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POEMS FOR THE MARTYRED POET

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

‘Uncle Eddie’

That’s me slumped at the edge of the EDSA Shrine platform, wearing a white t-shirt and looking at the programme print out that has just been totally disordered by the arrival of wearing a white undershirt and addressing the crowd. I was co-emceeing and we just introduced him, his first appearance at the historic event. He walked from the airport to the EDSA Shrine because traffic was at a standstill and, when he arrived, immediately re-enacted his iconic “People Power Jump.” That’s FVR of course, the guy who has had a huge impact in our country’s recent history and who has died three days ago at 94 years old.

FVR addressing the crowd at EDSA People Power II. (Photo by Ramon Ramirez [+]/Arkibong Bayan)

My paternal grandfather Leon was reportedly a childhood friend and constant playmate of FVR’s dad, the diplomat and politician Narciso. There was also a claim by Pangasinan relatives that our respective families are kin. How, no one among the living on our side could now substantiate. So, far removed at best, if at all. A second degree aunt was a long-time caretaker of the Ramos family’s ancestral house in Asingan, now a museum. I once told this story to his nephew, veteran peace negotiator and former mayor-congressman-cabinet secretary Nani Braganza, and he and I have since taken to calling each other “manong”.

In my younger and hungrier times, I was a struggling business reporter when given an assignment to write a piece on former First Lady Ming Ramos’ Clean & Green Foundation-Piso Para sa Pasig. Someone must’ve have liked what I came out with because I was pirated on the day it was published. Then began nine years of me ghostwriting for the then FL. The most memorable pieces I churned out were her speeches. Inevitably, I had been tasked to do one for FVR himself when we launched the Pasig River International Marathon with him as special guest. That’s just a one off however, FVR having a dedicated team of highly-regarded wordsmiths as speechwriters when he was President, including my UP professor Butch Dalisay.

After his photo ops run with the runners, FVR was relaxing under a tent with his trademark unlit cigar (never saw him smoke them) when the Foundation executive director grabbed my arm to drag and introduce me : “Mr. President, meet the guy who wrote your speech, Raymund,” she said. Before I could greet him good morning, the old man had by then grabbed my hand for a shake and squeezed so hard I began to tear up. “I liked the speech,” he said. He said more kind words but I could not recall them now, remembering only that I was struggling not to yelp while trying hard to squeeze hard back to save some dignity.

He asked me to have a sit with him and, prolly noticing my skin, asked, “Ilokano ka met, balong?” “Ybanag, Mr. President. But my father is Ilokano from San Manuel.” I then told him about my father’s family’s claim of once being close to his family. He then fished out a cigar from his breast pocket and offered it to me, saying “For that speech, kaanakan,” he said.

The author [right, in white t-shirt] during the violent dispersal of protesters during FVR’s 1994 SONA. (Photo by now unknown photographer)

Of course I did not tell him I was an activist and became one when he was president.  I did not like that he privatized many government assets and I disagreed with his liberalization of the economy. One time, when he was no longer president, we met him at his Peace and Development Foundation office in Makati to ask him to remind the water concessionaires to make good with their commitment to treat wastewater per their privatization contracts. We told him the Pasig River will never be fully rehabilitated if untreated wastewater is still dumped on the country’s most famous waterway. He rebuffed us, but in a nice enough way.

I rejoined journalism years later and started reporting on the peace process between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). I learned that the most number and most significant peace agreements were forged with the former general as president. Among these were The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (which was affirmed by the Joseph Estrada administration a few months after its crafting). These are the documents that—surprise! surprise!—the NDFP insists should be respected and used as framework in the talks, unlike the militarists and the social democrats who always try to have them dismissed as “documents of perpetual division.”

Peace talks between the GRP and the NDFP were most successful with Ramos as GRP President, both parties agree. Veteran negotiators like to narrate that once the GRP panel declared an end to the talks and went home because of a very contentious issue, FVR ordered them go back and resume the negotiations with the words: “Who told you to stop negotiating?”

We know how the talks went with the Erap, GMA, PNoy and Duterte administrations. Based on pronouncements of the new administration, it is looking like there will not a resumption in the near future either.

If only for how FVR pushed forward the peace process, let me say, “Agyaman, Uncle.” # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

The former president’s wake shall be at the Heritage Park in Taguig City starting tomorrow, August 4 until August 8. He will be interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on August 9.

