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Gibo’s anti-peace talks stance no surprise to the Left

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Newly-appointed national defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro reiterated his position against the peace negotiations with the revolutionary Left who in turn said they are not surprised at all.

Immediately after his re-appointment to the post, Teodoro said he had always been against the peace process with the Left, something he added is also the position of the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration’s security sector.

“My personal position is ‘no’. That has always been my position ever since. And I think that is the position of the security cluster as of this time,” he told reporters last Thursday, June 8.

Appointed by Marcos Jr. as defense secretary for the second time last May 5, Teodoro first occupied the post from 2007 to 2009 under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presidency.

Instead of peace negotiations, Teodoro said armed members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) should instead return to the fold of law.

“We can talk about their issues in the proper forum—the Congress—and they should participate in the legitimate political process. The CPP is legal because Republic Act 1700 (law outlawing the CPP) has been repealed long ago,” Teodoro said in a mix of English and Filipino.

No surprise

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel was quick to rebuke the returning defense chief, saying they are not surprised by Teodoro’s position against the peace talks.

“After all, Teodoro comes from the same ilk of military warmongers who served Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and supported convicted war criminal Jovito Palparan,” NDFP peace panel chairperson Julie de Lima said Friday, June 9.

“Teodoro was one of the main implementors of Oplan Bantay Laya which is one of the bloodiest counterrevolutionary campaigns under the US-Arroyo regime,” de Lima added.

The NDFP said there have been documented human rights abuses under Teodoro and Macapagal-Arroyo, including aerial bombings in Mindanao and various cases of enforced disappearances as part of Oplan Bantay-Laya.

“We reiterate the NDFP’s policy of openness to peace negotiations. But at the same time, we see no signs of the current administration’s willingness to create the necessary conditions for peace talks to continue,” added de Lima.

De Lima said that while the revolutionary movement is always ready to talk peace with the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines), “they will persist in advancing the people’s war to defend the Filipino people against more brutal fascist attacks and US military intervention which [they] expect to intensify with the newly appointed DND chief.”

‘Calling a spade a spade’

The CPP for its part called Teodoro a “United States (US) factotum (servant)” who does not want to pursue peace because his real bosses want wars to continue to consume surplus US military hardware.

 The CPP further alleged that Teodoro, corrupt officials in the Marcos Jr. government and general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “keep their share of the fat contracts” under such programs as the so-called modernization of the military.

“Thus, it comes as no surprise that the recycled defense secretary declared that he has no plans of pursuing the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations. He is only interested in armed suppression and pacification of the revolutionary forces who represent the people’s profound aspirations for genuine social change,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.

Valbuena also dismissed Teodoro’s demand for the CPP and the New People’s Army (NPA) to stop their armed struggle as “grossly ironic” given the defense chief’s personal history.

The CPP spokesperson recalled Teodoro chaired controversial companies Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) and Indophil Resources Corporation (formerly known as Glencore International) since 2015. Indophils owns 37.5% of SMI.

In September 2022, the local government of Tampakan, South Cotabato revoked SMI’s business permit for alleged fraud and misrepresentation, declaring itself to be a mineral exploration manufacturer but found to be operating as a general engineering contractor.

“So, do we expect him to have any interest in listening to the grievances of peasants and minority people who are being displaced in their hundreds of thousands by the expansion of mining companies? No. Can the people expect him to have any interest in addressing the socioeconomic and political roots of the current civil war in the country? No,” Valbuena said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Kodao’s Villanueva wins Lagerwey communication excellence award on peace

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Kodao Productions reporter and editor Raymund B. Villanueva is among this year’s recipient of the 3rd Lagerwey Awards for Communication Excellence, cited for his continuing coverage of the peace process between the Manila government and the revolutionary Left.

The Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA) in a special citation bestowed its communication excellence award on peace to Villanueva for his continuing coverage of the peace process between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

The 3rd Lagerwey Awards ceremony was held last Friday, May 5, at the CFA compound in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

“Our awardee continues to strive, to spotlight individuals and initiatives that seek harmonious conditions and to lead constructive public dialogues on issues about justice and equity,” the CFA said.

In his speech, Villanueva asked faith-based institutions such as the CFA, the academe, mass media and other communication initiatives to write more about peace to create a constituency among the people who would demand and work for peace in the Philippines.

“[The peace negotiations] should be talking about human rights, national industrialization, rural development, environmental protection, and the rights of the poor,” Villanueva said.

Villanueva was nominated for the award by Iglesia Filipina Indipendiente Chaplaincy for Europe Bishop Antonio N. Ablon.

A three-decade veteran journalist, Villanueva said peace and social justice are the most important issues for journalists that impact the people’s lives “in the most profound of ways.”

Villanueva authored two books on peace, “Quest for Peace” (Pantas and Kodao, 2020) and “Waylaid Peace” (Pantas and Kodao, 2021), collections of his news reports and essays on the GRP-NDFP peace process.

