The New People’s Army (NPA) in Bicol reports successful ambuscades in Albay province this month, countering Philippine Army claims of demoralization in the ranks of communist guerrillas in the region.
The NPA said its Santos Binamera Command in Albay killed seven soldiers of the Philippine Army’s (PA) 49th Infantry Battalion in a clash in the town of Jovellar last October 3 while suffering no casualty of their own.
This followed a series of offensive military operations in the province that resulted in the death of nine more government troopers since September, the NPA claimed.
Raymundo Buenfuerza, NPA Bicol spokesperson, said their recent successes in Albay is a slap on both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) that claim counter-insurgency programs have weakened the rebel army in the region.
“[The] Red army still is, and will remain, unfaltering,” Buenfuerza said in a statement.
The rebel spokesperson said their recent victories continue to defeat “massive and intensive” government military operations in Albay.
“Not less than 11 combat companies of AFP-PNP are deployed while 20 CAFGU detachments are in the area. The Philippine Air Force’s Tactical Operations Group 5, Philippine Navy’s 4th Naval Station and Naval Task Force 41 – NAVFORSOL as well as PNP Region V’s central commands also have their bases in Albay,” the NPA-Romulo Jallores Command spokesperson said.
“Despite this, the Red army is exemplary in continuously reaping victories in the field,” Buenfuerza said.
The PA has not made statements on the latest NPA claims of recent successful ambuscades.
Instead, the PA’s 9th Infantry Division announced that seven NPA members surrendered in Masbate province last October 16 while one of its units have killed a rebel fighter in a clash in Barangay Liong, Cataingan town last October 8.
Second Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Orlando Ramos Jr. identified the slain alleged NPA fighter as Lito Villaces Ajena, alias Cesar.
Buenfuerza said the NPA in Bicol are set to launch more and bigger military offensives in the region in the future.
“The NPA cannot be stopped and will never be defeated. It will continue to advance until the people’s democratic revolution’s complete victory,” Buenfuerza said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/1.jpg422750Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-10-17 15:33:512022-10-17 15:37:13NPA reports recent victories in Albay; AFP counters with rebel surrender claims
Human rights defenders in the Philippinesface reprisals and intimidation for cooperating with the United Nations (UN) on human rights, a new report reveals.
In an annual report presented Sunday, September 25, the office of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said reprisals against human rights defenders may have even intensified despite the coronavirus pandemic.
“In March 2020, multiple statements were delivered by Government officials accusing civil society organizations engaging at the Human Rights Council of ‘masquerading as defenders of human rights,’ channelling ‘funding support … towards actors professing terrorism,’ and serving ‘hidden agendas of deceit and violence on the ground,’” the report says.
The report added that in June 2019, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) learned that a current member of the Philippine government-affiliated Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women had reprimanded Philippine civil society present at a Council meeting.
The report also mentioned former Senator Leila de Lima, the group Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights and its secretary general Cristina Palabay as among those who face reprisals from the government.
De Lima had been in jail for nearly six years for alleged drug trafficking but is considered as the Philippines’ most prominent political prisoner by a large portion of the international community.
Karapatan, the country’s biggest and most active human rights group, meanwhile suffer continuing red-tagging by the Philippine military, police and counter-insurgency groups.
Palabay has been slapped with criminal charges and arrest warrants the Philippine National Police (PNP) once tried to serve with arresting officers in disguise, a violation of its own procedures.
The UN said it has already called upon the Philippine government as early as June 2019 to cooperate with the OHCHR and the Council’s mechanisms, including restraining itself from intimidation or retaliation.
“The High Commissioner called on the Government to ensure that there were no reprisals for cooperation with OHCHR for her Council-mandated report,” it says.
The report covers May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022.
Red-tagging as threat
The report’s first annex described the government’s red-tagging activities—labelling individuals and groups as communists or terrorists—as a persistent and powerful threat to civil society and freedom of expression.
It noted Philippine government’s response to UN’s concern by stressing the OHCHR’s data gathering and analysis methodology needs to be more transparent and should take into account so-called local political context.
The report said the Philippine government instead alleged that the “vibrant civil society in the country which is exploited by terrorist organizations purporting to be ‘human rights defenders,’ who are able to access funding to serve violent agendas in communities on the ground.”
It added that the Philippine government statement that it has no policy of censoring, interfering with, or monitoring the activities of independent human rights experts, human rights defenders, and civil society actors.
