NPA terror attacks harm 471 since 2010

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato – In the spirit of Bayanihan, the Philippine Army is geared on protecting the Filipino people and defending the nation with other stakeholders on equal foot.  However, with the deception of NPA rebels, the fight for peace and development is hindered and prevented.

In the recent NPA atrocity last October 21, 2013, Monday, personnel of the 38th Infantry Battalion were on their way to Barangay Bacong, Tulunan, North Cotabato to distribute the subsistence allowance of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units (CAFGUs) when members of the criminal armed group New People’s Army treacherously detonated a landmine that instantly rendered the personnel of 38th Infantry Battalion incapable to fight in Sitio Manggi, Barangay Bituan, Tulunan, North Cotabato, one of the declared peace zones in Tulunan, at around 9:10 in the morning.  However, the NPA even peppered our wounded troops with bullets even on their faces.

The same atrocity occurred at Purok 2, Barangay Luna Norte, Makilala at about 11:25am to the reinforcing troops of the 57th Infantry Battalion, wherein the landmine was within the immediate vicinity of the civilian population, which could harm civilians and non-combatants.

In a press statement of the NDF, the group directly acknowledged their criminal act justifying their deceitful actions.  With these two heinous crimes of the NPA, nine families lost a father and a provider of the families’ daily need.  They even hid to the public the robbery they committed during their attack.  They robbed the families of the CAFGUs a total amount of P2,135,430.00, which was intended to provide the daily needs of about 753 CAFGUs’ families.

During a press conference held at Kidapawan City this Saturday morning, Honorable Rudy Caoagdan, Municipal Mayor of Makilala said, “We seriously condemn the violent acts of the New People’s Army that endanger the lives of the people.  These atrocities should be put to a stop.  They do not contribute to the peace and development of our nation and they jeopardize our economic progress, and worst, they destroy the people’s only source of living by burning and destroying developmental projects and business establishments.”

From 2010 to date, the NPA has deliberately harmed a total of 471 civilians and military personnel through detonation of landmines in eastern Mindanao alone.  Among these are 75 civilian casualties, with 27 killed and 48 wounded, while the military suffered 396 casualties, with 109 killed and 287 wounded.

The Comprehensive Agreement on Respect to Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) protects civilians, non-combatants and hors de combat or those soldiers who are wounded and rendered incapable to fight.  But the NPA has no regard to the signed agreement of the National Democratic Front and the Communist Party and even disregarded the plea of the wounded soldiers who couldn’t fight anymore.

“The 10^th Infantry Division vehemently condemns the acts of the criminal group New People’s Army in using landmines, robbery and their explicit violation of CARHRIHL, that endanger the lives of civilians and non-combatants.  This likewise manifests the armed group’s utter disregard for human rights and International Humanitarian Law as they continue to defy the international ban on the use of landmines”, said Major General Ariel Bernardo, Commander of the 10^th Infantry Division.

“With the Bayanihan efforts of all peace loving stakeholders, we can give justice to our fallen troops and to those victims of the atrocities of the New People’s Army”, Major General Bernardo added.

NPA ATTACKS A BARANGAY MARKET IN MACO CVP

Maco, Compostela Valley Province- Peace and Development Team of 71st Infantry Battalion in Brgy Elizalde Maco Compostela Valley Province was fired upon by New People's Army 6:45 in the morning today, April 24, 2013.

Three unarmed members of Peace and Development while in the market place of the barangay was fired upon by undetermined number of NPAs.

The civilian populace hid the two unarmed soldiers when the NPA were about to approach them while the other one named Pfc Jesus Tomas (Inf) PA was instantly grabbed and mercilessly dragged away by New people's Army.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JERRY T BORJA  INF (GSC) PA, 71IB Commander said, " This act of New People’s Army is clearly out of their frustration to stop the success of Maco in gaining Peace and Development. They attacked the unarmed government forces without considering the presence of civilians that may be caught in crossfire."

"We will not stop in pursuing our ultimate goal that is to give way to peace and development especially now that we are being supported by the populace", Borja added.

Army Troops on Security and Rehabilitation Operation Landmined by NPA; One killed, 10 others wounded

Mati City – Peace and Development Teams of 28IB onboard two military vehicles led by 2LT Paypa were hit by a landmine at Sitio Mainit, Brgy. Calapagan, Lupon, Davao Oriental at 12:20 midnight of January 22, 2013.

The said team was on convoy, drifting their way back to headquarters from security and rehabilitation operation of the typhoon Pablo as landmine exploded hitting the rear portion of the second vehicle. Six were wounded and immediately brought to the Provincial Hospital, as one soldier did not make it. Pfc Jhasam Diaz died while being treated in the hospital. Moreover the rest of the injured were being treated now at Tagum Regional Hospital and Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital, Mati City.

