Gunmen kill Kidapawan broadcaster

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A broadcaster was shot dead late Wednesday night, July 10, as he was driving home after his regular radio program in Kidapawan City in Mindanao.

Eduardo Dizon of Brigada News FM was waylaid by two men reportedly riding in tandem on a motorcycle.

The victim managed to drive on for some distance but died immediately after, reports said.

He suffered five gunshot wounds on his torso.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned Dizon’s murder and said he may be the 13th journalist killed under the Rodrigo Duterte government and 186th since 1986.

The NUJP said Dizon’s murder was likely related to his work as a broadcaster.

“We have confirmed that a few days before his death, he had filed a report with the Kidapawan police after he received a challenge to a ‘duel’ and his station’s hotline received a text message from mobile number 09353435064 that said: ‘Bantay mo Brigada mamatay unya mo bantay2 mo kay naa mupusil ninyo,’ the NUJP said in its statement today. (Watch out Brigada because you will die, just wait someone will shoot you.)

Kodao sources said that Dizon had been critical of the alleged Kapa Worldwide Ministry Ponzi scheme that Duterte ordered stopped.

The NUJP said Dizon’s murder again underscores how the overwhelming failure of government to ensure justice for violent crime can only invite even more bloodshed by perpetrators emboldened by the certainty that they can literally get away with murder.

“We demand that authorities solve Dizon’s murder and ensure the perpetrators are caught and successfully prosecuted,” the NUJP said.

The group said it demands that government do its duty and end the culture of impunity that continues to embolden those for whom violence is the preferred means to resolve disputes. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Migrante asks UN to conduct investigations on killings in PH

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Filipino migrants asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCRC) to look into extrajudicial killings in the country, accusing the Rodrigo Duterte government of committing “gross human rights violations committed against Filipino migrants.”

Migrante International submitted its Global Petition of Filipino Migrants UNHCRC Tuesday in support to the call of 11 UN Special Rapporteurs for an independent investigation into the increasing rights violations in the Philippines.

Migrante cited government neglect of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and the rampant extrajudicial killings in the country in its petition, also posted on the online petition platform change.org since last week.

Filipino migrants and families are not spared from extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations perpetrated by government forces, the group said.

Migrante recalled the killing of 17-year old Kian delos Santos in August 2017 by police operatives who collared the youngster, dragged him across a dark alley and summarily killed. The victim was the son of a Saudi-based domestic worker.

In August 2018, Manila police officers mugged OFW Allan Rafael and detained him until he died under police custody.

Rafael, a cancer patient, was arrested by the police on suspicion of being a drug addict based on his pale appearance, his family alleges. He was undergoing chemotherapy when accosted by the police.

Migrante’s petition likewise accused the government of sending cheap Filipino labor abroad instead of creating enough domestic jobs to end forced migration.

“Through the Duterte regime’s labor export program, the government has been imposing unjust state exactions as its way of subjecting OFWs to legalized robbery. A Filipino migrant worker already wallows in debt even before she is deployed overseas and whenever they get mistreated abroad, they are often left neglected or coerced by government agencies to keep silent and relinquish their demands for justice,” Migrante International chairperson Joanna Concepcion said.

In its petition, Migrante also cited the case of 81 Filipino migrants currently on death rows as well as the numerous cases of unsolved deaths and detention of migrant Filipinos abroad.

International pressure

The Philippine government is facing mounting international pressure on widespread reports of continuing extrajudicial killings related to Duterte’s so-called anti-drug war.

Last Thursday, Iceland issued a draft resolution signed by 28 UN-member states asking the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to impose concrete actions on the killings.

Members of the Philippines’ official delegation to the 41st UNHRC meeting in Geneva, Switzerland reportedly walked out of the meeting in protest to suggestions that an official and impartial investigation be conducted in the Philippines.

Varied estimates from 6,000 to 30,000 victims killed have been reported by local and international groups.

“My only sin are the extrajudicial killings,” Duterte confessed at a gathering in the Presidential palace in September 2018.

In a speech in Malacañan last Monday, Duterte also said he prefers to be tried on his human rights record than being accused of corruption.  

“Well, extrajudicial killing is ok but not corruption,” Duterte said during the oath-taking of government officials at the Palace.

Human rights groups said that Duterte’s admissions add weight to the preliminary investigations conducted by the International Criminal Court last year. 