He is the national chairperson of Altermidya, a national network of independent and community media outfits and a former deputy secretary general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.

Villanueva was also the recipient of other journalism and broadcasting awards, including Gawad Agong, Titus Brandsma Award, and Gandingan Awards.

The list of finalists of the 3rd Lagerway Awards that were each declared winners in different categories.

Media and faith

The awards is named after Fr. Cornelio Lagerwey, a Dutch priest and a Missionary of the Sacred Heart who spent years in parishes across the Philippines after his arrival from Indonesia in 1954.

Fr. Lagerwey first published the Philippine Catholic Digest before founding the Social Communications Center (SCC) with Filipino journalist Genaro Ong in 1965 to produce “socially relevant publications and radio and TV programs.”

Fr. Lagerwey and other SCC top executives were arrested in 1972 when Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law. SCC’s license to publish was also revoked.

SSC’s name was changed to the CFA in 1975 and continued its work. Lagerwey died in 1995.

The awarding ceremony for 3rd Lagerwey Awards last Friday was the first to be held with the actual presence of organizers and awardees.

The award was established in 2020. #

Missing NDFP peace consultant killed by AFP

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The Visayas Command (VisCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has announced the death of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant and alleged top New People’s Army (NPA) leader in Central Visayas Rogelio Posadas.

Announced to be missing since April 19 by the NDFP in Negros, the AFP last Saturday said Posadas was killed “after a series of encounters in the boundaries of Isabela and Balbagan” in Negros Occidental Province last April 20.

VisCom alleged Posadas was Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor regional committee secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

NDF-Negros and the NPA’s South Negros Command however said Posadas was first arrested and subsequently summarily executed by his captors in the manner that befell Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, Juanito Magbanua, Ericson Acosta, Jorge Madlos, Menandro Villanueva, Antonio Cabantan and other  NDFP peace consultants in recent years.

Bayani Obrero, NDFP – Negros spokesperson said, “We believe Posadas and the other three were intercepted by state agents along the road. They are missing since April 19, around 6PM. They never reached their destination.”

The NPA’s Mt. Cansermon Command denied two encounters took place in Sitio Marikudo, Brgy. Camang-camang and Sitio Cabite, Brgy. Binalbagan, Negros Occidental on April 20, 2023.

The NPA said it strongly denounces the military’s claim, saying Posadas was in fact unlawfully apprehended, tortured and killed despite being defenseless.

In his January 9, 2015 arrest in Negros Oriental province, Posadas was identified by former NDFP Negotiating Panel chairperson Luis Jalandoni as a holder of NDFP Document of Identification Number ND978313 under the assumed name Angel Jose.

Posadas has also been issued a corresponding Letter of Acknowledgment signed by then GRP Negotiating Panel Chairperson Silvestre H. Bello III and was covered by the safety and immunity guarantees under the JASIG, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees between the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.

Posadas was freed on March 7 of the same year after posting bail.

Still missing

The NDFP said Posadas was travelling with a “Ka (Comrade) Mikmik” and two motorcycle drivers hired to transport the two to their intended destination.

In a press conference in Negros Island last Sunday, the two motorcycle drivers were identified by their families as 21-year-old Renren delos Santos and 18-year-old Renald Mialen.

“Ka Mikmik” was also identified as 28-year old Lyngrace Martullinas.

In the press conference, delos Santos’ father said that witnesses had observed a white van obstructing two motorcycles, after which masked gunmen forced the riders into the van.

The announcement of Posadas’ death by the 303rd Infantry Brigade of Philippine Army did not mention other casualties and arrests. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

More groups call for justice for the Tiamzons

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More groups condemned the reported deaths of top Communist Party of the Philippines leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon and the alleged manner in which they were killed by government soldiers.

Peasant groups Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) and Anakpawis Party said the brutal slay of the couple prove the government’s disinterest in solving the root causes of the armed conflict in the country.

Indigenous peoples’ organizations Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), Sandugo – Movement of Moro and Indigenous Peoples for Self-Determination (Sandugo), and BAI Indigenous Women’s Network (Bai) in a joint statement said there is no justification for the manner of their deaths as well as the apparent cover-up that followed.

UMA said if only the government put as much effort into solving peasant landlessness and widespread hunger as they did in the cover-up, they could have easily ended the civil war the Tiamzons led.

 “But they’d rather spend time and resources committing such disturbing war crimes instead.” UMA spokesperson John Milton Lozande said.

Acting UMA chairperson and former Anakpawis Party Representative Ariel Casilao said,“Killing CPP leaders doesn’t make Marcos a strong leader. What it does is reveal how weak he is at addressing the problems that have made common Filipinos willing to take up arms.”

 “The government can end this war with genuine social reforms if it wanted to. Question is, does it want to?” Casilao added.

Casilao said they recognize that the armed revolution waged by the likes of the Tiamzons is aligned with the demands of the toiling masses, foremost of which is “seizing control of land from imperialists, compradors, and the landlords they worked with, and handing it over to the peasantry.”