Legarda calls for the resumption of GRP-NDFP talks

Antique governor and current senatorial candidate Loren Legarda called for the resumption of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

The former three-time senator said just and lasting peace is important as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legarda added that ending poverty and pursuing socio-economic programs will benefit Filipinos and help the Philippines realize national recovery and development.

Legarda in a statement on Thursday said that the prospective Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) that is being discussed before formal negotiations stopped in 2017 contains “concrete and doable steps towards liberating the Filipino people from poverty, exploitation, and underdevelopment.”

The GRP Negotiating Panel has submitted its own draft to its counterpart which the late NDFP chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili said was “surprisingly similar in many respects” to their own.

Both parties have agreed to use the NDFP version as the working draft and have already agreed to free land distribution during the third round of formal negotiations in Rome, Italy in January 2017.

GRP President Rodrigo Duterte has declared an end to the peace negotiations in June 2017, however.

Optomistic for talks resumption

Legarda said she is optimistic that both parties will hear her call.

“As an official who has maintained good working relations with the NDFP over the years, I have seen the sincerity of all sides to pursue a common objective and have witnessed their intense desire for peace and social justice. Resuming the peace talks and continuing the discussions on the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), the very heart and soul of the peace negotiations, will help us find a common ground to help achieve our goal,” she added.

Legarda explained that NDFP’s proposed CASER contains provisions on various socio-economic concerns such as agrarian reform and rural development, national industrialization and economic development as well as environmental protection, rehabilitation and compensation.

The NDFP’s draft also contains proposals on the rights of the working people; promoting patriotic, progressive, and pro-people culture; recognition of ancestral lands and territories of national minorities; and ensuring economic sovereignty for national development through foreign economic and trade relations, financial, monetary and fiscal policies, and social and economic planning, she added.

Legarda said that, as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, she ensured that the national budget supported socio-economic reform agenda and authored laws on environmental protection that are part of the proposed CASER.

She also mentioned that she helped facilitate the safe releases of prisoners of war by the New People’s Army, including  General Victor Obillo, Captain Eduardo Montealto, Sergeant Alpio Lozada, Major Roberto Bernal, and Army Major Noel Buan.

“We have the same goal of addressing issues affecting Filipinos such as poverty, landlessness, lack of employment and livelihood opportunities, underemployment, lack of access to housing services, affordable health care, education and other social services, corruption, environmental degradation, among many others,” the senatorial aspirant pointed out. 

“We may have different views on how to pursue national development, but I believe we can find a common ground. Stalling the negotiations can only lead to delayed pandemic recovery and continued suffering for millions of Filipinos who were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Legarda said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Kin and friends demand dropping of ‘preposterous’ charges against NDFP consultant

The family and supporters of political detainee Rey Claro Casambre pressed their demand to have “preposterous charges” against the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant dropped.

As another hearing was held last Monday at Branch 113 of the Bacoor Regional Trial Court , the Free Rey Casambre Campaign said it demands that the Rodrigo Duterte government withdraw the “fabricated and ridiculous charges” of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against the peace advocate.

The demand came after the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) attempted to submit digital photos of the Colt pistol and fragmentation grenade as evidence last February 22 but was rejected by the Court.

The Free Rey Casambre Campaign pointed  out that City Prosecutor who had earlier conducted the inquest had described the CIDG’s story preposterous, finding the “evidence” stashed in the dashboard with a laptop, claiming that these were seen “in plain view” from outside the car.

Casambre and wife Cora were arrested in December 2018 by police and military operatives.

The Court ordered Cora released.

The Free Rey Casambre Campaign said he would have been released with her but is kept in jail after another non-bailable charge was filed against him.

Casambre is also defending himself from the charge of attempted murder in connection with a New People’s Army ambush in Lupon, Davao Oriental in September 13, 2018.

Casambre earlier said the military’s allegation was false as he was at the House of Representatives the previous day urging the government to resume peace talks with the NDFP.

He said it is impossible for an ailing and elderly person like himself to travel to a place far as Lupon to help plan and execute a military action.

He added that he has never been to Lupon.

“This government has taken away Rey’s freedom to keep him from teaching many about the sore lack of social justice in the country and building unities towards genuine peace that will benefit the Filipino majority socio-economically,” the Free Rey Casambre Campaign said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Retired NDFP consultant ‘abducted’ in Parañaque

A “retired” National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant was “abducted” with four others in Parañaque City, human rights group Karapatan’s Southern Tagalog office reported.