“The army troops were part of the security of troops rendering rehabilitations to typhoon Pablo affected areas. The NPAs again showed their barbarism and inhuman acts by disturbing our humanitarian assistance activities” LTC Lyndon Paniza, 10ID spokesman.

“This is a clear manifestation that the New People’s Army violate and does not respect the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), landmine is strictly prohibited in this agreement. The NPAs are very desperate and ignored the provisions of CARHRIHL”. Paniza added.

Meanwhile two clashes happened between the army’s 60th Infantry Batalion and NPAs in Brgy. Mabuhay, Laak Compostela Valley at 2pm and 3:30pm yesterday. The army troops were on rescue operation on recent abduction by the NPAs of 1 soldier and policeman last January 17, 2013.

As investigation continues, the AFP persists to chase the bandits believed to be guilty on the incident.    

      

Soldiers repel NPA attack; two rebels killed, high powered firearms recovered

Mawab, Compostela Valley Province – Two members of New People’s Army were killed while two high-powered firearms were recovered 11:45 a.m. Sunday following an encounter with government troops in Brgy. Calabcab, Maco, Compostela Valley Province.

 

Commander of 71^st Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. Jerry Borja, disclosed that said attack was a deliberate offensive operation of notorious group to harass the residents who have been in support to the Army’s Peace and Development Outreach Program (PDOP). “Our Peace and Development Team were having a community consultation in barangay hall when NPAs, despite the presence of civilians, attacked and peppered the area with bullets”, he said adding that the attack was another act of idiocy and desperation of the NPAs in response to the rejection of the community.    

  

“Our troops refrained from firing to secure first the civilians. This resulted to seven soldiers wounded in action (WIAs)”, Borja said. He identified the WIAs as Sgt. Marlon Parong, Cpl. Romualdo Tangonan, Pfc. Erwin Manabat, Pfc. Rocky Molina, Pfc. Jaypee Sionillo, Pfc. Carmelo Cachuela, and Pfc. Ludivico Elegio Jr. who are now recuperating in Camp Panacan Station Hospital, Panacan, this city.

 

 “Troops returned fire right after they have secured the residents in the area”, he added saying two of the criminal group NPA were killed in said clash which lasted for about three hours. He identified the two as certain Manny and Max. Also recovered in the area were one M16 rifle and one M14 rifle and five improvised landmines. “Amidst being outnumbered, our troops were still able to drive away more or less 60 members of the NPA”, he said.

 

Borja disclosed that two civilians were also wounded identified as Grace Buayaban Malisa, 22 years old, who was hit in her right tricep and Adela Tomas Madanlo, 46 years old, who was wounded in her right stomach and both her feet and legs due to shrapnel. He also revealed that one of the victims was shot by the NPAs based on initial interview. “She said that when one of the NPAs pointed her the gun, she raised her hand saying she was a civilian pleading to spare her, but the rebel still shot her”, he said but failed to name the victim.

 

“This act is clearly out of their frustration to stop the success of Maco in gaining peace and development. They attacked government forces without considering the presence of civilians that may be caught in between crossfire”, Borja said.

Magpakatotoo kayo!

Coming out with surprises is the renewed word war between the Maoist communist sectoral front  organization – ANAKBAYAN, and AKBAYAN, a self-claimed socialist organization that the Maoist claims are allies of President Aquino III.

Truly, the latter has entrenched some of their key leaders in President Aquino’s cabinet. Their influence could either be productive or cataclysmic with Akbayan steadfast in their commitment to institute change and reforms in government through the peaceful political process.

Their approach has endeared many, especially those whose mindset are easily described as ‘White Paper’ for not  knowing anything about communism and the evils it brings. This too might have caught the interest of our country’s sitting leadership as most of them are unaware of the real character that marks our country’s veiled enemy.

Surprised though is what I feel when Vencer Crisostomo, like many of his peers in the Maoist sectoral front and pseudo partylist organization, described as ‘Red Baiting’ Rep. Walden Bello’s statement alluding Anakbayan and KMU as front organizations of the Maoist communist insurgency, here.

True enough, Rep. Bello is the n^th person who truthfully said and bared the facts that Anakbayan, Kilusan Mayo Uno (KMU), Bagong Alyansya Makabayan, Gabriela, and many others under the CPP-NPA-NDF’s National United Front Commission (NUFC) have tried vainly to evade. No one else but their leader and revered founder Jose Ma. Sison’s admission, in his speech in Brussels, Belgium in March 4, 1987, that indeed Bayan, LFS, Gabriela, and others, “. . . . . are the legal (read: aboveground) democratic forces in the Philippines” cleared whatever cloud of pretension these Maoist communist organizations have been mouthing ever since.

Bakit sa kabila ng mga pahayag ni Joma Sison, nagtatago pa rin itong  Vencer Crisostomo sa butas-butas na palda ng kasinungalingan?