The UN however mentioned other forms of reprisals against human rights workers deemed critical of the Philippine government, such as the public stigmatization and calling for the resignation of the late Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chairperson Chito Gascon.
The OHCHR also said it received information that the CHR continued to be the target of threats, intimidation and public questioning, given its engagement with the UN.
It also mentioned about the killing of at least two Karapatan members and the barrage of text messages to Palabay threatening death and rape from accounts of the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
“Despite positive developments, including pledges and shared commitments by Member States against reprisals, this report once again shows the extent to which people are pursued and persecuted for raising human rights concerns with the UN. And we know that, shocking though this number is, many cases of reprisals are not even reported,” Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris said.
“The risks affecting women victims, as well as women human rights defenders and peace builders, who share testimony and cooperate with the UN remain daunting. We will continue to work to ensure that all can safely engage with the UN,” Kehris stressed as she presented the report to the Council in Geneva.
Aside from the Philippines, the other 41 States referred to in the report are:
Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Laos People’s Democratic Republic, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, State of Palestine, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Viet Nam, and Yemen. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1-1.jpg442960Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-09-30 12:09:292022-09-30 12:10:56PH among countries that persecute rights defenders—UN
Abducted activist Stephen “Steve” Tauli had been found Sunday evening after a search by his organization, the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) announced.
“After the search initiated by [the] CPA (Cordillera Peoples’ Alliance) in Kalinga, including persistent calls made to the local government units, PNP (Philippine National Police), and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), Steve Tauli was found at around 10 pm today,” CHRA said in an update Sunday evening.
The group has yet to disclose exactly where Tauli is and who was responsible in his disappearance for more than 24 hours since he was reportedly beaten up and abducted by five men along five men along Ag-a Road in Tabuk City.
National human rights group Karapatan said CCTV footage showed the abductors entering and leaving the CPA-Kalinga office prior to the assault Saturday evening between 6 to 9 in the evening.
“He is still in shock and needs to recover to be able to state the full accounts of what took place since the assault on him yesterday (Saturday evening), CHRA said.
Tauli is a CPA regional council member and husband to CPA vice chairperson Jill Cariño.
He, along with several other CPA leaders and members, had been victims to red-tagging, surveillance and harassment by government agents, the group added.
Last week, alleged drug personality turned government anti-insurgency spokesperson Jeffry Celis reportedly red-tagged the CPA in a forum at the Kalinga State University, the CHRA said.
A Kankanaey indigenous activist in the Cordilleras, Tauli is a staunch defender of the indigenous people’s right to ancestral domain and self-determination proven by his years of involvement in many land rights campaigns against destructive energy and mining projects, the CHRA said.
Tauli is also connected with farmers’ group Timpuyog Dagiti Mannalon ti Kalinga, the group said.
“At present, Steve is active in the Kalinga peoples’ struggle against the proposed two big hydropower projects of JBD Water Power Inc. (JWPI)- the 49 MW Saltan D and 45 MW Saltan E Dams along the Saltan River,” CHRA said.
Prior to becoming a full-time activist, Tauli graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry degree from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños and was active in the university’s Green Mountain Circle.
The 63-year old activist is also a member of the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity.
Tauli had been an activist since the Cordillera peoples’ struggle against the Chico Dam project during the Ferdinand Marcos Sr. government and has “persistently campaigned against dams, mines, and other forms of development aggression against the Cordillera peoples,” Karapatan said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/steve2.jpg10111536Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-08-22 07:11:502022-08-22 07:11:52Abducted activist found, regional human rights group announces
Tinang 83 farmers and supporters filed six charges against the Concepcion (Tarlac) Philippine National Police (PNP) at the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, July 26, in connection with their violent mass arrest last June 9.
The farmers and their supporters filed Violation of Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained, and Under Custodial Investigation; Perjury; Unlawful Arrest; Arbitrary Detention; Physical and Mental/Psychological Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Grave and Serious Misconduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service; and Grave Abuse of Authority and Oppression against the police.
At least 30 personnel of the Concepcion PNP, led by Lt. Col. Reynold Macabitas, were named respondents.
The complainants asked the Ombudsman to remove the policemen from service and issue a preventive suspension against them while the investigation is ongoing.
The charges the farmers filed is in response to what they say was very cruel treatment they suffered on their arrest, four-day imprisonment in crowded and humid jail cells and at the police head-quarter’s parking lot, and the seven of charges filed against them in quick succession by the police in collaboration with the Tarlac Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.
