Revolutionary organizations ramped up their anti-pandemic campaign with an animation video on how people with little or no access to mass-produced medicines or health facilities may fight Coronavirus-19 (COVID) symptoms.
Produced by underground group Silyab.Bikol, the video has been posted on web portal Yandex Disk as well as Facebook, You Tube, Instagram and Twitter.
The professionally-produced 5:34 minute film presents alternative and traditional ways of treating symptoms associated with the rampaging virus.
Watch the video on Ma Roja Banua’s You Tube channel.
It says lagundi (scientific name: Vitex negundo), tawa-tawa (SN: Euphorbia hirta), virgin coconut oil (VCO), and acupuncture are some of what the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) recommend to its members and the masses in areas where health care and medicines are difficult to access.
“These have long been used by the masses and the NPA to strengthen immunity and as cure for common ailments such as coughs, colds, flu and others,” the video says.
The film says the concoctions and the procedure have already been thoroughly researched by members of the scientific community and may be used to address symptoms of COVID-19.
It says lagundi strengthens the lungs’ defense against various kinds of virus while tawa-tawa promotes healthy respiration. The latter is also good in fighting against bacteria, fungus and amoeba as well as a proven cure for diarrhea, it adds.
VCO meanwhile may be a food supplement for COVID-19 patients, the film claims. Its benefits include lowering of bad cholesterol and strengthening of the heart as well as weight loss for overweight and obese persons vulnerable to Covid 19, the video says.
The ancient Chinese healing system of acupuncture may restore normal balance of the body and fight ailments such as Covid-19, the video also recommends. It shows acupuncture points such as “Lung 1”, “Lung 7” and “Stomach 36” for strengthening ones respiratory system against the virus.
The video presents ways to prepare the concoctions as well as cautions and exemptions for those who are pregnant, obese, hypertensive and diabetic, as well as children.
It also recommends that acupuncture be administered by trained personnel in clean surroundings.
Supportive treatment
Asked about the video’s claims, community medicine expert and University of the Philippines College of Medicine faculty member Gene Nisperos said the concoctions and the procedures are acceptable as “supportive treatment.”
“Claims that lagundi and acupuncture may be used as supportive and symptomatic treatment are ok,” Nisperos said.
He also mentioned tea made out of bangka-bangkaan (SN: Rhoeo spathacea) as a possible alternative.
A website on Philippine medicinal plants reports it may be a cure for a variety of illnesses due to its reported anti-inflammatory, anticancer, insecticidal, antimicrobial, antifertility and many other properties.
The medical doctor added that anything that strengthens a person’s immune system is welcome, including vitamins, sunlight, exercise and acupuncture.
“What we treat are COVID’s symptoms, such as fever with paracetamol and cough with anti-cough medicines. Lagundi is known to have good effect on the lungs and for treating asthma. It helps a lot if used as supportive treatment. Initial research using lagundi on mild COVID shows faster recovery,” he said.
Nisperos said that herbal medicines may be used when there is no paracetamol to be had, but cautioned against “sweeping conclusions” that they are cures or prophylaxis (preventive medicines) to COVID. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Screenshot-2022-01-19-at-09-54-24-Add-New-Post-‹-Kodao-Productions-—-WordPress.png5061053Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-01-19 09:57:572022-01-19 15:38:49WATCH: Reds produce film on alternative, traditional treatment vs COVID symptoms
Joma Sison says Villanueva was captured, tortured and executed
[UPDATED] The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) confirmed the death of New People’s Army’s (NPA) national commander Menandro Villanueva but said he and one other were captured alive last Christmas eve and later summarily executed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
CPP founding chairperson Jose Maria Sison in his tribute said Villanueva and one Sandra Reyes were captured alive last December 24-25 but were later declared killed in separate incidents.
“But Ka [Comrade] Sandra (Reyes) would be reported to the press by the reactionary military as killed in action on December 25,” Sison, quoting a report from the CPPs Mindanao Commission, said.
“On January 5, 2020, the reactionary military one-sidedly fired several rounds of Howitzer artillery at Libodon, Mabini and despite no encounter with the NPA subsequently claimed on January 6 that Ka Menandro had been killed in action in the non-encounter of January 5, 2022,” he said.
“Obviously, he was tortured for at least ten days before he was murdered,” Sison added.
Sison’s statement countered the announcement by the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) of the AFP on Friday that Villanueva was killed in an encounter with government troops.
EastMinCom commander Lt. Gen. Greg Almerol in a statement said Villanueva was one of the founding members of the NPA in Mindanao during the 1970s.