The indigenous peoples’ groups meanwhile recalled when the Tiamzons took time to visit and consult with the Lakbayan ng mga Pambansang Minorya and Lumad bakwit at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman shortly after their second release from prison in 2016 to participate in the peace negotiations.

“They listened to us and advocated for the concerns and aspirations of national minorities to the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER). They sincerely sat at the negotiating table with the Duterte administration to work for peace and push for genuine development,” the groups said in their statement.

“For us national minorities, the Tiamzons and the organizations they represent, CPP-NPA-NDF, were never our enemy. It was not them (who) bombed our communities nor imposed destructive projects in our ancestral lands,” they said.

“They did not kill our leaders and chieftains who protect our lands and rights. They did not imprison or torture us for asserting our right to self-determination. The state and its Armed Forces are the ones that bring terror to our lands and lives,” the groups added.

Katribu, Sandugo and BAI said they call for the Tiamzons and their eight companions killed with them.

“They were revolutionaries, not terrorists. They did not deserve to be tortured and then mercilessly assassinated. If the worst criminals deserve humane treatment, all the more to well-meaning people like them pushing for peace, freedom, and development,” they said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Lawyers condemn brutal deaths of Tiamzons; fraternity condoles with family

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Human rights lawyers condemned the brutal deaths of their clients Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, calling it a “grave breach of international humanitarian law (IHL).”

In separate statements, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) called for accountability for the deaths of Benito, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) executive committee chairperson, and his wife Wilma, CPP central committee secretary general between August 21 and 22, 2023.

“The reported manner of killings, signs of torture on the unarmed victims’ bodies and the insidious cover-up involving the explosion and sinking of a ‘hostile boat’ in the waters of Catbalogan City…all point to the commission of war crimes by the military,” the NUPL said.

“These grave breaches of (IHL) expose the injustice of the current counterterrorism framework, which blurs the distinction between armed conflict and terrorism, enables the arbitrary terrorist designation of parties to the protracted armed struggle, and enfeebles the application of protective legal norms to hors de combat, prisoners of war, and protected persons,” the group said.

The PILC for its part said the loss of a client in a savage extrajudicial killing in the midst of unresolved injustices is far worse painful than the loss of a case in court.

“The news about the brutal killing of our clients Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, with eight companions, shows how the system has failed again,” the PILC said.

The law firm said the Tiamzons first became their clients upon their arrest in Cebu in March 2014, a difficult task since they were branded as “enemies the state” given their extensive knowledge of the nature and problems of Philippine society and deep involvement in the armed struggle to bring about structural change.

“Contrary to the vilification, they were both level-headed, patient, and soft spoken. They would often give us insightful analysis of the case. Our conversations with them as our clients taught us to be more meticulous and analytical in our work,” they said.

Peace warriors

The Tiamzons were released from jail by the previous Rodrigo Duterte administration to participate in formal peace negotiations in Europe between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Formal talks lasted less than a year, between 2016 and 2017, but was enough for the Tiamzons to make their mark in the process, PILC said.

“[I]n the peace negotiations with the Philippine government, they provided significant contributions with the sincere aim of reflecting in the agreement the aspirations of the oppressed Filipino masses,” the law firm said.

The Tiamzons actively participated during the discussions on specific provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), the most substantive of the four peace talks agenda that includes respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, political and constitutional reforms (PCR), and cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces (CHDP) as laid down by the parties in their Joint Hague Declaration signed in September 1992.

Even while the drafting of a common draft of the CASER was still being finalized, Benito and Wilma had already started work on the next agenda of the peace negotiations, their lawyers said.

Benito, aside from being a member of the NDFP negotiating panel, was also the head of the reciprocal working group tasked to study the agenda on the PCR, while Wilma was the head of the reciprocal working group assigned to research and draft proposed provisions on the agenda of CHDP.

The peace negotiations could have been an opportunity for the Philippine government to end the armed conflict and achieve a just and lasting peace, PILC narrated.

Where are government’s obligations?

In an announcement Monday, the CPP reported the Tiamzons and eight others were caught in a military dragnet near Catbalogan on August 21 last year.

The revolutionary group added the Tiamzons were severely beaten and their bodies subsequently blown up off the coast of Samar province in what the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) described was a running firefight.

Former AFP officials involved in the said incident denied CPP’s allegations, pointing out that DNA tests being conucted abroad have yet to confirm if body parts recovered from the scene belonged to the Tiamzons.

The NUPL however still called on the Manila government to fulfill its obligation to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in all circumstances as stated in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Protocols, the domestic Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity, and even the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) signed by both the GRP and the NDFP as a mutual agreement connected with the peace process between the parties.

“This non-derogable obligation includes the duty to recognize the equal applicability of international humanitarian law to both parties of an armed conflict and to hold the military to account for the inhumane treatment and deaths not only of the Tiamzon spouses but of many other casualties of its war crimes,” they said

Fraternity condoles

Meanwhile, Benito’s University of the Philippines (UP) Alpha Sigma Fraternity brothers expressed condolences for the death of their member they described as having lived their brotherhood’s principles.

