Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr., Southern Luzon Command chief (PNA File photo)
MANILA – The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) should not put too much faith in its "assassin units" or what they call Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) as its members are brutalized by the comrades before they were trained to kill and terrorize.
Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) chief, Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr., made the comment in response to CPP founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison's announcement that they have a basis to conduct armed partisan operations against Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) and its allied units who are allegedly targeting "unarmed activists and civilians in urban areas".
Parlade, who is also National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) spokesperson, said there is a very high probability that these assassin units would just surrender to government forces rather than carry out the missions laid out for them by the CPP-NPA as they were raped and brutalized by comrades.
He cited the case of 13 assassin unit members based in Southern Tagalog who were decimated by a series of surrenders before being able to carry out its mission.
"To supervise the training, the CPP through its ILPS (International League of Peoples' Struggle) network, imported a Fil-Am, Amado Khaya Magalit (Canham) y Rodriguez alias 'Allen'/'Glenn' and sent him to Laguna and Quezon for the SOG (Special Operations Group) training. Moving to Mindoro later, the Regional SOG training continued. Of the 13 who graduated last March 2020, five already surrendered to Solcom. Barely a month after training, last April, Roldan Malucon alias 'Jandie' surrendered," he said in a statement Monday.
Adding to the woes of this particular assassin is that another one of them, a certain Eleuterio Serrano alias "Ritter" was captured shortly afterward while last May Felix Diaz Masong alias "Arjo/Rex/Asga" surrendered to government troops.
"This was followed by the surrender of alias 'Rhino'/'Jhay'. Last October Ankwan Rauyan@Fernan/Temyong surrendered and now alias 'Elsie'," he said.
One alias "Elsie", formally known as 21-year-old Mary Jane Ganay was able to surrender to government troops last December 27 with the help of some friends from the clergy, he said.
"Elsie", resident of Occidental Mindoro, was invited by one Daislyn Castillo alias "Tikya", reportedly the wife of NPA Platoon Leader Marjun Malucon alias "Warren", to attend her wedding when she was 16.
"After that, she was not allowed to go back to her family anymore. Atty. Maria Sol Taule of NUPL (National Union of Peoples' Lawyer), this is called kidnapping. She was forced to join the unit, took party courses and military training in Monteclaro, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro where the STRPC (Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee) was trying to relocate its regional headquarters," he added.
In December 2018, she was impregnated by an NPA identified only as "Zander", who was later killed in an encounter in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro.
Two months after she gave birth, she was forced to join the NPA Platoon of alias "Kenjie" and was not allowed to take care of her baby. The baby was taken from her designated ward without her consent.
"Judy Taguiwalo and Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, this is another kidnapping of its worst kind!" Parlade said.
This, he said, is not the end of the abuse suffered by "Elsie" from the hands of the hands of the NPA as she was raped by her own platoon leader.
Aside from this, she was also demoted and meted a one-year disciplinary action.
"The victim was meted punishment? How cruel but yes. She was later sent to join the Regional Special Operations Group (SOG) training," he said.
These abuses, he added, are among the reasons why NPA members and their allies are constantly surrendering to government forces.
More surrenders, arrests
Aside from surrenders due to NPA abuses, Parlade said continuing military operations caused the neutralization of RSOG member Juanito Gonzaga alias "Rod/Jun" in Masbate.
Last December 17, 2020, during the serving of a warrant of arrest to alias "Dads", Head of Finance of Sub-Regional Mil Area 4C in Baras Rizal, three members of the regional murder squad were killed: Niño Alberga, Jonathan Alberga, and Carlito Simon.
"Farmers? No, they were armed to the teeth with two M-16 rifles, one Uzi submachine gun, a caliber .45 pistol, and a revolver. The eight other members of Joma's death squad escaped, with one wounded," he said.
Ongoing pursuit operations by the military troops again encountered fleeing "farmers" in Puray, Rodriguez, Rizal.
"If they are farmers, I suggest that Cristina Palabay of Karapatan present the eight as witnesses to their being 'farmers'," he added.
On December 30, he said Philip Alcantara y Valdez alias "Joshua", Platoon Leader of the Regional SOG of STRPC, was arrested in Guiguinto, Bulacan for multiple frustrated murder.
"He did not resist, so he is alive. Now Tinay has to produce the bail bond of this high-profile terrorist leader. Won't you Tinay Palabay?" he said.
Repercussions
With these prevailing situations within assassin units and NPA ranks, he said how can these terrorist units implement their punitive actions, and should they continue, these will have repercussions in the international community against the CPP-NPA.
"The international community, especially the UN (United Nations) and EU (European Union) surely know the implication of CPP and Jose Maria Sison's annihilative order in the context of international humanitarian laws and conventions. Yet this fool and his colleagues in the NDF (National Democratic Front) refuse to admit that the CPP-NPA are terrorist organizations," he added.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
"Going back to his murderous partisans, how can Sison rely on them? After being raped by fellow NPAs, he expects his hitmen and women to heed? If they can't hit VIPs with that kind of sloppy training (and they won't) soon they will be asked to kill instead, ordinary activists just like what they did with James Durimon alias 'Jurros', who was ordered to kill 17 peasants in Panay,” Parlade said.
He added that they will soon assassinate lowly, genuine activist members of Anakbayan, Kabataan, Gabriela, Bayan Muna, ACT, KMU, etc but will spare the party members running it from Kabataang Makabayan, MAKIBAKA, KAGUMA, and RCTU that are found in the NDFP member organization website ndfp.org.
“Then what? Blame the government?" he said.
He said Canham, the Fil-Am trainor for Sison’s assassin units is now dead due to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) while evading government troops in Mindoro. (PNA)