On July 7, several members of the Tinang 83 filed administrative complaints against Tarlac Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Mila Mae Montefalco before the Department of Justice for grave and serious misconduct, gross ignorance of the law and procedure, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Tinang 83 members and lawyers trooped to the Office of the Ombudsman to file six complaints against the Concepcion PNP. (UMA photo)
‘Cruel’
The police charged the farmers and land rights advocates a total of seven criminal complaints after the arrests, including malicious mischief, illegal assembly, obstruction of justice, disobedience to authority, usurpation of real rights in property, human trafficking and child exploitation charges.
They were conducting a land cultivation activity when mass arrested by the police.
The Department of Agrarian Reform later released a list that named the farmers as legitimate beneficiaries of the property known as Hacienda Tinang.
The Capas Municipal Trial Court has dismissed the illegal assembly and malicious mischief charges against the farmers.
The Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrikultura said the counter charges against the police are “just, urgent, and true—the opposite of those filed by the police against the Tinang 83 upon being prodded by Mayor and land-grabber Noel Villanueva.”
Villanueva, then congressman and Concepcion mayor-elect, was present during the incident and was seen to have ordered the police to arrest the farmers and their supporters.
An Office of the Ombudsman personnel receives copies of the Tinang 83 complaints against the police. (UMA photo)
‘Well-deserved’
UMA chairperson John Milton ‘Ka Butch’ Lozande said in the statement that holding “Villanueva and his lackeys” accountable is timely and deserved.
Lozande said that government officials like Villanueva treat the police and the military like their private army, bending the law to serve their own profiteering interests.”
“This is an important wake-up call to bureaucrats and the people at large, alerting them to that fact that CARP (comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program)has repeatedly failed farmers, and its failure has benefitted no one but land-grabbers,” Lozande said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/tinang-3.jpg7801560Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-07-27 07:43:462022-07-27 07:43:47Tinang 83 files charges vs. ‘cruel and inhumane’ police
(UPDATED) A former radio reporter was among the four guerilla fighters killed in Binalbagan, Negros Occidental last July 6 in what the New People’s Army (NPA) said was a massacre, contrary to what the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) claimed was an encounter.
The NPA’s Apolinario Gatmaitan Command (NPA-AGC), its Negros Island Regional Operational Command, said that Nikka Dela Cruz and her three comrades were earlier captured by government troops but were subsequently “slaughtered.”
The four were ailing and their medical condition rendered them incapable to fight, NPA-AGC spokesperson Juanito Magbanua said in a July 8 statement.
“[F]ascist troops…slaughtered four ailing Red fighters in cold blood at Barangay Biao, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental and shamelessly paraded their bodies as casualties of the fake encounter concocted by the AFP’s top commanders as a cover-up for their war crime,” Magbanua said.
“It was a massacre,” he added.
The 94th Infantry Battallion of the Philippine Army said the four were part of a 14-member NPA team who died in a clash with soldiers and police officers at about nine o’clock in the morning in Sitio Amilis, Barangay Santol, Binalbagan.
Lt. Col. Van Donald Almonte, commander of the 94th Infantry Battalion (94IB), said the fatalities belonged to the NPA’s Central Negros 2, Komiteng Rehiyong-Negros Cebu Bohol Siquijor.
Aside from Dela Cruz, also identified as Ka (Comrade) Chai, the NPA said the three other victims were Roel “Ka Jack”Ladera, Alden “Ka Rocky” Rodriguez and Roel “Ka Caloy” Deguit.
Nikka “Ka Chai” Dela Cruz. (Supplied photo)
‘Final militant red salute’
The NPA-AGC said their four fallen comrades were martyrs of the revolution who “surmounted all sacrifices and difficulties to arouse, organize and mobilize the people in the revolution and to fight for their interests and aspirations.”
The four came from different social backgrounds, Magbanua said.
Magbanua revealed that Dela Cruz, 26, was a former reporter of GMA Network’s Cebu City radio station dySS after graduating from the Catholic University of San Jose-Recoletos in the said city with a journalism degree.
A native of Medellin town in Cebu Province, Dela Cruz was the youngest among three siblings of a well-off middle class family whose mother is a medical doctor.
As a student, Dela Cruz was reportedly already active in the struggles of Cebu City’s urban poor, vendors and other people’s advocacies.