Benito was a member of the fraternity’s 1969-D batch, indicating the year of his entry into the group.

“Bilang isang miyembro ng aming kapatiran, naging malaki ang naging kontribusyon ni Brod Benito, at ang kanyang bunga ay naramdaman din sa labas ng aming organisasyon. Ang kanyang liderato at aktibismo, sa loob at labas ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, ay nag-iwan ng hindi malilimutang marka sa aming kapatiran at sa lipunan na pinagsisilbihan namin. Ang kanyang dedikasyon at matatag na paninindigan para sa mga tao ay nagbigay inspirasyon sa aming lahat,” the group in its message said.

(As a member of our brotherhood, Benito’s contributions had been immense that we feel even outside of the organization. His leadership and activist, within and outside UP, leave an unforgettable mark on our fraternity and the society we serve. His dedication and unflinching principles inspire us all.)

“Bilang isang kapatiran, nangangako kami na patuloy na itataguyod ang aming pinakamataas na layunin na Alay sa Sambayanan na isinabuhay ni Brod Benito at Wilma Austria at patuloy na maglilingkod sa mga tao upang makagawa ng positibong pagbabago sa ating lipunan. Taos-puso naming ipinagmamalaki si Brod Benito bilang isang tunay na myembro ng UP Alpha Sigma Fraternity na hanggang sa dulo ng kanyang buhay ay ubos lakas na pinaglilingkuran ang sambayanan,” it added.

(As a brotherhood, we vow to pursue our loftiest ideal of serving the people that our brother Benito and Wilma lived by to bring about positive changes in society. We are wholeheartedly proud of Brother Benito as a genuine member of the UP Alpha sigma Fraternity who until the end of his life gave his all for the people.) # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘Happiness is in the revolution’

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Reportedly captured, tortured and killed on August 21, 2022 with wife Wilma Austria and eight others:

“Happiness is in the revolution. I could not think of any other life. There is no other way. The revolution is not a burden, an obligation I perform with a heavy heart. It comes out naturally.”—BENITO TIAMZON, Communist Party of the Philippines Executive Committee Chairperson

NDFP Peace Panel ‘immensely outraged’ at Tiamzons’ brutal deaths

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The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel said it is “immensely outraged” at the killing of its member Benito Tiamzon and peace consultant Wilma Austria Tiamzon it blames on the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Following the announcement Thursday by the Communist Party of the Philippines that the Tiamzons were arrested, tortured and killed in Catbalogan, Samar last August 21, NDFP Negotiating Panel interim chairperson Julieta de Lima said they are also in deep mourning for the Tiamzons and their eight companions.

“The reported manner of their questionable capture, inhuman treatment and barbaric torture, and the deceptive scheme to dispose of their and eight of their comrades’ mutilated bodies are despicable acts of evil persons from the GRP State’s terror machinery,” de Lima said.

According to the CPP, the Tiamzons and their companions were captured at a military checkpoint near Catbalogan and and suffered severe beating in the hands of their captors, citing witnesses who saw how the faces and bodies of the victims were smashed with hard objects.

Their dead bodies were then taken to a boat that was blown up off the coast of Samar province to make it appear that they were killed in a firefight with the military’s Joint Task Force Storm, the 8th Infantry Division and the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident in the early morning hours of August 22, 2022 off the coast of Catbalogan.

The CPP added that the “Catbalogan 10” suffered the same fate as other CPP and New People’s Army (NPA) leaders who were brutally killed after capture, such as in the case of NPA spokesperson Jorge Madlos (Ka Oris) in October 2021, NPA national commander Menandro Villanueva (Ka Bok) in January 2022, revolutionary leader Antonio Cabantan (Ka Manlimbasog) in December 2020, CPP Central Committee leader Julius Giron (Ka Nars) in March 2020 and a number of others.

“This deliberate pattern of either arbitrarily arresting or outrightly murdering activists and revolutionaries must immediately stop,” de Lima said.

Instead of meaningful resolution of the armed conflict, the killings and other damaging acts and statements by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) make it more difficult to address the root causes of the armed conflict, she added.

AFP denies CPP report

In media interviews Thursday, retired 8th Infantry Division-Philippine Army commander Edgardo de Leon denied the CPP report that the Tiamzons were captured in a military checkpoint and were subsequently killed.

De Leon confirmed however that they implemented a dragnet in the area and purposefully engaged a number of alleged NPA fighters off the coast of Catbalogan where there is little chance of civilians being caught in the crossfire.

He also denied that their Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident directly involved American troops.

 Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police said the results of Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) results from abroad to establish if body parts retrieved on the coast of Catbalogan were indeed those of the Tiamzons.

The CPP however said that the supposed offshore firefight was an elaborate way to hide the torture the Tiamzons suffered in the hands of the military.