In an alert, Karapatan-Southern Tagalog said retired NDFP peace consultant Ernesto Lorenzo, along with Maria Fe Serrano, their driver Andrei Medina, their aide Plinky Longhas and another unidentified person, were “abducted” by the police while queuing up for COVID-19 vaccines at the Nayong Pilipino mega-vaccination site.

Ernesto Lorenzo attending a rally by Filipino migrant workers in Rome, Italy during a break in the third formal round of peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP in January 2017. (Photo by Jola Diones-Mamangun/Kodao)

Lorenzo, the group said, is a Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) protected peace negotiator with identification number 978299 under the assumed name of Lean Martinez.

The JASIG, signed by the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) in February 24, 1995, supposedly guarantees that negotiators, personnel and consultants of both the NDFP and the Manila government are immune against reprisals, including surveillance and arrests.

Lorenzo was consultant for Southern Tagalog and attended formal peace negotiations between the NDFP and the Rodrigo Duterte GRP up to January 2017.

He was a member of the NDFP Negotiating Panel’s Reciprocal Working Group on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces.

Lorenzo was earlier arrested in July 2015 on charges of destructive arson but was released along with several other jailed NDFP consultants to participate in formal negotiations in Europe.

President Duterte terminated negotiations with the NDFP in 2017 and has since repeatedly vowed to arrest all NDFP consultants who were released for the talks.

Serrano is the widow of former NDFP peace consultant for Mindoro Eduardo Serrano who died in prison in January 2016.

Karapatan-Southern Tagalog said the five’s whereabouts are unknown as of the issuance of its alert.

Davao consultant ‘tortured and murdered’

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) complained that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tortured and subsequently murdered NDFP peace consultant for Southern Mindanao Ezequiel Daguman.

CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said Daguman was the 20th known revolutionary and peace consultant murdered by the GRP under Duterte.

Valbuena, in an April 2 statement, said Daguman was killed while in the custody of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) after he was abducted last March 7 in New Corella, Davao del Norte.

The AFP announced on March 28 that Daguman was killed in a supposed encounter on March 27 in Maragusan, Davao de Oro.

The CPP said that Daguman was assigned as the peace consultant representing the provinces of Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro whose JASIG identification was signed by the Manila government and the NDFP in 1995.

Valbuena added that Daguman’s death in the hands of government soldiers is proof that he “remained true to the revolutionary cause.”

“The AFP has repeatedly used fake encounters to justify and cover-up the most atrocious crimes against non-combatants and civilians,” Valbuena said, pointing to how NPA spokesperson Jorge Madlos and national commander Menandro Villanueva were also killed by military forces after being arrested.

Both Madlos and Villanueva were reportedly seeking medical care at the time the AFP claimed they died in firefights with government soldiers.

Valbuena added that NDFP peace consultant Edwin Alcid, together with two others, remains at the hands of the AFP and his whereabouts are still unknown since his arrest last March 7 in Barangay San Jose, Catubig, Northern Samar.

“We will hold the officers of the AFP directly responsible for any harm that may befall Alcid and his companions,” Valbuena said.

Valbuena also revealed that they have received information that NDFP peace consultant Esteban Manuel is being kept in solitary confinement in a military camp in Samar after his arrest last February. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Isko to resume peace talks if elected to Malacañang

Braganza: ‘Mayor Isko is sure to be for the resumption of the talks. He was part of it, front, back and center’

Manila Mayor Isko More is likely to resume formal negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) if elected in May, the presidential candidate’s representative told peace advocates in an online forum last Wednesday.

Moreno shall pursue a people-centric approach to the formal peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDFP, his deputy political officer Hernani Braganza said.

“Mayor Isko is sure to be for the resumption of the talks. He was part of it, front, back and center,” Braganza said.

Moreno attended at least three formal rounds of the GRP-NDFP negotiations, twice in Oslo, Norway in 2016 and once in Rome, Italy in January 2017.

Braganza, himself a veteran government peace negotiator, was part of the GRP Negotiating Panels under the Gloria Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte governments. He also participated in backchannel negotiations under other GRP administrations.

Braganza highlighted that the core of Moreno’s peace agenda is to provide Filipinos with more and participative democratic spaces as well as poverty alleviation.