Almerol said that Villanueva became a member of the Kabataang Makabayan as an Ateneo de Manila University student who went underground when Martial Law was declared.
“Villanueva was the longest-serving secretary of the NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) and currently the secretary of Komisyong Mindanao (KOMMID), commanding officer of the NPA’s National Operations Command (NOC) and member of the POLITBURO (political bureau) of the (CPP),” the military added.
AFP target
Known in the underground revolutionary movement as Ka (Comrade) Bok, Ka Jude and Ka Gipo, Villanueva was around 70 years old at the time of his death, the CPP said.
The CPP said Villanueva had been a long-standing AFP target because he successfully led the Party and its armed revolution in Southern Mindanao from one level to another.
“It is a testament to the strength, resilience, and guerrilla discipline of the NPA, and extensive and deep support of the broad masses for the people’s army that it took the enemy more than a decade—spending billions of pesos in relentless military operations, aerial bombings, artillery shelling, occupation of communities, and terrorizing the peasants and Lumad masses—before it could finally vanquish Ka Bok,” the CPP said.
“His death is mourned by the Party, the NPA and all revolutionary forces, and by the broad masses of workers and peasants, especially the downtrodden people in the hinterlands of the Davao provinces, whom he dearly served over the past several decades,” the CPP added.
The group acknowledged that Villanueva’s death is “a big loss.”
“But this setback is only temporary and will be surmounted in due time. A number of Party cadres and NPA commanders, veterans in people’s war, as well as young leaders trained by Ka Bok and steeled in military and political work, are primed to take his place and perform his duties,” the CPP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/npa2.jpg480720Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-01-13 17:36:012022-01-13 20:03:10CPP confirms death of NPA national commander
(The author has been covering the peace process between the NDFP and the GRP and has interviewed Jorge ‘Ka Oris’ Madlos on several occasions. Here is the journalist’s look-back on one of his most respected sources.)
He was inside a swidden hut that Christmas night I first laid eyes on Mindanao’s legendary rebel leader. An electric bulb was casting a wan glow on a makeshift porch and Jorge Madlos was wearing a stubby flashlight on his forehead as he furiously tapped on his laptop, seemingly unaware of the frenzied atmosphere around him. It was the eve of the Communist Party of the Philippines’s (CPP) 42nd founding anniversary and the then National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP)-Mindanao spokesperson was busy polishing the statement he was to issue the next day.
His comrades directed us to a nearby creek to wash up, noticing our pants and shoes were caked with drying mud, victims of several spills on rice paddies and mud puddles on the way to the New People’s Army (NPA) encampment on Mt. Diwata’s foothills. Finding our way back to his hut, Madlos, more famous as Ka Oris, was done typing, beaming a toothy smile and waiting to finally welcome the new arrivals from the city.
“Maligayang pagdating. Salamat sa pagpunta. Kumusta ang biyahe?” Oris asked, eager to hear what we had to say in return. (Welcome. Thank you for coming. How was your trip?) His interest was understandable; we have been told he had a direct hand in organizing the trips. He had done so in the many decades that he welcomed to NPA camps journalists and many other kinds of visitors.
He invited us to dinner, a surprisingly sumptuous fare of adobo and lechon on heaps of piping hot fragrant mountain rice. “Are these the ones being cooked in the barrios we passed by?” we asked. “No. What the masses are cooking tonight will be brought to the celebrations tomorrow. December 26 is their real holiday,” he said. “These adobo and lechon are gifts from local politicians,” he added, laughing. Oris however had fish stew, a healthier meal to manage his urination problems brought about by a spine infection.
It was getting late and Oris held back on asking the many questions he was also known for. Journalists from all over trooped to where they could get hold of him, but he was equally famous for quizzing them in turn. “Baka pagod na kayo. Maaga tayo bukas. Doon sa may mangga ang pwesto niyo,” he said, pointing to where our tents were being put up. (You may already be tired. We have an early day tomorrow. Your tents are being put up under that mango tree.)
We almost never got the chance to have Oris to ourselves again the next day. Along with the thousands of attendees who descended on an open field were Mindanaoan reporters and national and international journalists there to cover the biggest story of the day and interview one of the country’s media darlings. Even journalists who were known to be critical of the communists were invited and welcomed.