“The claimed mid-sea firefight and explosion were all a drama hatched by the AFP and its US military advisers, to hide all evidence of the ignominy of their fascist crime. In truth, the already lifeless bodies of the Tiamzons and their group were dumped on a motorboat filled with explosives, and tugged from Catbalogan midway towards Taranganan island before it was detonated. Only eight bodies were subsequently retrieved by the military,” CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said.  

The NDFP Negotiating Panel said the Tiamzons should not have suffered arrest, torture and murder as they were protected by several signed agreements and protocols.

“Being protected persons under the GRP-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) as well as the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), in particular, and of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, in general, they should have been accorded all their rights and not murdered in cold blood by remorse-deficit GRP State terrorists,” de Lima said.

Arrested for the second time in southern Cebu in 2014, the Tiamzons were released from jail in 2016 to enable their participation in formal peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP in Europe.

Benito was a member of the NDFP Peace Panel and a key political consultant of the NDFP Reciprocal Working Group (RWG) on Political and Constitutional Reforms (PCR). He was 71 years old.

Wilma a political consultant of the NDFP RWG on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces (EHDF). She was 70 years old.

Childhood sweethearts, the two were classmates at Rizal High School in Pasig where they graduated at the top of their class.

They both studied at the University of the Philippines where they separately joined the Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan but jointly went underground when the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Imposed martial law in 1972.

They rose to become two of the CPP’s top leaders and was credited for leading the party in its Second Great Rectification Movement in the 1990s.

The CPP said Benito was chairperson of its executive committee while Wilma was secretary general of its central committee at the time of their deaths.

“Ka Benny and Ka Wilma are incontestably two of the most beloved, selfless and brightest leaders of the struggle. They, like Joma (Sison), Fidel (Agcaoili), Randall Echanis, Randy Malayao, Pedro Codaste and countless others, have steadfastly dedicated their whole lives, energies, wisdom and talent to achieve a truly  just and lasting peace for the people,” de Lima said.

“We honor their legacy by carrying on what they have passed on with even more vigor and resolve.  There is no other option,” de Lima added.

Meanwhile, the CPP’s Central Committee urged all NPA units nationwide to perform 21 gun salutes for the Tiamzons on April 24, the 50th founding anniversary of the NDFP. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

CPP reports capture, torture and murder of Tiamzons by the military

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The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today confirmed Benito Tiamzon, chairman of its executive committee, and his wife, Wilma Austria Tiamzon, its secretary general, are dead.

Contrary to stories told by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) however that the top Communist leaders were killed when their boat was blown up by government troopers in the sea off Samar province, the CPP said the two and companions were captured near Catbalogan City last August 21.

They were then heavily tortured and killed, CPP spokesperson Marco Valbuena in a statement said.

“The entire leadership and membership of the (CPP) condemn in the strongest terms the (AFP) for the brutal torture and cowardly killing of Party leaders Benito Tiamzon (Ka Laan) and Wilma Austria-Tiamzon (Ka Bagong-tao), together with eight other revolutionaries after they were captured in Samar province on August 21, 2022,” Valbuena’s statement said.

Benito was 71 while Wilma was 70, the CPP said.

The group said the two were travelling with Ka Divino (Joel Arceo), a subregional secretary in Eastern Visayas, along with Ka Yen, Ka Jaja, Ka Matt, Ka Ash, Ka Delfin, Ka Lupe, Ka Butig who all belonged to the guerrilla force of the central headquarters.

In a report, the CPP’s political bureau said the Tiamzons were traveling on two separate vans along the national highway eastwards towards Catbalogan City. They were flagged down between 12:00 noon and 1:00 in the afternoon, after which all communications with the group were lost.

They were unarmed, the group said.

Valbuena said it took them took several weeks to investigate reports the AFP released last year about the Tiamzon’s death off the western coast of Samar island. He said it also took them months to piece together the details of the capture and subsequent massacre of the Tiamzons and companions.

The AFP said the Tiamzons were killed when their boat exploded while engaging in a firefight with the military’s Joint Task Force Storm, the 8th Infantry Division and the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident in the early morning hours of August 22, 2022 off the coast of Catbalogan.

The Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident is a unit trained and commanded by the US (United States of America) military, the CPP said.

“The claimed mid-sea firefight and explosion were all a drama hatched by the AFP and its US military advisers, to hide all evidence of the ignominy of their fascist crime. In truth, the already lifeless bodies of the Tiamzons and their group were dumped on a motorboat filled with explosives, and tugged from Catbalogan midway towards Taranganan island before it was detonated. Only eight bodies were subsequently retrieved by the military,” Valbuena said.

‘Heavily tortured’

According to the information gathered by the CPP Central Committee, the Tiamzons were in fact captured and suffered severe beating in the hands of their captors, citing witnesses who saw how the faces and bodies of the victims were smashed with hard objects.