He said that Moreno recognizes that poverty is the root cause of the armed conflict. “Mahirap pangaralan ang gutom na tao,” he added. (It is hard to reason with hungry stomachs.)

Braganza said he is optimistic that a Moreno GRP would focus on signing agreements on education, housing and employment with the NDFP.

He said that if elected, Moreno is likely to “fast-track” the negotiations and sign agreements within six months to allow his administration to focus implementing agreed-upon socio-economic reforms.

“Remember, each administration only has less than 2,200 days,” Braganza told the online forum Peace and the Presidentiables organized by the Citizens Alliance for Just Peace.

Ready to talk

Braganza affirmed that as long as the NDFP wants to negotiate with the Manila government, Moreno would always be ready to speak for them.

He added he believes Moreno would uphold the milestone documents previously signed by the GRP and the NDFP, including The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

He himself disagrees with a reformulation of the framework of the negotiations that the NDFP would not agree to, Braganza said: Terms of surrender na iyon kapag ipipilit mong baguhin ang framework ng usapan na hindi sumasang-ayon ang kabilang partido.” (Insisting on changing the framework of the negotiations on the other party is already imposing their terms of surrender.)

Braganza said he assumes Moreno would study proposed agreements initialled by the GRP and the NDFP in June 2018 that included a proposed Stand-Down Agreement, Guidelines and Procedures towards an Interim Peace Agreement and the Resumption of Talks, an Interim Peace Agreement, and an NDFP proposed draft on the Amnesty of jailed NDFP consultants and political prisoners.

“Kung ano ang prosesong maabutan ni mayor, pag-aaralan niya. Pwedeng gawin,” Braganza said. (The mayor [Moreno] would study things where the talks left off. That is possible.)

Braganza said the next president should be innovative in order to end the five decade-long civil war.

“You know, the best innovation is extinguishing what fuels insurgency. Prof. Joma Sison himself told me that the government does not even have to negotiate with the NDF,P as long as it does its job in developing the country, respecting human rights and serving the people,” Braganza said.

According to Braganza, Moreno would be amenable to a reassessment of the terrorist designation of the CPP, NPA and the NDFP but added that he believes that the mayor would push through the with the resumption of the talks even if the terrorist tags are upheld.

He added that that Moreno will likely retain the GRP’s anti-insurgency group National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict but clarified that its policies would be reviewed and its budget realigned to more social services, such as livelihood programs. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Robredo commits to peace talks resumption

Vice President Leni Robredo is committed to resume formal peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) if she wins in the May polls, according to her spokesperson Atty. Barry Gutierrez.

Representing Robredo in the third episode of the Peace and Presidentiables webinar series organized by the Citizen’s Alliance for Just Peace (CAJP), Gutierrez assured that a Robredo administration would call for the resumption of the NDFP with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).

A Robredo presidency would avoid militaristic and top-down strategies in favor of enabling marginalized sectors to have a role in governance and decision-making processes, including peace negotiations, Gutierrez added.

Robredo would re-engage communities and basic sectors to create a more conducive environment for peaceful negotiations, he said.

Gutierrez outlined five principles in the pursuit of this goal: the rejection of a purely militaristic approach; strong participation of communities and local stakeholders in the peace process; the primacy of protecting civilians from violence; a peace framework that is in line with national socioeconomic goals and social justice; and, the strategic role of international community, including longstanding partners such as the Royal Norwegian Government.

Reaffirmation of previous agreements

Robredo’s spokesperson also promised that she would uphold the milestone documents previously signed by the GRP and the NDFP.

These agreements include The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

On the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), which was jointly drafted and was ready for approval in 2017, Gutierrez said that economic and social reforms should be fundamental to the peace process. 

Robredo on the NTF-ELCAC

Gutierrez also clarified Robredo’s stance on the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), saying the Vice President believes that the original intention behind the agency was sound but the implementation of its mandate was marred by abuses.

 If the NTF-ELCAC were to be abolished, it would have to be replaced by a body that would pursue the “whole-of-nation approach” while upholding democratic principles, he said.

Gutierrez also explained that Robredo’s support for the “whole-of-nation approach” was not an endorsement of the NTF-ELCAC’s abuses, but an espousal of the idea that the insurgency has to be solved by including all aspects of national governance to address the root causes of the insurgency.