During the celebrations, we witnessed firsthand how Oris was one of the journalists’ most beloved sources, especially by Mindanaoan reporters. He had ordered special spots for us to be able to take good photos of the NPA parade. He issued us press passes and badges that were proudly worn the entire day. He made the press conference part of the day long celebrations, fielding the seemingly never-ending stream of questions with dashes of wry humor. He repeatedly thanked the journalists who came, easily identifying which parts of Mindanao or elsewhere in the world they were from or writing for. He handed out “certificates of attendance,” accepted with much jollity and, I suspect, are being kept to this day. A “class picture” with the journalists capped our day, with Oris at the center, looking much like a grandfatherly school principal among wards. I very much doubt any Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) general went as famously with the journalists as the diminutive guerilla did.
Hard-nosed journalists emerge satisfied with every interview session with Oris. He was obviously naturally intelligent, conversant in at least four languages. Questions designed to trap him were deftly turned around, such as, “You have been waging this war for decades, yet you have failed to win,” to which Oris replied, “The much stronger government and imperialists could not defeat us either.” A correspondent of an international news wire agency asked, “Will it not be more difficult for the movement at this time, given that President Aquino is popular?” “He is not popular in our areas of control,” was Oris’ riposte.
The AFP was furious at the brazenness of the CPP celebrations that day that, despite the existence of ceasefire declarations, it put up checkpoints on the roads leading out of the area to harass attendees on their way home. The local Philippine Army (PA) battalion commander was in a towering rage, sources said, especially when a politician’s mindless aide delivered his donation of lechon to the PA camp, instead of the intended NPA camp. “Mabuhi ang CPP! Mabuhi ang NPA!” the mayor’s written message on the lechon carton reportedly read.
At about three in the afternoon and while the celebrations were still on full blast, Oris granted us some time to ask him about the NDFP’s peace negotiations with the Benigno Aquino government. With the 15-minute interview over, he suggested we hitch a ride with other civilian attendees out of the area later that afternoon. “There will be other opportunities for us to talk. It is more important that you get home safe. Thank you for spending today with your friendly NPA,” he jestingly said. There, tired and preoccupied with everyone’s safety, Oris’ famous brand of humor sent us on our way home.
It took us another four years to get another chance to cover Ka Oris in a CPP anniversary celebration. This time, the AFP was more vociferous in preventing the thousands from attending CPP’s 46th anniversary celebrations. Even with local politicians and a congressman telling government soldiers that the mutual rebel and government-declared ceasefires allowed for another open CPP celebration, they delayed the attendees by hours. Revelations that the occasion would even be attended by a Malacanan Palace emissary for peace negotiations consultations were ignored. Many other journalists were also delayed.
As in 2011, I and some colleagues arrived at the venue on Christmas night precisely to avoid the hassle of passing through AFP checkpoints in broad daylight when they are known to be braver. We also hoped to spend more time with Oris alone before the frenzy sets in. When we arrived however, he was already busy welcoming the throng arriving with us, including a group of Catholic nuns. What he did not fail in doing was to ask how our trip was, insisting that we grab a bite and ensuring we have a place to sleep.
The rumpus the government soldiers caused prevented Oris from giving us time for an exclusive interview in the morning. What he did was to give a presser for the many journalists who arrived and answer all our questions as per usual. He also gave copies of the statement he read in the delayed program. Later, he managed to give Kodao an on-cam interview. When it was time for goodbyes, he made sure we would be safe in our travels, as was his wont.
Sometime in between those two coverage, we received a letter from Oris, saying it is time for that exclusive no-time-limit interview. I thought it would be in the same type of area and I packed lightly. It turned out that the venue was at a major NPA camp up high in the mountains. From one of the island’s major cities, it took me and my guide the entire day to travel by bus to a fairly large central Mindanao town and by motorcycle up more and taller mountains. When we ran out of roads and began seeing NPA fighters by the roadside, I thought we’ve reached our destination. I was then told we were just halfway up. What followed was a night-time climb up steep and narrow mountain trails, slogging through swamps and crossing burbling creeks, aided only by small flashlights. We reached camp at near two o’clock in the morning and there was Oris, waiting for us while boiling water to disinfect his urinary drainage bags (urobags).
“You made it!” he beamed, offering us the unique Mindanao NPA handshake. “How was your trip?” he asked, this time with a guffaw, seeing I was near collapse, tethering on my walking stick. Again, beside him, also beaming, was Alvin Luque, alias Ka Joaquin Jacinto, the activist who succeeded Oris as NDFP-Mindanao spokesperson. (Oris and Luque, both ill at the time of their respective deaths, were killed by government soldiers less than a year apart.)
The next morning, Oris gave us a tour of the camp where huge tents housed activists on week-long educational discussions. Other tents served as offices, kitchens and dining halls. All around were individual huts for camp regulars. No, there were no huts or tents that served as armory. He then invited us to conduct the interview, “Before the noisy insects start their concert.”