“The murder of the Tiamzons follow the pattern of the wilful killings perpetrated by the AFP against captured revolutionaries. The same cruel and cowardly methods were used in the killing of Jorge Madlos (Ka Oris), Menandro Villanueva (Ka Bok), Antonio Cabantan (Ka Manlimbasog), Julius Giron (Ka Nars) and a number of others,” Valbuena said.

Valbuena added that the CPP demands justice for the August 21 massacre of the Tiamzons and companions, naming top AFP generals and commander in chief President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as among those responsible.

The Tiamzons were last seen publicly when they participated in several formal peace negotiations in Norway, Italy and the Netherlands in 2016 and 2017 with the Rodrigo Duterte administration of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.

They also attended several peace forums in the Philippines before again going underground when the talks collapsed due to orders from Duterte and the military.

Benito and Wilma were top graduates of Rizal High School in Pasig City before becoming a couple while they were University of the Philippines students.

They were already members of several revolutionary organizations when they went underground after President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law in 1972.

Along with Giron, the Tiamzons were the highest-ranking CPP leaders who were allegedly killed by the AFP. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

NDFP denounces ‘shamelessly inhuman’ treatment of Casilao

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‘Only real terrorists parade their captives in public for humiliation and ignominy that is a throwback to the dark ages of uncivil conduct’

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) protested the labelling given to one of its peace consultants arrested in Malaysia early this month and deported to the Philippines yesterday, April 17.

In a statement, NDFP Negotiating Panel interim chairperson Juliet de Lima said the treatment given to Casilao by the Philippine National Police (PNP) was “totally unacceptable” as it did not only violate his basic human rights and the international humanitarian law but was also “shamelessly inhuman.”

Casilao was marched by full battle-geared PNP personnel as he alighted from a van through several journalists at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, taken to the departure area and flown to Davao City Monday afternoon.

The PNP also repeatedly described Casilao as one of the top leaders of the “communist terrorist group,” a police and military labelling of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) vehemently rejected by the said groups.

De Lima said it is the PNP, not Casilao, who are the real terrorists.

“Only real terrorists parade their captives in public for humiliation and ignominy that is a throwback to the dark ages of uncivil conduct,” de Lima fumed.

She reminded the Philippine government that Casilao has the universal right to be presumed innocent until his case is heard in an impartial court of law under due process. 

“He has the right to legal counsel and other basic civil rights that should be observed by civilized systems,” she added, echoing a point earlier made by Casilao’s brother and former Anakpawis Representative Ariel Casilao on Monday.

Harassment victim

The PNP claimed Eric Jun is the secretary of the CPP’s Southern Mindanao Regional Committee who has recently been elected to the party’s Central Committee.

The police said he has existing warrants of arrest for murder, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and attempted murder charges and carries a P5.4 million bounty on his head.

The NDFP however said Casilao was a victim of constant harassment upon his designation as the second nominee of the Anak ng Bayan party in 2004.

He has decided to go underground to seek sanctuary with the masses since, the NDFP added.

He then served as an NDFP consultant for the Reciprocal Working Committee on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio Economic Reforms (CASER) in Southern Mindanao, the group said.

The NDFP-Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has approved free land distribution for poor farmers under the social and economic reform substantive agenda when former GRP President Rodrigo Duterte decided to walk away from formal peace negotiations in 2017.

Several NDFP peace consultants have since been brutally murdered and arrested under suspiciously uniform charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, murder, arson, and kidnapping and serious illegal detention such as those Casilao are being charged with.

“The Negotiating Panel demands that his (Casilao) life, security and safety are guaranteed also in compliance with the binding mandates of the GRP-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law  (CARHRIHL),” de Lima said, citing the formal agreements that should exempt peace consultants and staff from arrest and harm. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
 

POEMS FOR THE MARTYRED POET

/in /by

Like red ink spilling

For Ericson Acosta

By Rebecca K. Lawson

Like red ink spilling

from a leaking pen,

an indelible stain spreads

onto the war-torn tapestry

of this nation.

We brace ourselves

for the price of struggle

and the pain of loss.

The gentle

offer themselves

in hopes for better tomorrows

for those poor and oppressed.

Their feet pound mountain heights

even as their pens scribble

our collective dreams for social justice

and tangibles for meaningful reforms

that will benefit the toiling majority.

And when a nimble pen

and brilliant heart

is felled by a fascist evil,

the earth shakes.

We are awakened once more

that peacebuilding

is an urgent task, for tyranny, militarism,

and cold-blooded violations

of human rights

and international humanitarian law

must not be allowed

to have the last word.

We go on!

-30 November 2022

Narinig niyo na ba?

Ni Ibarra Banaag

Narinig niyo na ba,

Ang kanyang mga tula

at kanta?

Nahulaan niyo na ba,

Saan hinango ang linya

at himig nito?

Naramdaman niyo ba,

ang lalim at talas

ng pahimakas?

Nabasa niyo na ba,

mga akdang pawang

makamasa?

Nataros niyo na ba,

makauring himaymay

ng bawat tudla?