“She played a crucial role in the struggle of Carbon Market vendors against the privatization program of the Cebu City local government. After being hunted by [government] intelligence agencies, she went incognito and focused in revolutionary underground work among students and intellectual youths in 2017,” Magbanua said.
Dela Cruz became one of the leaders of her Communist Party of the Philippines unit who went to Negros to gain exposure to the Communists’ people’s war and decided to serve as a full time NPA fighter, Magbanua added.
Ladera, 30, was a NPA squad leader at the time of their death, Magbanua said.
He was a native of Himamaylan City and first experienced brutality in the hands of the military who they were assaulted after winning a basketball game against soldiers, Magbanua said.
The NPA spokesperson added Ladera was active in the anti-mining campaign in Negros before joining the guerilla army in 2016.
Like Ladera, Rodriguez also suffered maltreatment from abusive local officials before enlisting in 2019. The native of Manjuyod, Negros Occidental also hailed from peasant family, the NPA said.
The oldest among the four victims, Deguit was also a victim of trumped-up charges by government prosecutors before joining the NPA. He was also from Himamaylan, Magbanua said.
“Their untimely demise in the hands of the fascists will only arouse more Negrosanons to the revolution as the AFP is further exposed as a terrorist cabal and protector of the ruling class,” he added.
Not over
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP) announced the death of a police officer in an encounter with suspected members of the NPA in Samar province on Saturday morning, July 16.
Patrolman Mark Monge of the Eastern Visayas Regional Mobile Force Battalion in a clash with the NPA in the boundary of Barangay San Nicolas of San Jose de Buan town and Barangay Mabuhay of Gandara town in the said province.
PNP officer-in-charge Police Lieutenant General Vicente Danao Jr. on Monday condemned the incident, saying he wants to curse the rebels and wishes to ambush them himself.
Danao cautioned police officers to be extra careful when conducting operations in the field.
Seven soldiers were also wounded in a clash with the NPA in nearby Mapanas town in neighboring Northern Samar province last July 5 while three alleged NPA fighters were killed in another encounter last July 13, the 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army reported.
Both the AFP and the PNP repeatedly vowed that the NPA would have been decimated by this month as the Manila government transitions from former President Rodrigo Duterte to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The clashes, however, reveal that the NPA and its 53-year old insurgency remain strong in various parts of the country. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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Media groups slammed renewed efforts by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Baguio City to red-tag journalists it alleges are members of Leftist organizations.
In an alert, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said at least two journalists in the Cordillera region have been invited to a fake dialogue with the Baguio City Police earlier this month that turned out to be a witch-hunting activity against journalists and activists.
On January 14, the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club Inc. (BCBC) and NUJP’s Baguio-Benguet chapter said BCBC president Aldwin Quitasol was invited by the Baguio City Police to attend a so-called dialogue that turned out to be part of its Community Support Program White Area Operation (CSP-WAO), a component of the government’s Oplan Kapayapaan targeting suspected sympathizers of communist rebels in conflict-affected areas.
The second journalist refused to be identified.
‘Stop red-tagging’
In their joint statement BCBC and NUJP Baguio-Benguet demanded a stop to the red-tagging and witch-hunting of journalists.
“We are strongly concerned by the renewed effort of the (PNP) to drag us in their counterinsurgency campaign through Dumanon, Makitongtong (Seek and Talk), which the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) adopted from Oplan Tokhang of the Duterte administration,” the local media groups said.
Whatever name it carries, the PNP’s counter-insurgency campaigns involving journalists as well as activists aims to harass and intimidate, they added.
“We urge law enforcers to cease this madness, stop targeting activists and the media in their counterinsurgency actions. We also call on local governments to take a stand and protect the people against institutionalized red-tagging and political vilification,” BCBC and NUJP Baguio-Benguet said.
Human rights violations
This month’s incident is not the first time that Baguio City Police has accused journalists of links to supposed Communist fronts.
In February 2021, the Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee in CAR endorsed tokhang-type campaigns against alleged left-leaning personalities, including activists and the media.
The proposal was quietly dropped after widespread criticism, but police officials last August revived the proposal for the so-called seek and talk strategy against alleged members of left-leaning organizations, the NUJP said.
Cases of red-tagging in the Cordillera Administrative Region rose to 15 incidents in 2021 from eight complaints filed in 2020, the NUJP, quoting the Cordillera office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR-Cordillera), said.