But the ever-curious Oris wanted something from us in return. He asked young-looking NPA fighters to observe as we set up our equipment. After the interview came his string of questions on which cameras, tripod, microphones, lights and other equipment would best survive their environment. He encouraged his comrades to ask questions on camera panning, tilting and tracking as well as visual composition he obviously already read up on. Months later, the rebels would be uploading videos of Oris issuing statements online.
It was brutally cold on our second night in the mountaintop NPA camp and I began shivering as soon as I tried to go to sleep. I wore all my shirts underneath my thin jacket to no avail. It did not help that my sleeping station was a hammock fashioned from rice sacks under a plastic sheet (tarapal). Past midnight, I felt hands lifting my malong and putting a soda bottle filled with warm water between my legs. It was Oris. Noticing I was woken, he whispered; “I can hear you shivering. This will warm you up.” It indeed did and I slept restfully until morning.
It was time for us to go back home the next day and we left with another special Oris quip: “You are welcome for the honor of visiting another NPA camp,” he said, his eyes twinkling.
It turned out that those were my only chances to personally interview Jorge Madlos. There have been two other CPP anniversaries I covered in Mindanao since. One was in Surigao del Norte 2015 and the biggest yet in Davao City in 2016 when even several Rodrigo Duterte government Cabinet members were in attendance. We were informed that Oris may attend both occasions, but the AFP was even more determined to get him, ongoing peace negotiations notwithstanding. He stayed out.
On October 29, 2021, the AFP killed the 73-year old icon of the revolution in the Philippines. His wife Maria Malaya said Oris was unarmed and was on his way to a medical treatment with an aide when waylaid by the soldiers. Possibly in spite, government soldiers cremated his remains a few days later without giving his family the chance to view his remains one last time. In a twisted way, this could be understood as their way of getting back at Oris even more for eluding them for more than five decades.
Jorge Madlos, Mindanao’s most successful rebel leader and one the Philippines’ most legendary communist cadres, is physically gone. But it would have been nice for me to meet him one last time and field the one question I had long wanted to ask: Did the warm water bottle come from his urobag disinfection ritual? #
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/oris3.jpg567960Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-11-04 17:30:182021-11-05 15:48:13One last question I wanted to ask Jorge ‘Ka Oris’ Madlos
“Ka Oris had long wished to return to Siargao Island where he grew up as a boy. Perhaps, his wish could be fulfilled.”–CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said it supports the wishes of Ka Oris’ family to retrieve his remains and conduct a proper wake for the fallen New People’s Army (NPA) spokesperson.
In a statement, CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said that the military is engaged in a cover-up of the real circumstances surrounding Oris and his aide’s deaths and their families are in a position to demand for an autopsy by an independent pathologist.
Oris (born Jorge Madlos) and his aide the CPP identified as Ka Pika (Eighfel Dela Peña) were killed on Friday in Sitio Gabunan, Barangay Dumalaguing, Impasug-ong town in Bukidnon.
The CPP’s statement came after reports quoted 403rd Infantry Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Barandon saying Oris and Pika will be buried at the “encounter site” if found to be COVID-19 positive.
A Rappler report said the military showed to reporters a photograph of a dead person who resembled Oris being swabbed for COVID-19 at the “encounter site.”
Barandon reportedly said Oris’ remains was swabbed so that samples could be tested for COVID-19, citing other NPA rebels killed in clashes with the military or have been arrested since October showed COVID-19 symptoms.
If the swab tests turn up negative, Barandon said the bodies would be brought down to Impasug-ong town proper and turned over to the Philippine National Police.
Valbuena said Oris had long wished to return to Siargao Island where he grew up.
“Perhaps, his wish could be fulfilled,” the CPP spokesperson said.
Murder
In his statement, Valbuena echoed National Democratic Front of the Philippines-North East Mindanao Region spokesperson and Oris’ widow Maria Malaya’s accusation that the NPA spokesperson and his aide were murdered and not killed in an encounter.
“Ka Oris and aide Eighfel Dela Peña (Ka Pika) were both unarmed when ambushed. Whether they were ambushed while moving or were accosted and thereafter executed is still unclear,” Valbuena said.
In a news conference at Camp Osito Bahian in Malaybalay City, Major General Romeo Brawner Jr., commander of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division, claimed Oris and Pika were killed in an encounter with 8th Infantry Battalion, the 1st Special Forces Battalion, and Scout Ranger soldiers.
Malaya however said Oris and Pika were riding a motorcycle on their way to seek medical treatment.