Namulat ka na ba,

sa taglay na linyang masa at paksa?

Kasama bang nasawi,

ang talastas niyang

walang kupas?

Ang kanyang mga likha,

ng kanyang pagsanib sa aba,

Mula sa landas,

na bibihira ang bumabagtas.

Makamit lamang, isang buhay na may dangal.

Ang pangalan niya,

ay Ericson Acosta,

Kadre,

makata,

mandirigma.

-30 November 2022

DEATH IN THE MORNING

By Pablo Tariman

One more time

You rewind another life

Gone at fifty

With just his poems

For his only son to peruse

As last mementoes.

No more time to grieve

The container of sadness is dry

From previous year’s constant grief

You have rehearsed this before

Going to a roomful of dead people

And identifying your loved one

And then you bring him

To nearest crematorium

To later settle in an urn

Of memories.

There is no time

For bitterness

Or rancor.

They have chosen

Another way to live

And reach their ideal

Fighting

For the hungry

And the oppressed

And constantly coping

With well-funded

Lackeys of war.

A day before his death

He was talking about

Seeing a doctor

For his recurring ailment.

Alas

He didn’t make it

To his doctor’s appointment.

From what I heard

He was arrested alive

And later riddled with bullets

Typical of dogs of war.

His son expected

To see his father

In detention

For a last hug and embrace.

But early morning

Of a fateful Thursday

He is gone.

Like the way he saw

His mother for the last time

Lifeless on a cold stretcher

In a morgue

In the shadow of Mt. Silay.

I can only rewind

Fifty years of his life

And forty two years

Of my daughter’s life.

Am figuring out his grave:

Should I bury him

Beside my daughter’s crypt

Or beside his father’s tomb

In another town?

I am airport-bound

Once more

For last appointment

With the departed.

I have come to terms

With this life

As I have lived it.

Happy my loved ones

Have come to terms

With dying

The brave way

Mula kay Ericson, Para kay Ericson

Ni Kislap Alitaptap

Ito ang pagsanib ng kaba

Sa lupang magaspang

At pagsiyasat sa kaluskusan ng mga dahon

Ito ang marahang tapik sa balikat

Ang tingin na may pagtitiyak

Ito ang buntong-hininga

Habang nasa likod ang araw ng umaga

Isang minutong katahimikan

Ngayon na ang katuparan

Ang bugso ng balaraw

Ang paglikha ng balang-araw.

-30 November 2022

Death of a poet

Ni Xian Patricio

tila tubig na dumadaloy

ang mga tulang ibinuhos

ng inyong pawis at luha.

Nag-iiwan ng bakas,

at umuukit sa lupa

upang hanapin ang kaniyang landas.

Mananatili sa isang panahon

para bumuo ng lawa,

hanggang humukay nang malalim

at magbuo ng mundong may búhay.

Ngunit minsang umapaw,

kasabay ng mga nauna pang pag-agos,

mahahagilap din niya ang sarili

sa mga patubig ng sakahan,

sa tubig inumin,

sa mga esterong nanlilimahid,

hanggang sa dumaop ang mga salita

sa karagatan, at yayakapin

ng libu-libong isdang nabubuhay,

at maipapasa ang mga tula

sa susunod pang laksa

habang mayroon pang umaagos

sa batis.

mamatay man ang bukal

ng tubig ng inyong mga salita,

nakapagpabuhay na ito,

at sila na ang bahalang magpadaloy.

Limasingko

Ni Khavn dela Cruz

limasingko limasingko limasingko limasingko limasingko

limasingko ang buhay sa bayan ko

dito magtungo para pasabugin ang bungo

para wasakin ang puso

limasin ang dugo

umaasa ang berdugo

na sa pagkalabit ng gatilyo

maglalaho ang mga kataga at konsepto

bawal magsalita

huwag magsabi ng totoo

tumahimik

manahimik

mag-ingay

huwag magpalamon sa bangungot na bumabalot

sa araw-araw na humihiyaw

tungkol sa katiwalian, karahasan, katangahan

ano nga ba ang napapala ng mamamatay-tao?

buhay na walang-hanggan?

trabaho lang?

bakit sila kailangang puksain

parang ipis at daga ang turing?

percy lapid

kerima tariman

eman lacaba

at marami pang iba

bakit napakarami nila sa munting bayan ko?

ngayong araw, pinanganak si bonifacio

ngayong araw, pinatay si ericson acosta

mabuhay ang pilipinas nating wazak!

Hindi magagapi

Ni Arnold Padilla

Kunin man nila ang ating mga ina at ama

di magiging ulila ang ating mga anak

sa tahanang ilaw ang pakikibaka

haliging matatag ang kilusan ng masa.

Kunin man nila ang ating mga makata

di pupurol ang talas ng ating dila

ang diwang hinasa ng kanilang taludtod

tabak na papatid sa kaisipang iginapos.

Kunin man nila ang ating mga mandirigma

di hihinahon ang apoy ng gera sa nayon

sa lupang kinamkam ng mga diyos-diyosan

titindig ang mga bagong kawal ng bayan.

