Members of Teatro Obrero in an undated photo during the organizing of the local chapter of Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Mambubukid of the National Democratic Front, formed by the New People’s Army in Malasibog, Escalante City, Negros City. (Contributed photo)
MANILA -- Why do allies and supporters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) always play up the "red-tagging and state terrorism" cards every time the government gains a significant victory against the terror organization?
This was the reaction of Major General Antonio Parlade, Jr., of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) in reaction to a recent statement of CPP founding chairperson Jose Maria "Joma" Sison claiming that “under the tyrannical rule of Duterte, state terrorism is running high with red-tagging, abductions, arrests with planted firearms and murders of social activists, critics, and political opponents.”
Sison made the comment after military and police operations in Bacolod City that resulted in the arrest of at least 60 suspected militants, including 15 minors.
Same tune
"I heard this familiar statement yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon during the Defense Committee hearing in Congress. It is almost what Rep. Arlene Brosas of Gabriela party-list and Rep. France De Castro of ACT PL were saying about their perceived 'state sponsored crackdown on critics of the government'. It was the same line (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) Renato Reyes, (Bayan Muna Party-list) Teddy Casiño, (Kabataan Party-list) Rep. Sara Elago, and (Bayan Muna Party-list) Rep. Carlos Zarate said of the series of successful arrests the government, through the NTF ELCAC, has done in a week," Parlade said in a statement to the Philippine News Agency Wednesday.
The most disconcerting thing, he said, is that the party-list representatives aired all their gripes during the hearing of the Defense and Security Committee to determine what legislative agenda they may have to adapt or prioritize to enhance the protection of the people and the state.
"Instead, the Kamatayan (Makabayan) bloc members present took turns questioning (Department of National Defense) Secretary (Delfin) Lorenzana if the DND's modernization plan was to enable it 'to kill more people' or to use its funds to harass, red-tag, and arrest more activists," said Parlade, who is also Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Civil-Military Operations.
While readily dismissing such baseless and groundless allegations, he said the role of the DND and the AFP is to protect all Filipino citizens in times of conflicts or calamities.
"Of course not. It is to perform our constitutional mandate to protect its citizens, in times of war or calamities, like the procurement of more helicopters which you see are now being used in the rescue operations in Makilala, North Cotabato. Don't these "critics" of government see how delicate these air evacuations are like this one perching dangerously in a slope to save people?" he added.
He said while the DND and AFP has surveillance capabilities, these are being used against terrorist groups especially those known to exploit vulnerable minors and put into harm's way
Parlade added that only in self-defense or when their own lives are endangered will government troops use force to neutralize these terrorists.
"We will kill these terrorists if necessary or if they fight back. But some remain alive for not resisting a lawful arrest. This was the case with the series of successful raids in Bacolod City, Escalante, Manila, and Quezon City. Apparently, these Kamatayan (Makabayan) bloc members are not happy that nobody from their members fought back. It could have been perfect cases of EJK (extra-judicial killing), most fitting for their narrative," he added.
He said the "motherly-looking" Gabriela or "teacher-actor" members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) is only a facade willingly to gain them sympathy from the public.
Howl like wolves
"But the communist terrorists in them are actually wolves, as they hide as members of the underground MAKIBAKA (Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan) for Gabriela and KAGUMA (Katipunan ng mga Gurong Makabayan) for ACT," he added.
The leanings of these individuals or groups, he said, are quickly exposed whenever Sison decides to attack the government whenever the latter gets the upperhand on the campaign against local communist insurgency.
"Look how they talk in unison with Joma Sison, and this is exactly what we said last week. They all walk like a wolf, howl like a wolf, so they must all be wolves. They have been red-tagged by 'Joma' again, after the latter came to their rescue. Yet they continue to deny they are Joma's stooges in the communist party. They continue to belie reports that those arrested are terrorists," Parlade said.
He said he can’t help but wonder why Brosas did not protest the many minors arrested in the last week's operations in Bacolod City.
This is a bit disconcerting as Gabriela party-list, which Brosas is representing, is supposed to advocate rights and issue affecting all women in the country.