The elderly Oris was publicly known to have suffered from renal failure for years.
“Clearly, however, they were not in a position to give battle or fight back and were murdered in cold-blood,” Valbuena said.
Cover-up
Valbuena added the aerial strikes in the vicinity of Barangay Dumalaguing the military first claimed killed Oris were done four hours after the NPA spokesperson and his aide were killed.
“For around two hours, from 12:40 a.m. to past 2 a.m. the AFP dropped at least six large bombs, fired dozens of rockets and strafed the mountainside shattering the peace and causing fear and panic among the people,” he said.
The bombing was to conceal the military’s “crime of murdering unarmed revolutionaries and create a false picture of an armed encounter,” he said.
“They then issued a fat lie claiming of an armed encounter at 11 am (10 hours later) where Ka Oris and Ka Pica were supposedly killed,” Valbuena said.
The CPP said that Brawner and other 4th ID officers’ statements to reporters were brazen lies.
“They are utterly dishonorable officers for propagating false information. We hold Gen. Brawner and the men and officers of the 403 IBde responsible for the murder of Ka Oris and Ka Pica and its coverup,” he said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/oris.jpg5831024Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-11-01 11:06:522021-11-01 11:17:33CPP to AFP: Give Oris’ remains back to his family
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) reiterated its policy against vote buying within areas under its control during elections.
CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena in a statement Thursday said the New People’s Army (NPA) prohibits politicians from engaging in vote buying within so-called revolutionary areas during the conduct of “reactionary elections.”
“Vote buying is one of the starkest manifestations of the rotten electoral system of the reactionary government. In the countryside, it reinforces and takes advantage of feudal social relations and perpetuates patronage politics that favor the ruling classes,” Valbuena said.
“Those who engage in vote buying are the most rotten of politicians,” the CPP spokesperson added.
Valbuena’s statement is in obvious reference to Vice President and presidential aspirant Leni Robredo’s earlier advice to voters to receive monies from politicians wishing to buy their votes but to choose according to their conscience nonetheless.
Robredo’s comment received flak and trended online.
The Commission on Elections said it is both illegal for candidates to buy votes and for voters to receive them.
National scourge
Valbuena said the CPP and NPA’s prohibition of vote buying in areas they control is aimed at ensuring that election campaigns are conducted in an orderly manner and not used to sow violence and terror among the people.
“Vote buying is prohibited in the revolutionary areas because it is typically accompanied by intimidation or coercion. It furthermore tends to sow disunity and bickering among the people with some receiving more than the others,” Valbuena explained.
The CPP spokesperson warned that politicians who will be caught in the act of vote buying will be apprehended and reprimanded.
“Monies will be seized and immediately turned over to the local organs of political power and reported to higher territorial governmental organs. These will be used to augment local funds used for socioeconomic programs for the benefit of the people,” he said.
Valbuena added that political parties and candidates who wish to conduct election campaigns in the revolutionary territories are also not allowed to bring firearms or have armed bodyguards, including military and police escorts or their own goons.
“This is to prevent them from subjecting people to armed intimidation, as well as avoid armed encounters during their campaign sorties,” Valbuena said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/nemr.jpg640960Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-10-29 08:35:392021-10-29 08:42:55Reds warn politicians against vote buying in 2022
“Let us respect Isko’s declaration that he is not a communist because in the first place he is not qualified to be one. We should look at him as a high bureaucrat capitalist dedicated to preserving the present anti-national and anti-democratic ruling system and serving the exploitative interests of foreign monopolists, big compradors and landlords, unless he becomes enlightened and proves himself otherwise.” — Jose Maria Sison
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Jose-Maria-Sison-2.png11521718Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-10-14 18:42:472021-10-18 08:34:51'In the first place he is not qualified to be one'
Political detainees as well as human rights groups and lawyers slammed as “prank” the Rodrigo Duterte government’s offer of amnesty to Leftist political prisoners, designed to prevent future peace negotiations from happening.
In a statement read in a recent online forum, six political prisoners condemned Proclamation 1093 offering amnesty to suspected and convicted Leftist rebels as an instrument of “continuing oppression.”
“Proclamation 1093 will not provide genuine amnesty. This cannot be the means for the release of political prisoners,” detained National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultants Vicente Ladlad, Rey Casambre, Ferdinand Castillo, Frank Fernandez, Reynante Gamara and Adelberto Silva said.
President Duterte signed last February 16 proclamations 1090, 1091, 1092 and 1093 granting amnesty to suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Mangagawa ng Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB) and “Communist Terrorist Group” members, respectively.