Robredo vowed to put an end to acts of harassment by the NTF-ELCAC, such as in the form of red-tagging, Gutierrez assured, the Vice President being a victim of red-tagging by officials of the NTF-ELCAC herself.

Robredo is also open to revisiting controversial provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

According to Gutierrez, Robredo will also be amenable to a reassessment of the terrorist designation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) as so-called terrorist organizations.

Robredo shall also initiate a review of the cases of political prisoners, including jailed NDFP peace consultants, to facilitate their release.

More presidentiables for talks

Earlier, Robredo’s rival for the presidency, Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, also said he is amenable to a review of the CPP, NPA and NDFP’s designation as so-called terrorist organizations as part of the creation of an atmosphere for the resumption of formal peace negotiations.

Basta ako, yung peace talks, we must seek for it as much as possible. Not only the Communist Party but those other,” Moreno, during a campaign sortie in Lucena last Monday, said.

(For me, we must seek peace talks as much as possible. Not only with the CPP, but with other armed groups.)

Moreno served as NDFP Negotiating Panel resource person during talks between the Rodrigo Duterte GRP and the NDFP in 2016 and 2017.

Senator Manny Pacquaio and labor leader Leody de Guzman also said they will resume formal peace negotiations with the NDFP in the first two episodes of CAJP’s forum.

The Peace and the Presidentiable forum is organized in cooperation with the Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission of the De La Salle schools; Father Saturnino Urios University; Silliman University Student Council; St. Scholastica’s College, Manila; and, the University of the Philippines.

More NDFP consultant disappeared

Meanwhile, human rights group Karapatan sounded an alarm over the disappearance of NDFP peace consultants Ezequiel Daguman and Edwin Alcid.

Karapatan image

Karapatan said 50-year-old Daguman and a companion have been missing since the afternoon of March 7 while they were on their way to a peasant community in one of the banana plantations in New Corella, Davao del Norte to look into the situation of workers and farmers in the area.

Alcid and two farmers were also reportedly accosted by military personnel last March 8 in Catubig, Northern Samar, the group reported.

Both consultants and their respective companions have not been located yet by their relatives, Karapatan added.

“We call on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to help the families of Daguman, Alcid and their companions to search military camps, police stations and safe houses to ensure that they are alive and are accorded their rights,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.

Daguman and Alcid make three the number of consultants to have been reported abducted since the start of the year.

Esteban Manuel was abducted last February 16 in Villareal, Samar and was kept incommunicado until the CHR found out he is being imprisoned at the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division camp in Calbayog City.

Like fellow NDFP peace consultants arrested, Manuel and his companions are accused of illegal possession of firearms and explosives that are the Duterte government’s standard charges against activists and dissenters.

Karapatan image

NDFP consultant Ramon Patriarca, already a former political prisoner, was arrested in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental last March 18, along with youth activists CJ Matarlo and John Michael Tecson were.

Karapatan has no details of the charges against Patriarca and companions.

“We assert the calls to surface Edwin Alcid and Ezequiel Daguman and to free Esteban Manuel Jr. and Ramon Patriarca now! These attacks on peace consultants and advocates must stop! We strongly urge the Philippine government and the NDFP to resume the peace talks as soon as possible for the sake of our people,” Palabay demanded.

Palabay reminded the government that peace consultants are covered by the (JASIG) that states peace consultants and peace panel members should be immune from arrests, detention, and harassment.

Despite the suspension of formal peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP, JASIG has not been formally terminated by both parties, she said.

Palabay said that the recent string of abductions and arrests of NDFP peace consultants “signal intensified attacks — and of worst things to come, especially with the Duterte administration’s self-imposed deadline to wipe out the NDFP. We can only expect the arrests, abductions, and even killings of peace consultants and advocates.”

“Our people deserve genuine peace. These attacks not only spoil efforts to advance just peace but instead perpetuates militarism, violence, and injustice. As we assert our calls to surface Edwin Alcid and Ezequiel Daguman and to free Esteban Manuel Jr. and Ramon Patriarca, we also call for the immediate resumption of the peace talks and to stop the attacks on peace consultants,” Palabay said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Bicol NPA: ‘Gov’t attacks us because they fear our strength’

The Romulo Jallores Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the Bicol Region said the government’s increased military presence in civilian communities is proof of their strength, contrary to government’s claims that the Communist guerrilla army is weakening.