“We demand an end to the violation of our collective human rights and hold the Duterte government accountable. We urgently plead with the United Nations Human Rights Council to conduct an independent investigation into the human rights violations committed by the Philippine Duterte government,” Migrante’s petition said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Fernandez urges NPA in Negros to defend farmers from rights violations

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National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Frank Fernandez urged revolutionary forces in Negros Island to intensify their campaigns against human rights violations, noting that “things have gotten much worse” under the Rodrigo Duterte government.

“The revolutionary forces must bring the struggle to a higher stage as the systematic campaign against the peasants and the activists have become much worse since I was last there,” Fernandez said.

Speaking from his hospital bed at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC), Fernandez said it is a testament to the strength of the revolutionary forces in the island that Duterte has ordered the deployment of more Philippine Army infantry brigades in the island since November.

Duterte issued Executive Order 32 in November 2018 ordering more troop deployment in Negros, Bicol and Samar in a bid to crush New People’s Army (NPA) units in the said regions.

Increased Armed Forces of the Philippines presence in Negros, however, has led to numerous human rights violations, Fernandez said.

Frank Fernandez in his hospital room.

Complete turnaround

Fernandez said the NPA in Negros has fully recovered from near decimation in the early 1990s.

“There was almost no NPA left in Negros in 1994,” Fernandez said.

He credited the NPA’s grasp of the correct political and ideological lines that allowed its forces to recover and overcome the schism with former comrades that broke away to form the so-called Revolutionary Proletarian Army and the Alex Boncayao Brigade.

Fernandez said that the poor masses helped in their recovery.

“The poor but struggling masses of Negros did not allow us to give up and encouraged us to rebuild,” Fernandez said.

The incarcerated NDFP peace consultant said it is time to repay the masses by defending them against the government and the landlords’ widespread human rights violations in the island.

Human rights violations

Intensifying agrarian reform struggles across the Negros Island has resulted to two massacres, assassinations of a human rights lawyer and a municipal councilor as well as killings and arrests of several farmers and human rights defenders.

Just yesterday, another human rights defender who was an active member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente was murdered in his hometown of Manjuyod, Negros Oriental.

An urgent alert by the group Defend Negros said Salvador “Bador” Romano, 42, an adviser of the YIFI (Youth of the IFI) and former Negros Oriental coordinator of the human rights group Karapatan, was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen around 12:30 p.m.

Last March 30, 10 peasants and church workers were killed in one night in Canlaon City and Sta. Rita, Negros Occidental.

Nine sugarcane farmers, including four women and two children, were also killed last October 20 in Sagay City. The bodies of three of the victims were also burned by their killers.

Human rights lawyer Benjamin Ramos and Escalante City councilor Bernardino Patigas Sr., both described as martyrs of the sugar cane workers’ struggles, were killed on November 7 and April 22, respectively.

After Patigas’ murder, opposition Senator Leila de Lima denounced the murders, blaming the Duterte administration for “the snowballing record of human rights defenders killed in Negros Island.”

De Lima said Patigas’ murder raises suspicions that there is a death squad targeting rights advocates in the province because his killing “hews closely” to the type of killings regularly happening recently.

The senator said Patigas’ murder was the 48th in Negros under Duterte.

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Carlos also condemned the killings and called on the Duterte government to respect human rights.

“In sadness, we all are crying out: End the Killings! These barbaric and calculated assassinations must end! We should not tolerate this kind of crime,” the bishop said in a statement last April.

Fernandez, for his part, urged for the resumption of the abandoned peace talks between the NDFP and the Duterte government in order for the human rights situation in Negros to be addressed by the negotiating panels.

“It would be favorable for the masses, as well as for jailed peace consultants like myself, if the peace talks would be revived,” he said.

Heart problems

Fernandez was taken to the PHC last Friday to undergo laboratory examinations.

“I am suffering from heart ailments, spinal column problems, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis, and hypertension. There may be more,” he told Kodao.

Fernandez said he left Negros more than a year ago to seek medical treatment in Manila when nabbed by military and police operatives in Liliw, Laguna last March 24.

“Doctors of the Philippine Army General Hospital in Fort Bonifacio discovered I also have hardening of the arteries close to my heart,” he said.

Fernandez has since been incarcerated at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City where his state of health has gotten worse.

“They often feed us porridge that are either so unpalatable or are so sweet when made into champorado (chocolate porridge).  For lunch and dinner, they feed us papaya soup with sardines or miswa noodles with sardines,” he said.

The Sta. Cruz Regional Trial Court in Laguna ordered the 71-year old Fernandez to be taken to the PHC for medical check up. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)