The House of Representatives concurred under its Concurrent Resolution No. 15 approved last May 19, but the Senate has yet to react to the edicts.
In a statement, Kapatid said that while political prisoners are not closing the door to a grant of amnesty, it is “…totally unjust that those foisted with false charges will own up to crimes they did not commit just to be able to leave prison.”
Kapatid said that for the political prisoners, Proclamation 1093 that refers to Leftist rebels is “fake” and a “trap” because:
1. Amnesty will be granted only to “rebels” who had surrendered or those referred to as “rebel returnees;”
2. It will not be granted to most political prisoners who were arrested, detained, charged with or convicted of trumped-up criminal charges since they did not surrender;
3. It will not cover those who have been proscribed and charged and convicted under the Human Security Act of 2007 and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020;
4. It puts the burden on political prisoners to prove that the crimes they supposedly committed were in furtherance of their political beliefs; and
5. The applicant must admit, in writing and under oath, their guilt on charges they are criminally liable for although the charges are falsified.
Kapatid said the political prisoners also condemned the use of the term “communist terrorist group” to “disparage and degrade the political standing” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
The Duterte government has designated the three revolutionary organizations as terrorists in separate proclamations in 2017 and this year.
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers president Edre Olalia said Proclamation 1093’s intention is suspect for its description of its supposed beneficiaries.
“[T]he premise, framework, and implication of the use of the term ‘communist terrorist group’ render this kind of amnesty patently objectionable and unacceptable, legally and politically,” Olalia said.
“It is practically an institutionalized self-flagellation and it demeans political prisoners, using the dangle of inchoate freedom and the seduction of material bribery,” the human rights lawyer said.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate noted that the amnesty being offered to Leftists are unlike those offered to the MILF, MNLF and the RPMP-RPA-ABB that were outcomes of peace agreements.
“[W]e should remember that this regime ended the peace negotiations. The amnesty is in fact based on Executive Order No. 70 – the government order which ended peace negotiations, justified imprisonment of activists, and paved the way for killing human rights defenders,” the legislator noted.
“The government said that it will no longer engage with peace negotiations but they are saying now that localized peace negotiations were held for former rebels to be granted amnesty. This amnesty proclamation is a ploy to totally prevent peace talks from transpiring,” Zarate, also a human rights lawyer, added.
The six detained NDFP peace consultants said they insist on “general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty.”
“General amnesty means it covers all political prisoners and other political offenders according to a pre-screened list. Unconditional amnesty means no preconditions will be imposed on political prisoners before they are set free. Omnibus amnesty means it will cover all court cases of political prisoners,” the detainees said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/10.jpg720960Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-09-07 09:24:142021-09-07 10:35:50Groups describe as ‘prank’ Duterte’s amnesty offer to Leftists
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) urged the people to brace for an even worse crisis because of the government’s ineffectual response to the coronavirus (COVID) pandemic.
In a statement, the CPP said that due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s “unbridled neglect and failure of governance,” there appears to be an imminent break out of an even worse crisis in the coming months.”
The underground Party said there is a possibility that the COVID pandemic would lead to the downfall of the economy and people’s lives due to Duterte’s reliance on lockdowns and other onerous and burdensome policies.
If it happens, the Duterte regime would falter with the wearing down of the people’s patience, the group said.
Last August 6, the day the government imposed its strictest quarantine for the third time since the pandemic began last year, the Philippines has overtaken Indonesia with the most number of active COVID cases at close to 120,000 cases as compared to its neighbor’s more than 118,000 cases.
Since Saturday, August 14, the country registered upwards of 14,000 new cases daily, nearly matching the all-time high of more than 15,000 registered last April.
“[T]he continuing worsening of the pandemic is a result of Duterte’s pigheaded refusal to prioritize health measures,” the CPP said, noting that the government has no new solution to the emergent Delta variant of the virus but repeated lockdowns.
The group warned there is a strong possibility that COVID will spread more rapidly beyond the capacity of hospitals and facilities in the coming months due to the government’s lack of testing and contact-tracing capacity, in addition to its “turtle-paced vaccination” activities.
No recovery in the horizon
The CPP also said government’s assurances of an economic recovery appear empty due to the lack of investments to kick-start production and consumption.
“Based on experiences in 2020, there is the threat of unemployment shooting up within a few months and rapid rise of businesses losses and bankruptcies,” it said.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced last August 6 that 5,322 workers have lost their jobs on the first day of the current lockdown as at least 178 establishments said they were closing down or cutting their workforce.