The campaign is patterned after the tokhang campaign used in the Rodrigo Duterte government’s so-called war on drugs that, according to government data, has killed at least 6,000 victims, it added.
Following earlier police summons of Quitasol, CHR-Cordillera in June 2021 issued a resolution warning that red-tagging — linking individuals and groups to the communist armed rebellion — violates human rights.
Other rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights Office, have also warned against the practice, which they said can lead to harassment and physical attacks. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
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Mariing kinundena ng Tanggol Magsasaka-Timog Katagalugan ang marahas na demolisyon na naganap ngayong araw, Enero 13 sa Patungan Cove, Brgy. Mercedes, Maragondon, Cavite kung saan tatlong residente ang malubhang nasugatan.
Sinalakay ng mga pwersa ng Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection at Seraph Security Agency ang mga residente na nagbarikada laban sa planong eko-turismo ng pamilya Virata at negosyanteng si Henry Sy.
Tinatayang nasa 600 na ektaryang lupain kung saan mahigit 1,200 katao ang nakatira sa nasabing lugar na karamihan ay mga magsasaka at mangingisda.
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Untitled.png10801920Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2022-01-13 18:36:142022-01-13 18:36:15Pahayag ng Tanggol Magsasaka sa demolisyon sa Patungan sa Cavite
A Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge acquitted two political prisoners on Wednesday, November 24, dismissing charges against them based on a search warrant issued by a controversial Quezon City judge.
In a 13-page decision, Branch 19 judge Marlo Mardazo-Malagar said that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt Michael Bartolome and Cora Agovida’s ownership or possession of illegal firearms, ammunitions and explosives the police alleged were seized from the couple.
The polices’ Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) raided Agovida and Bartolome house in Sta. Ana, Manila on October 31, 2019, later alleging they found hand guns and a hand grenade during the raid.
In a text message, Atty. Katherine Panguban of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers told Kodao that the couple’s arrest sprung from the implementation of a series of “questionable” search warrants issued by Quezon City Executive Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert in 2019 against Metro Manila based activists and rights defenders.
Burgos-Villavert also issued warrants against Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Metro Manila’s Ram Bautista, Manila Workers’ Unity’s Alma Moran and Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay)-Manila’s Reina Mae Nasino based on police information that the activists were part of a gun-running syndicate.
Other Burgos-Villavert warrants have been either quashed or junked by fellow judges, including the one used against journalist Lady Ann Salem and trade union organizer Rodrigo Esparago in December 2020.
Salem and Esparago were released last March after the Mandaluyong City RTC dismissed charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against the two..
Womens group Gabriela said it welcomes the court decision, adding the development is a slap on the Rodrigo Duterte administration that has incessantly attacked activists and human rights defenders.
Agovida is Gabriela-Manila’s chairperson and regional spokesperson of Gabriela-Metro Manila while Bartolome is a Kadamay-Metro Manila organizer. #
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Farmers and human rights groups expressed opposition to a statement by President Rodrigo Duterte ordering the arming of civilian groups to help in law enforcement, saying such move could lead to more unwarranted and merciless killings.
In separate statements, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Karapatan and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said so-called force multiplier groups under the Duterte government may lead to more extrajudicial killings.
“As if police brutality and the PNP’s (Philippine National Police) abuse of power are not enough, Duterte openly allows civic groups to carry arms. This is unacceptable and must be opposed. Tokhang killings have cost more than 30,000 lives,” KMP chairperson Danilo Ramos said.
Tokhang refers to extrajudicial killings of suspected illegal drug dependents by the police and suspected State agents since the start of the Duterte administration in 2016.
At the launch of the PNP-backed Global Coalition of Lingkod Bayan, Global Coalition of Lingkod Bayan Advocacy Support Groups and Force Multipliers in Camp Crame last Friday, Duterte ordered that the group carry firearms to help in law enforcement.
“If you have this coalition, you have a list of people who are there who can arm themselves. I will order the police if you are qualified, get a gun, and help us enforce the laws,” he said.
KMP said the public must oppose the proposal and Duterte’s move to turn so-called civic groups into his private army and death squads.
“Arming these civic groups will do more harm than good to the civilian population,” Ramos said.
Rights group Karapatan also expressed opposition to Duterte’s statement, citing abuses by state forces under his government.
“Arming them will further weaponize these groups as paramilitaries, which have a long bloody history of human rights violations, for the administration’s whole of nation approach in both campaigns — a tactic that merely uses the population to subvert civilian authority for militarist and fascist objectives and ends,” Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said.