In an audio statement 12 days before their 53rd founding anniversary, NPA-Bicol spokesperson Raymund Buenferza said the ruling class is in fact showing fear by flooding communities with government troops as the Communists continue their revolutionary work among the masses.

“They are being eaten by their desperation to crush the gains of the revolutionary movement, both by the earlier and our current generation of NPAs,” Buenfuerza said.

The regional NPA spokesperson said the government has launched costly, prolonged and widespread military operations to force the guerrillas into sustained combat to try to decimate their ranks in the region.

Buenfuerza however urged their Bicolano comrades to keep on resisting and remain faithful to their cause for meaningful change.

“Whatever it is that the government is making us suffer—if your areas are militarized, your work is being disrupted, the mass bases are being attacked—remember that these are because we are faithful to our struggle for the interests of the masses,” he said.

‘The military had last say on talks’

Buenfuerza’s remarks came as President Rodrigo Duterte again mocked the NPA in an address before alleged guerrilla surrenderees in Leyte Province on Thursday, March 17.

In his speech, Duterte said the NPA’s 53 year war is going nowhere.

“[T]ell those crazy people, those who are still fighting the government…Tell them that Mayor (Duterte) is urging you to surrender because I might return before I step down. If there are others who will surrender — if possible all your remaining comrades, come down here now because I can still help you,” he said.

Duterte also said he is instructing the military and police to allow the NPA members who wish to surrender to do so peacefully.

He also again promised to award surrenderees houses and livelihood, even cars.

Duterte said he allowed the resumption of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines early in his term, but was eventually prevailed upon by the military to withdraw.

“The military did not like it; I asked them to give me a chance to (talk peace). They said, ‘Sir, this is likely to result in a coalition government (with the Communists),’” Duterte said.

No giving up

Buenfuerza said the masses’ abject economic conditions encourage them to join their revolution however.

A vast rank of the people is being forced to choose between the two opposing sides of revolution and reaction, the NPA spokesperson said.

“The intensification of the government’s attacks gives way to the deepening politicization of our entire people,” he said.

“The enemy is welcome to delude themselves they are at the eve of their victory while we strengthen ourselves as we grab at the opportunity to move forward,” he added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘President Leody’ to abolish NTF-ELCAC, repeal anti-terror law

Labor leader vows to resume peace talks, fight social injustice if elected

Leody de Guzman will immediately abolish the government’s anti-insurgency task force and repeal the controversial anti-terror law if elected president.

In an online peace and justice forum, the presidential candidate said he will immediately disband the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and ask Congress to repeal Republic Act 11479 he described as twin menaces to the Filipino people.

“Our position is clear. The NTF-ELCAC must be disbanded because it is a concrete expression and legalization of President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal brand of leadership. It breeds all sorts of human rights violations and terror on our people,” de Guzman said.

NTF-ELCAC’s budget should instead be transferred to agencies that confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and to the education sector, he added.

The task force, the Partido Lakas ng Masa standard bearer said, clearly violates the people’s fundamental rights, along with the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

“That law should not be called anti-terror. It should be called Terror Law,” de Guzman said in Filipino.

De Guzman was the featured presidential candidate of the Peace and the Presidentiables series of online conversations last Monday, February 28.

The forum was organized by the Citizens’ Alliance for Just Peace (CAJP) in cooperation with Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission of the De La Salle University system; Father Saturnino Urios University; Silliman University Student Council; St. Scholastica’s College-Manila and the University of the Philippines.

No local peace talks

De Guzman said he is not in favor of the government’s so-called localized peace talks proposal the National Democratic Front of the Philippines has repeatedly rejected.

“That is their way of trying to fool the other party. It is a divide and rule tactic so they can try to bribe, to show they are talking to some people and to later convince them to surrender without the root causes of the armed conflict being addressed,” de Guzman said.

The veteran labor rights activist said genuine and sincere peace negotiations must be held at the national level.

“The root causes of the armed conflict are not local, they are our national problem. If the government is serious in addressing them, division is not the way to go,” de Guzman said.

The former leather glove factory worker also said he is open to studying The Hague Joint Declaration as the framework of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

He also said he is open to strengthening the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees that should provide protection to negotiators, consultants, resource persons and staff involved in the peace process.