Last March 30, DOLE said 4.2 million remained unemployed while 7.9 million workers took pay cuts from shorter working hours.
The CPP said the situation will cause the intensification of workers exploitation and further deterioration of the lives of millions in both cities and the countryside.
“People are forced to desperate straits by the rotten, failed and oppressive Duterte government. Millions of Filipinos daily suffer in long queues for food, aid and vaccines,” the group said.
All the while, government officials abuse power, politicize aid and vaccine distribution, pocket public funds, squander on counterproductive wars, or repay the ever rising government debt which did not benefit the people, the group alleged.
Human rights activists accuse Duterte of instigating mass killings of civilians. (Kodao file photo)
Resistance vs. tyranny
The CPP urged the people to act and express outrage against the Duterte government’s failed policies and response to the crisis.
“They cannot remain silent and dispersed. They cannot forever wait for aid or rely on the good-heartedness of others to avoid extreme hunger,” it said.
“The people must resist being silenced by Duterte’s shock and terror. Their silence will all the more embolden Duterte and his vassals and minions to trample on the their rights and welfare, plunder public funds, impose heavier taxes, betray and conspire with foreign powers, monopolize political power, sow terror and perpetuate themselves in Malacañang,” it added.
It also challenged its forces as well as progressive, patriotic and democratic activists to bear “the responsibility of guiding and leading the Filipino people in their fight against Duterte’s ruling tyranny.”
“The Filipino masses have been deprived of everything. They have nothing else to lose,” the CPP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/oust.jpg8161728Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-08-17 08:06:552021-08-17 08:09:10Reds urge people to brace for worse COVID crisis; rallies forces to lead fight vs. ‘tyrant Duterte’
The Rodrigo Duterte government targets and forces farmers to pose as surrenderers and be counted as trophies in its anti-insurgency campaign, an investigation by a farmers’ group revealed.
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said a nationwide profiling campaign is ongoing against farmers, many of whom are later listed and presented as surrendered New People’s Army (NPA) members or supporters by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
The KMP said the attacks on the peasant sector was affirmed by its series of online fact-finding activities with campaign group Tanggol Magsasaka on farmers, leaders, and other residents in 11 provinces nationwide from July to August.
More than 70 victims gave their testimonies and affidavits on over a hundred cases of human rights abuses perpetrated by state forces, KMP said.
The groups’ first ever online fact-finding activity was aimed to “expose the Duterte regime’s dirty and brutal war targeting farmers, to silence their collective struggle for land, economic reforms, and social justice. “
The fact-finding mission was held just as President Duterte bragged in his last State of the Nation Address last July 26 that about 17,000 NPA members have already surrendered to government forces.
“More than 17,000 former communist rebels have surrendered to the government. They have returned to the fold of the law and are happily reintegrating to the community,” Duterte said.
The President added his administration’s projects such as farm-to-market roads, livelihood, education and sanitation were able to destroy 15 NPA fronts, which he did not identify.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) however laughed at the President’s claim, pointing out past military claims the NPA has no more than 4,000 fighters left.
“”Fifteen guerrilla fronts dismantled? Dream on, Duterte. Si Gen. Hermogenes Esperon ng NTF-ELCAC nagsabi, mahigit daw 4,000 noong June ang NPA mula 3,700 noong December,” CPP information officer Marco Valbuena said.
Civilians
The KMP said many of those claimed by NTF-ELCAC’s to be surrenderers were civilians, including farmers, farm workers, peasant leaders, rural women and youth, and fisher folk.
“[T]he majority of these so-called surrenderers are civilians — ordinary farmers who were either coerced, forced, or duped into ‘surrendering’ to the government,” the KMP said.
The group said that based on initial findings of its online investigation, red-tagging, threat, harassment, and intimidation are the most common forms of abuse by state forces.
Other instances of abuses include:
* Home and farm “intimidation visits” by police, military, and intelligence agents;
* “Forced presentation” of peasant leaders, farmers, and civilians to village authorities and Philippine Army camps to have their names “cleared”; and
* Forced attendance in village meetings organized by the military to be “lectured” on counterinsurgency.
KMP said that individuals targeted for forced surrender were intimidated to sign document denouncing local organization and the CPP-NPA-NDFP alleged as “Communist Terrorist Groups.”
The group’s accusations mirror the December 2019 Philippine Army admission it manipulated a photo to show a group of so-called NPA surrenderers in Masbate province.
The Philippine Army photo it released to the media that it also later admitted was manipulated.