For the sake of argument pwede nating pagbigyan itong mga argumento ng Anakbayan. Pero ang mabigat na katanungan ay BAKIT AKBAYAN LANG ANG PINUPUNTARYA NINYO?  Bakit tameme kayo sa kaso ng Bayan Muna, Act, Gabriela, Kabataan, Anakpawis, Katribu, Partido Makabayan, KMU at iba pa na klaro namang tumutugaygay sa pampulitikang linya ng CPP-NPA-NDF?  Isang bukas-na-lihim na ang mga organisasyong nabanggit ay legal na mukha ng pampulitikang pakikibaka na sinusulong ng CPP-NPA-NDF “sa pagpapalakas ng armadong rebolusyon mula sa kanayunan” upang ibagsak ang kasalukuyang Pamahalaaan ng  Republika ng Pilipinas.

Meron akong pang-idoheyang agam-agam sa pampulitikang linya na sinusunod ng Akbayan. Pero lalong nakakabahala at sobrang delikado para sa ating mga kalayaan at demokrasya itong ginagawa ng Anakbayan sa pangunguna ni G. Crisostomo Vencer.

In the end, the Filipino people deserve the truth! The continued lies and pretension you have mastered ever since does NO GOOD for the country and the entire Filipino people!

Magpakatotoo kayo!

CPP-NPA-NDF ATROCITIES IN NEGROS ISLAND

Kometing Rehiyon Negros (KRN)covers practically most of Negros island; 13 cities & 20 municipalities or the north and most of the central Negros parts of the island. Time & again, atrocities perpetrated by its regulars have lay siege on hapless Negrenses. Unfortunately, these regulars do not distinguish women, children or the elderly. Their reckless campaign of terror (murder, extortion, theft, robbery, kidnapping, arson, etc.) on the communities especially in the countryside has already brought so much pain, sufferings, & hardships to the civilian populace.

Following are the most recent atrocities carried out by KRN regulars against civilians (high school teens, unarmed civilians & elderly women) & soldiers conducting non-combat missions.

11IB, 3ID, PA was engaged in a non-combat mission at Trinidad, Guihulngan, Negros Occidental in the months of May & June. They were conducting civic-military operations in the area in preparation for the medical and dental missions that will be rendered by the local government of Guihulngan & the provincial Governor’s office to the residents of barangay Trinidad and its neighboring barangays.

On 23 May 2009, five (5) unarmed soldiers left their temporary patrol base at Trinidad, Guihulngan on board three rented passenger motorbikes & headed towards the Guihulngan town proper to attend to their personal matters. They were halted by more or less fifteen fully armed NPA regulars led by Magno Flores AKA Anot, Luis, Armand or Dan-dan at Sitio Busay, Hilaitan, Guihulngan. Three of the 5 soldiers (Private First Class Gonzaga, dela Torre and Bajon) were identified by the NPAs & were forced to get off the bike thus making them their captives. They were made to lie down facing the ground. Suddenly & mercilessly said NPAs shot the 3 captured soldiers at close range. To make sure that the soldiers won’t survive, they shot each of them twice on the head. They stripped the victims with their personal possessions and immediately left the site after the incident.

Another NPA atrocity occurred in the peaceful town of Toboso, Negros Occidental one Monday morning on July 13, 2009. Around twenty (20) fully armed NPA regulars under the guidance of its Regional Secretary Francisco Fernandez AKA Frank, Ibarra, Kanor ambushed the barangay Salamanca-owned mini truck which was fully loaded with unarmed civilians on their way to the town proper to carry out their livelihood. This very conveyance also regularly gives school-goers a free ride to their schools while plying its barangay Salamanca-Poblacion early morning routine.

Somewhere along its route, these fully armed NPA regulars ambushed the truck with heavy volleys of fire. The truck driver, Rodolfo Salanid Salipod, died instantly from a fatal head wound together with Edmar Balisa Sultan, a 2nd year high school student. Sexagenarian Ena Diama Pata did receive some gunshot wounds & was still alive pleaded to the NPAs for help but instead of coming to her aid, they made sure that she’s dead by shooting her again at close range.

The other three wounded civilians, sexagenarian Primitivo Viajador Lumapay, Erel Silva Baynosa & another high school student Ivy Berden Recopelacion, 15 years old, barely escaped death when they pretended to be dead after what happened to Aling Ena. They were the ones who witnessed & divulged what the NPAs did to Aling Ena.

These are but some of the atrocities carried out by the NPAs. These showcase the NPAs unjustifiable disregard for the lives of innocent civilians, women & children especially, as well as their gross disregard for Human Rights & the provisions of the International Humanitarian Law. They have become a group of criminal syndicates who prey on peace-loving & law-abiding civilians.