The government’s own human rights agency opposed the proposal, saying armed civilian groups may cause more killings instead of being a deterrent to crime.
“Elections are fast approaching. We don’t want election-related violence to rise,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said.
“We also don’t want this proposal to be an excuse for armed groups to be used by politicians. We don’t want a Maguindanao Massacre to happen again,” she added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/4-3.jpg13652048Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-06-29 08:04:162021-06-29 08:04:17Groups oppose Duterte’s plan to arm civilians
Panayam kay Prof. Jose Maria Sison ng Kodao Productions, sa pamamagitan ni Prof. Sarah Raymundo, hinggil sa insidente sa Masbate at ang bisa ng CARHRIHL.
IMKP: MASBATE INCIDENT AT CARHRIHL June 22, 2021
Sarah: Magandang araw sa lahat ng ating mga tagapakinig, nagbabalik ang Itanong Mo Kay Prof, kasama natin ang Chair Emeritus ng International League of Peoples’ Struggle at NDFP Chief Political Consultant na si Prop. Jose Maria Sison. Magandang araw, Prof Sison, at maraming salamat sa pagkakataong makapanayam kayong muli para sa isang napakahalagang usapin na may kinalaman sa kondukta ng pakikibakang armado ng rebolusyonaryong hukbo sa Pilipinas ang NPA, paritukular ang nangyari sa Masbate.
JMS: Maalab na makabayang pagbati sa iyo Prop. Raymundo, sa Kodao at sa lahat ng ating tagapakinig.
Sarah: Sa ngalan ng Itanong Mo Kay Prof, nagpapaabot po ako ng taos-pusong pakikiramay sa pamilya ng mga nasawi nating kababayan at nakikiisa po ang aming programa sa pakikidalamhati sa ating mga kababayan sa trahedyang ito.
Sa panayam na ito, sisikapin nating makuha ang suri at ilang resolusyon ng NDFP batay sa mga naaangkop na mga dokumentong may lokal at internasyonal na saklaw na nakatuon sa mga sirkumstansya ng gerang sibil są mga bansang tulad ng Pilipinas kung saan may pwersang nagsusulong ng rebolusyonaryong pakikibaka para sa pambansang paglaya.
Halina at alamin natin ang kahalagahan ng Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC), ang Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL), ang The Hague Declaration, at ng Ottawa Treaty. At kung bakit Usaping Kapayapaan ang pinanawagan ng mga taong-simbahan at iba pang grupo na nagtatanggol sa karapatang pantao, matapos maisapubliko ng insidente na hindi naman itinanggi kundi agad namang inako ng CPP-NPA. Bilang founding Chair ng CPP, ano kaya ang pagtingin ni Prop. Sison sa isyung ito?
Mga Tanong:
1. Ano ang masasabi nyo Prof Sison sa nangyari sa Masbate na kung saan ay may dalawang sibilyan na namatay dahil sa land mines na ginawa ng mga NPA? Meron na po bang resulta ang imbistigasyon ng CPP/NPA/NDF hinggil dito?
JMS: Isang trahedya na mga sibilyang magpinsan ng pamilyang Absalon ay nasawi at isa pa ay nasugatan dahil sa pagkakamaling pinasabog sa kanila ang command-detonated land mines.
Anuman ang klase ng sandata ay maling gamitin laban sa mga sibilyan. Ito ay mahigpit ng patakaran ng CPP, NPA, NDFP at rebolusyonaryong gobyerno ng bayan.
Gumawa na ng kagyat na pagsisiyasat ang partikular na kommand ng NPA sa Masbate na may kinalaman sa partikular na yunit at ilang indibidwal na may pananagutan sa malungkot na pangyayari. Tinanggap ng naturang komand na may pagkakamali.
Pero gusto pa rin ng pinakamataas na organo ng NDFP na may mas malalim pang imbestigasyon para magkaroon ng batayan para litisin ang mga akusado sa court martial ng NPA o sa hukumang bayan ng rebolusyonaryong gobyerno ng bayan.
2. Maaari nyo po bang maipaliwanag Prof Sison kung meron po bang nilabag ang mga NPA sa land mines na kanilang isinagawa sa Masbate? Ano po ba ang implikasyon nito sa International Humanitarian Law?