Photo by Breakaway Media

‘CPP, NPA and NDFP are not terrorists’

De Guzman said he does not consider the CPP, the NPA and the NDFP as terrorists, adding it is better instead to address their demands through negotiations.

“We should begin with an honest-to-goodness recognition they are not terrorists. We should acknowledge that their issues are legitimate,” he said.

The labor leader added that peace negotiations with the NDFP will be easier because he and running mate Walden Bello are clear on their belief the revolutionaries have legitimate reasons to fight.

“It is not like they saw Fernando Poe Jr. or Lito Lapid movies and developed a desire to take up arms. They are not that narrow-minded,” he said.

He cited his own experience as a full-time labor rights activist for 36 years who has been the victim of threats and harassments from the police and military.

“It is not easy to attend rallies and hold strikes in workplaces. It is hot. It is not easy to negotiate, especially when the police are there. You may pee your pants from terror,” he said.

The revolutionaries are forced by their situation and conviction that injustices must be fought with arms, he said.

Fighter for social and economic reforms

De Guzman said he is the first presidential candidate to have come from a real marginalized sector, unlike his rivals who are billionaires, are popular and representatives of the elite.

If elected, the candidate said his administration will focus on basic social services and ensure food, education, water, electricity, health, among others.

“We will develop the countryside, improve farmers’ livelihoods. We will protect the fisher folk and animal-raisers. We will revive the manufacturing sector and not rely solely on importation. We will not solve poverty with neoliberal economic policies,” he said.

De Guzman said he will immediately do away with unfair trade agreements such as the World Trade Organization, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and others that keep the country import-dependent and export-oriented.

De Guzman said his candidacy is about overturning the social system that makes rich people richer and the poor poorer.

“The government enacted and implemented laws that put social services in the hands of capitalists with the promise that once they have made more money, the benefits will trickle down to the masses. It did not happen,” he said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Elderly NDFP peace consultant arrested in Samar

Another National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant has been arrested and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has demanded his immediate release.

The CPP said Esteban Manuel was arrested last February 16 in Villareal town, Samar by the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Joint Task Force Storm, along with another civilian.

“Ka Esteban holds official documents of identification under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG),” the CPP said.

The agreement, signed between the GRP and the NDFP in 1995, provides guarantees for negotiators, personnel and consultants of both parties against reprisals, including surveillance and arrests.

“We denounce the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for filing trumped up charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against Ka Esteban, who is around 70 years old,” the CPP said.

The CPP said claims of the military that a fragmentation grenade and a cal.45 pistol were seized from Esteban are false.

“All of these are planted evidences to charge him with an non-bailable crime and thus prolong his detention,” it added.

Manuel is the latest in a string of arrests of consultants and staff since GRP President Rodrigo Duterte abandoned its once fruitful peace negotiations with the NDFP in June 2017.

Vicente Ladlad, Rey Claro Casambre, Alfredo Mapano, Loida Magpatoc, and Adelberto Silva and Renante Gamara have been re-arrested since then.

Ferdinand Castillo had been arrested on Febuary 12, 2017 while the talks were still ongoing.

NDFP peace consultants Rafael Baylosis and Esterlita Suaybaguio were also separately arrested after the termination of the talks but were freed by trial courts due to lack of evidence on charges of illegal possession of guns and explosives.

Meanwhile, Randy Malayao, Randall Echanis, Eugenia Magpantay, Agaton Topacio, Julius Giron, Pedro Codaste, Antonio Cabanatan, Florenda Yap, Reynaldo Bocala and Rustico Tan were killed or have died in various military operations since talks broke down.

The CPP called on local and international human rights and humanitarian organizations, as well as peace advocates, to extend assistance to Manuel.

“He must be immediately afforded legal representation. We enjoin all democratic forces to close ranks and raise the demand for Ka Esteban to be immediately released,” it said.

The group added that Manuel’s arrest forms part of the Duterte regime’s campaign of terror and suppression against the people of Eastern Visayas it said has one of the highest number of human rights abuses since it was placed under military and police rule with the implementation of Duterte’s Memorandum Order No. 32 in 2018.

The CPP said cases of aerial bombing and shelling have risen in Eastern Visayas, including a growing number of communities that have been placed under military occupation and subjected to abuses.

“From 2020, at least 12 cases of indiscriminate firing have been recorded. The Filipino people must stand united and demand an immediate stop to this campaign of terror against the region,” the CPP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)