Automatic NPA supporters
The KMP revealed government forces automatically accuse local peasant organizations and associations supporters of the NPA or have links and relations to the CPP, NPA and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
“Farmers and rural populations in localities are often red-tagged as members of the so-called Milisyang Bayan and Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad. Legitimate peasant organizations engaged in farm campaigns, campaigns for land reform, against land-grabbing, against high land rent, and other forms of feudal exploitation are always and automatically red-tagged and vilified by state forces,” KMP said.
The group added its affiliates as well as those of other peasant organizations have been red-tagged, including Danggayan, Dagami, Kaguimungan, UMA-Isabela, AMIHAN-Ambi, PIGLAS and CLAIM in Quezon, AMB in Bulacan, KMB, BCPAI, and LAMBAT in Bicol, and local organizations of farmers in Cavite, Camarines Sur, Albay, Iloilo, and Capiz.
“In the course of the comprehensive and sustained forced surrender campaigns, state forces, and authorities use varied forms ranging from persuasion, deception, fraud, subterfuge, suppression, coercion, and outright use of force and violence,” the KMP said.
It added the government’s counter-insurgency campaign takes full advantage to enforce more restrictions in peasant communities, making peasant communities and villages virtual military garrisons.
The group said its fact-finding mission will continue in the coming weeks to further probe the situation in other regions and provinces. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison described their group’s designation as “terrorist” by the Rodrigo Duterte government as “diabolical”, aimed at not just further closing every possibility of resuming peace negotiations but to kill more of their consultants and resource persons.
Reacting to the Anti-Terrorism Council’s (ATC) June 23 resolution designating the NDFP as a terrorist organization, Sison said the government clearly intends to:
Close further every possibility of resuming the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations at least for the duration that Duterte is in power,
Harass, silence, arrest or even kill the NDFP consultants and resource persons and others involved in the peace negotiations and target even the broad range of peace advocates, critics and oppositionists,
Allow Duterte to control and rig the 2022 elections, stay in power together with (Davao City Mayor) Sara and prevent his (Duterte’s) arrest for crimes against humanity on the prospective warrant that may be issued by the International Criminal Court, and
Pave a wider path for the Duterte regime to declare martial law and impose a fascist dictatorship on the people either before the anticipated 2022 elections or after this is rigged in order to preempt the 1986 type of people’s uprising.
“The diabolical purpose of the Duterte regime in designating the NDFP as terrorist cannot be understated because this has been preceded by the murder of NDFP consultants committed so flagrantly by Duterte death squads,” Sison said.
In its Resolution No. 21 (2021) issued last June 23, the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) designated the NDFP as a terrorist organization/association, saying the group is “an integral and inseparable part of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA).”
Sison cited the murder of Randy Malayao, Randall Echanis, couple Agaton Topacio and Eugenia Magpantay, couple Antonio Cabanatan and Florenda Yap, Reynaldo Bocala and Rustico Tan as proof the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) is into killing NDFP consultants.
The victims were killed after Duterte ordered the GRP Negotiating Panel to walk away from the peace negotiations in mid-2017.
Sison also cited the arrest of NDFP consultants Adelberto Silva, Rey Casambre, Vicente Ladlad, Renante Gamara, Ferdinand Castillo and others who have been arrested and imprisoned on so-called trumped up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
He added that the designation is “at war” with basic principles of international humanitarian law on the legitimate status, rights and character of national liberation movements such as those by the NDFP.
‘War hawks to blame’
A group of peace advocates blames so-called war hawks in the ATC for NDFP’s designation as terrorist.
The group Pilgrims for Peace (PfP) said GRP’s move bodes ill for human rights, democracy and the quest for peace under the Duterte administration.
“The war hawks are hell-bent on killing peace negotiations and instead pursuing all-out war in the government counterinsurgency program as well as casting a wide net of suppression against all opposition and dissent through state terror as embodied in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020,” the group in a statement said.
PfP said the designation can only intensify the “nefarious red-baiting/ terrorist-tagging by the National Task Force-End Local Communist Armed Conflict, with dire implications on and further deterioration of the human rights situation and constriction of democratic space in the country.”
The group added the designation directly contravenes a basic tenet of peace advocacy: addressing the roots of the armed conflict through earnest peace negotiations.
“[B]y designating those who have stepped forward to engage in peace negotiations as ‘terrorist,’ the Duterte administration is blatantly acting against the principle and practice of peace building,” PfP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/joma-duterte-0510-800x321.jpg321800Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-07-19 22:37:092021-07-20 05:52:03Joma, peace advocates: ATC move vs. NDFP ‘diabolical’, to worsen armed conflict