JMS: Walang nilabag ng kabuaan ng NPA. Ang lumabag ay partikular na yunit ng NPA o iilang indibidwal na nagpaputok ng land mines. Ang mismong command-detonated land mines ay hindi ipinagbabawal ng Ottawa Treaty. Pero krimen o kamalian ang paggamit ng anumang sandata laban sa mga inosenteng sibilyan.
Sabi ng binanggit kong Masbate command ng NPA na command-detonated na land mines ang ginamit. Sa tamang paggamit ng ganitong land mines sa armadong kaaway ng NPA, hindi ipinagbabawal ng Ottawa Treaty at ng International Humanitarian Law.
Ang maliwanag na ipinagbabawal ng Ottawa Treaty ay yong land mines na sumasabog dahil sa presensya, presyur o kontak ng biktima. Ipinagbabawal ito dahil sa indiscriminate ang nabibiktima.
Sang-ayon at sumusunod ang CPP, NPA, NDFP at rebolusyonayong gobyerno ng bayan sa Ottawa Treaty. Patakaran ng buong kilusang rebolusyonaryo na bawal ang land mines na hindi command-detonated.
3. Hinggil po sa land mines, Prof Sison, maaari nyo po bang maibahagi ano po bang klase ng land mines ang tinatanggap sa International Humanitarian Law (IHL) sa mga lugar na may gera. Pinahihintulutan po ba talaga sa IHL ang pagtatanim ng bomba?
JMS: Sa International Humanitarian Law, ang Ottawa Treaty ang pinaka- partikular na instrumentong legal na nagsasabi kung anong klaseng land mines ang ipinagbabawal.
Ipinagbabawal nang kategorikal at pauli-ulit sa tratadong ito na bawal ang land mines na puputok dahil lamang sa presenya, presyur o kontak ng kahit sinong tao, inosenteng sibilyan o armadong kaaway ng NPA sa kasalukuyang gera sibil sa Pilipinas. Hindi ipinagbabawal ang command-detonated land mines.
4. Ano po ang inyong masasabi sa kahilingan ng gubyerno sa pamamagitan ni DILG Sec Eduardo Año na isurender sa kanila ang mga NPA na nagkasala sa naganap na pagsabog sa Masbate?
JMS: Alinsunod sa International Humanitarian Law at Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, ang NDFP ang may hurisdiksyon sa anumang paratang laban sa NPA at mga yunit nito at ang GRP naman ang may hurisdiksyon sa mga paratang laban sa AFP, PNP, paramilitar at mga yunit nito.
Ang NDFP at GRP ay mga co-belligerents sa isang gera sibil o armed conflict na saklaw ng Geneva Conventions. Hindi pwedeng utusan ng GRP ang NDFP na isurender sa GRP ang yunit ng NPA na gumawa ng pagkakamali sa Masbate.
Ang GRP ay hindi rin puedeng utusan ng NDFP na isurender sa kanya ang mga akusado sa higit ng 6000 paratang laban sa AFP at PNP na sometido sa Joint Monitoring Committee sa ilalim ng CARHRIHL.
Hindi ring pwedeng utusan ng NDFP ang GRP na isurender sa NDFP ang mga armadong tauhan ng GRP na pumaslang ng napakaraming NDFP peace consultant. Tinutukoy ang pagpaslang kina Randy Felix Malayao, Randall Echanis, Julius Giron, mag-asawang Cabanatan, mag-asawang Topacio, Reynaldo Bocala at iba pa.
May kanya-kanyang sistema ng gobyerno at batas ang GRP at NDFP. Sira-ulo ang mga opisyal at ahensya ng reaksyonaryong gobyerno na gustong magmando sa NDFP na isuko sa GRP ang mga akusado sa insidente ng command-detonated land mines sa Masbate.
5. Ang Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law o mas kilala sa tawag na CARHRIHL ay isang kasunduan na pinirmahan ng gubyerno ng Pilipinas at ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines noong 1998. Ayon sa AFP hindi na ito epektibo dahil wala ng negosasyon sa pagitan ng GRP at NDFP, at matagal na ring nilusaw ang Joint Monitoring Committee o JMC. Ano po amg inyong opinyon hinggil dito Prof Sison? May halaga pa po ba ang CARHRIHL sa panahon ngayon?
JMS: Umiiral pa ang CARHRIHIL dahil sa maraming probisyon nito ay hango sa international law sa human rights at humanitarian conduct at nasa balangkas ng international law na tinanggap ng GRP Constitution. Umiiral at bukas din ang opisina ng NDFP-nominated section ng JMC sa Cubao at kinikilala at sinusuportahan pa ng Royal Norwegian Government.