"As representative of many mothers, have we ever heard Rep. Brosas complain why there were even kids in the group? Six of them were aged 12-14 and five were aged 15. Many by the way did not give their true names because they were given aliases. What for? So, tell me Rep. Brosas? As a mother, why did not you raise this alarming issue about CPP-NPA's child exploitation?, he said.
The arrest of these CPP NPA personalities with 15 children, he said, were consistent with the Senate inquiry findings that many children could still be missing after being recruited by the CPP-NPA.
“It is consistent with the files of CPP's Vic Ladlad, which said that they have recruited 8,635 children, aged 13-17, up to September 2015 alone," he said.
Parlade scored Gabriela for doing nothing to rescue these minors and yet have the time to protest of being "red-tagged" despite evidence.
"Instead of rescuing these children from their CPP-NPA handlers, you complain of Gabriela being 'red-tagged', even as your group consistently appear in recovered documents and computer files of captured CPP-NPA top personalities. By the way, the houses raided will not pass as an office because the government only knew about them as underground (UG) houses, until you claimed them to be a Gabriela or Bayan Muna office," Parlade said.
He also finds it ironic that these party-list representatives, while having time to complain of the killings of their members by alleged government troops, seem to be indifferent to atrocities committed by the communist rebels.
"Rep. Castro for her part, complained of the killing of many of their members? Would she care to hear the video interview and testimony of surrendered Special Partisan Unit (SPARU hitman) James Durimon alias 'Juros'? He was 14 when recruited by NPAs in Negros and confessed to the killing of many farmers and activists in Panay, on orders of Charity Amacan, Secretary of 'Komiteng Rehiyon' (KR)-Cebu Bohol Negros Siquijor (CBNS) CPP-NPA. Listen to alias 'Juros' and ask Secretary Lorenzana again who is killing your own people so that you can blame the AFP and PNP. Why don't you listen to the tape interview of NPA rebel priest Conrado Balweg who admitted to attacking civilians, while clad in constabulary uniform, in order to create more hatred against the government," he added.
In rebels’ company
Parlade also scored Castro, who is a teacher herself, for not asking why these minors are not in schools and in the company of NPA rebels, when arrested.
"And at age 12-14 (years old) what are they doing in Bacolod, when they are from La Carlota City? Is it not trafficking of minors? Are they not recruits for your 'Teatro Obrero'? Yes, theater so what's wrong with that? Well, take a look at these pictures of the kids under arms. Better yet, why attend the Defense Committee hearing when you can instead follow up on the case of an NPA-failed attack on teacher Zhydee Cabanelez and husband Ramil of Valencia, Bukidnon, the former of whom you insist to claim as ACT member when she is not?" he added.
Members of militant groups claims of being attacked by government security forces are in sync and very much calibrated with Sison's earlier statements, he added.
"Maybe you are all too naive to claim that Jose Maria Sison, your idol who personally tagged Gabriela and ACT as the CPP's progressive allies, is just another political activist and critic of government policies. But how do you explain his order to the NPA to attack all government security forces in light of these arrests? A social or political activist, progressive or regressive moron, does not do that. The CPP-NPA was declared a terrorist organization by US, UK (United Kingdom), Australia, NZ (New Zealand) and the EU (European Union) for nothing," he said.
No sense
He added that he sees no sense in the continued harassment claims of these militant groups except to get more foreign funding for their "fake human rights advocacies".
"How do we make sense of all these allegation of a tyrant government and its propensity to abuse its power? The explanation could be as simple as this: the CPP and the Kamatayan (Makabayan) bloc merely want to sustain that narrative of a 'consistent pattern of gross, flagrant, or mass violation of human rights', by projecting a fascist and anti-people PRRD government," he said.
Parlade said such narrative is needed to ensure that Sison can invoke the so-called "non-refoulement clause" and allow him to stay in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
"This is in order for Jose Ma Sison to continue to invoke 'non-refoulement' (Article 8, Section 2, UN Gen Assembly Resolution 47/133). That affords him to stay in Utrecht, and escape state persecution as the EU court ruled. This propaganda of a tyrant state is now more significant for him, especially that a Philippine court had issued a warrant for his arrest due to his crime of genocide," he said. (PNA)