-December 1, 2022

Hindi Ko Kilala

Ni Aida CF Santos

Hindi ko kilala si Ericson Acosta

o ang kanyang asawa na si Kerima

ilang dekada ang pagitan

ng aming henerasyon

ngunit hindi naiiba

ang mga layunin ng pag-aalsa

o pagsulat ng mga tula at awit

ng kuyom na mga kamao

mahigpit ang tangan sa paniniwalang may bukas

na maaliwalas ang pamana nila sa anak na si Emman at libong tulad niya

Binabasa ko ang kanilang maiikling talambuhay

ang mga tulang hindi na nila mabibigkas o maririnig nilang bibigkasin ng mga kaibigan

at kasama, ng masa

na humanga sa kanilang kabayanihan

iginupo ng mga bala at itak

ng mga traydor sa bayan

Kinilala ko sila

at ang pusod ng puso ng

pakikidigma

ang pulso na may tibok

ng paniniwala

taos ang panghihinayang

taos ang galit sa dibdib

taos ang tulo ng mga luha

taos ang pagsaludo

sa apoy na magdadala muli

sa mga abo na pinagmulan

ilang Ericson at Kerima pa

ilang henerasyon pa

– 6 Disyembre 2022

Moving On

By Pablo Tariman

We are done

With grieving

And wiping away

Persistent grief

Like my grandson

Who let it all fall

Where it should

On a street corner

Where his parents used to tread

Along the hollowed street of Mendiola

What were those tears for?

He expected to reunite

With dear father

In a detention cell

And perhaps strum

Their guitars together

For the last time

The next thing he knew

His father was arrested

In the hinterlands of Kabankalan

Then made to do a few turns

With his companion

Only to meet their imminent death

In a sudden rain of bullets

And bolos tearing away

At their skin

Months back

I always request

Massenet’s Meditation

To remember

My late daughter

Now it is time

For that soulful music

To remember his father

I always ask my grandson

To seat with me in rehearsals

While Massenet’s Meditation

Floats eerily

In the auditorium

Surely

Music has a way with grief

Perhaps it is a good way

To confront death

Perhaps the gentle way?

I don’t know

How my grandson feels

Letting the music

Come to his psyche

With yet another death

In the family

Now tell me

How should music metamorphose

Into balm

For our weary spirit?

Perhaps music

Can guide us

Into the periphery of acceptance

Even if the labyrinth

Is oozing

With excruciating pain

It is quiet and humid

In that angry street

With ominous graffiti

Shouting justice

For my grandson’s father

I did carry that urn

With his mother a year ago

Now I am torn with grief

Seeing him

Carrying his father’s ashes.

Is it

Time to move on

And fly on the wings

Of song

And remembrance?

–7 December 2022

* * *

Negros Redux

By Pablo Tariman

It is suddenly quiet

And eerie in my garden

I figure out my potted trees

Tall and almost reaching out

To lampposts

On this deserted street

Where I live

I look for

My share of solace

In the garden

As grandson

Finally came home

After seven days

Of travelling

From Manila to Silay

And Bacolod

And on to a barrio

In Kabankalan

We have questions

In our mind:

Why did they embalm body

Without knowledge

Of family

And without death certificate?

We decided not to be too nosy

About legal procedures;

In this part of the country

It is dangerous

To ask too many questions

The funeral parlor

Is teeming with

Men in uniform

Moving about

And looking scary

While sniffing visitors

Like trained police dogs

The funeral parlor owner

Is a character straight

From Hitchcock horror films

He is Christian pastor

On special days

And traffic officer by day

At night he is funeral parlor owner

And taking notes

Of the dead coming in

For embalming

Some corpses

Are special

As they are

Heavily escorted by

Police and military

In the dead of night

We figure out:

Do military men

And funeral parlor owners

Run big business

Out of victims

Of vicious killings?

Meanwhile

My grandson’s father

Is reduced

To an airline cargo

After getting assorted permits

From barangay demigods

To city hall executives

And health officers

And final permit to transport body

From Bacolod to Manila

Back in the city

We cremate the body

And given proper

Religious ritual

For the dead

From the funeral parlor

After cremation

And on to this final wake

Grandson has to be present

To deliver his final tribute

To his late father

It has occurred to me:

Is this how poets die

In this country

Ravaged by storms

And earthquakes

And constantly

Reeling from scams

As police officers

And assorted public servants

Are caught with their dirty

Fingers in the proverbial

Cookie jar of corruption

They kill poets and cultural workers

And torture the families

With assorted permits

Before they could see

Bodies of their loved ones

Contrast this with thieves

And serial killers

Given heroes’ funeral

Negros

Is a lesson on living

And surviving

And coming to terms

With sad realities

In this benighted land

I open my grandson’s room

And see a tired and solitary figure

Finally deep in slumber

After another sad chapter

In his young life

-8 December 2022