Totoo na ang GRP ay nagsara ng kanyang opisina sa JMC. Pero hindi ibig sabihin nito na malayang gumawa ng mga krimen ang GRP sa mga pwersa at tauhan ng NDFP. Hindi rin ibig sabihin na nawalan na ng hurisdiksyon ng NDFP sa mga pwersang nasa panig niya.
Subukan ng GRP na magpadala ng arresting yunit nila sa erya ng NPA sa Masbate at tingnan natin kung ano ang mangyayari. Kung gawin ng GRP ang panghihimasok, hwag magulat kung lalabanan sila ng NPA.
6. Sa panghuli, Prof Sison, ano po ang inyong panawagan sa ating mga kababayan?
JMS: Hanggang ngayon ipinagmamatigas at ipinagmamalaki ni Duterte na tinapos at pinatay na niya ang peace negotiations at gusto niya ang gera total at pakana niyang idahilan ang armadong rebolusyon para magpataw ng pasistang diktadura sa Pilipinas.
Napakalimitado na ang panahon na umasa ang sinuman na magbabago ang patakaran ni Duterte. Nasa huling taon na ang halimaw sa kanyang legal term of office.
Mas mabuting palakasin ang kilusan ng mga mamamayan para patalsikin sa poder ang traidor, berdugo, mandaranbong at maggagantsong rehimen ni Dutere at makipagsundo sa oposisyon na itaguyod ang patakaran na buksan muli ang peace negotiations ng GRP at NDFP para lutasin ang mga problema na ugat ng gera sibil.
Magkakaroon ang makatarungan at matibay na kapayapaan kung may peace negotiations muli at gumawa ng mga komprehensibong kasunduan tungkol sa mga batayang repormang sosyal, ekonomiko at pulitikal sa balangkas ng The Hague Joint Declaration ng GRP at NDFP.
JMS: Sa pagtatapos ng ating panayam, nagpapasalamat ako kay Prop. Raymundo, sa Kodao at sa lahat ng ating tagapakinig.
Sarah: Maraming-maraming salamat po Prof. Sison para sa isang malaman at ubod ng linaw na pagpapaliwanag. Ang mga nabanggit na mga ahensya at pinagkaisahang dokumento na tunog-teknikal sa una, ngayon ay may malinaw nang hugis kaugnay ng trahedya sa Masbate at gayon na rin sa kabuuang kondukta ng armadong tunggalian sa pagitan ng GRP at CPP-NPA.
Itanggi man ng gobyernong Duterte, maging ng mga anti-komunista at iba pang mga grupo na nananawagan ng maka-isang panig na resolusyon sa trahedyang ito, hindi na maikakaila ang bisa ng mga tratado o treaty at dokumentong sumasaklaw sa kondukta ng armadong tunggalian.
Walang silbing i-etsa pwera sa diskusyon ang dual state power sa bansa, o ang realidad na may dalawang gobyerno sa Pilipinas na sangkot sa isang armadong tunggalian. Hindi ito tungkol durugan o paggapi na solusyon ni Duterte. Walang kahihinatnan ang ganyang pusisyon dahil matagal nang nalikha ang mga opsiyal at lehitimong mekanismo para resolbahin ang mga usaping dulot ng tunggaliang ito. Ang mga mekanismong ito ay hindi pumapabor sa isang panig, kundi mga mekanismong nagbubukas upang talakayin, sawatahin, resolbahan ng dalawang panig ang mga umano’y abuso ng bawat panig, mga panukala ng bawat panig upang matugunan ang ugat ng armadong tunggalian. Sa puntong ito ng armadong tunggalian sa pagitan ng GRP at CPP-NPA walang ibang mekanismo ang maaaring makatugon dito kundi ang Usapang Pangkapayapaan o Peace Talks.
Hanggang sa muli, ito po si Sarah Raymundo, guro ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at aktibista ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan. Ibayong pag-iingat at pakikibaka laban sa tiraniya.
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https://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/vlcsnap-2021-06-22-14h46m25s056.png10801920Kodao Productionshttps://kodao.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kodao.pngKodao Productions2021-06-22 14:45:302021-06-22 14:45:33Itanong Mo Kay Prof: Masbate Incident at CARHRIHL
