CPP/ NPA

NPA liquidations carried out to acquire firearms and terrorize people

09 August 2006

THE Communist Party of the Philippines, through the New People’s Army, continues to carry out liquidation missions not only to exterminate its perceived enemies but also to build up its dwindling arsenal and terrorize the people into joining or supporting the movement.

A special report by the Armed Forces on CPP-NPA liquidation incidents revealed that with the launching of the CPP-NPA’s three-year expansion program in December 2002, the group increasingly resorted to liquidation operations by the Special Armed Partisan Unit (SPARU) as a primary mode of firearms acquisition, complementing its regular tactical offensives.

The report disclosed that in 2000 to May 2006, the CPP-NPA carried out a total of 1,130 liquidation operations, through the SPARU, resulting not only in the killings of 1,227 persons but also in the loss of firearms totaling 94.

PNP personnel and ordinary civilians are among the NPA’s primary sources of firearms during such operations.

The CPP also used the SPARU in its extortion activities particularly in areas where the rebels hold sway. It intimidated businessmen and private companies into paying revolutionary taxes. Areas where the rebels’ liquidation operations were highest included the Bicol region, Region 8, Caraga region and Region 11.

The communist rebels also resorted to SPARU operations to terrorize the populace, especially in areas where resistance to the communist movement was strong. This is particularly the case in regions where the guerilla fronts are not so developed.

The increasing targets of such operations, according to the report, have been unarmed ordinary civilians and local barangay officials.

The military report also showed an increase in the incidents of extra-judicial killings in areas where SPARU operations were launched, indicating that SPARU units could have been behind the killings.

The report noted that out of the 1,227 people killed by the CPP-NPA in its SPARU operations from 2000 to May 2006, only 68, or 6 percent, involved “erring” cadres who were “purged”. The majority, 843, were civilians with 599 being ordinary citizens.
(30)

Gonzales urges extreme left leaders and human rights advocates to denounce NPA treacherous attack

11 August 2006

“IF you really care for Filipino peasants and are concerned about human rights, denounce the New People’s Army rebels’ attack against soldiers helping in evacuating peasant families from the vicinity of Mayon volcano.”

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales today made this call on leaders of the above-ground extreme left, including party-list representatives, and human rights advocates as he condemned the NPA assault described by Malacanang as ”treacherous.”

He said the attack underscored the communist movement’s terrorist character and utter disregard for the immunity of non-combatants from violence. This is the same point highlighted by the rebels’ killing of 1,227 persons, mostly civilians, in liquidation operations, he noted.

Gonzales, also the chair of Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, stressed that human rights are universal and all human beings and groups, not just the state and government, are ethically obliged to respect them. This includes, he said, refraining from attacking non-combatants, including government armed personnel who are not in combat situation.

“The soldiers attacked by the rebels were not only out of combat situation; they were in a rescue operation, helping put to safety thousands of peasant families, “ Gonzales said.

“Of course, the state has the primary duty to defend and promote respect for human rights and should be second to none in doing so,” he hastened to add. But those who are quick to blame government personnel for unsolved killings, even when there are indications they could have been perpetrated by state enemies, should also condemn murderous and terrorist acts clearly perpetrated by rebel groups against civilians and other non-combatants.

Gonzales’ ally group, Aksyon Sambayanan, echoed his condemnation of the NPA, describing it as showing the callousness of communist guerillas to the plight of thousands of people threatened by the imminent eruption of the volcano.

Beth Angsioco, AkSa secretary general, said the attack is highly condemnable since it occurred in a calamity area.  “This is another proof of the heartlessness and ruthlessness of communist rebels. If they can’t help the people in distress, the least they can do is to let soldiers carry on their rescue operations in peace. War should take a backseat in times like these,” Angsioco noted.

She urged leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines to rein in “rampaging” NPA cadres and direct them to observe a temporary truce in Albay, where authorities are moving thousands of residents away from the danger of an explosive volcanic eruption. “If the CPP-NPA has any regard for the people’s safety, they should allow the military to do their rescue work unhampered,” Angsioco said.

(30)

Intengan calls on human rights advocates to be impartial

13 August 2006

TERRORISTS are not immune from being tagged human rights violators for their terror acts simply because of the fact that they are terrorists.
This is according to a moral theologist, Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan, who said that soldiers and policemen are duty-bound to respect and protect human rights but this does not mean that rebel groups, particularly those fighting the government, are exempted from the same responsibility.

The priest also observed that some human rights advocates and groups are not so “independent and impartial” in their investigations of human rights violations. “They are partial to the communist movement. This is why some ‘fact-finding missions’ by groups ‘friendly’ to the extreme left are no longer credible and believable,” he said.

Intengan issued the statement in the light of rabid criticisms hurled at the military and police for their alleged human rights violations, including the slaying of militants.

The series of killings cannot be pinned solely on state agents since communist rebels are also known to have carried out summary executions, Intengan pointed out. A military special report has revealed that the communist rebel movement killed 1,227 persons, mostly civilians, in liquidation operations from 2000 to May 2006.

“There is a call for impartiality of human rights agencies and groups in defending the people from human rights violations. The men and women of the AFP and PNP are also human beings with human rights. Only extremist ideologies would deny this,” he added.

He said unfair accusations and one-sided monitoring and investigation of human rights incidents in favor of rebels do more harm than good because they could exasperate members of government forces and tempt them to carry out anti-insurgency measures that could be violative of human rights, such as violence against targets whose status in terms of bearing arms is uncertain.

To avoid “partial” probes, groups claiming to defend human rights should be evaluated for their political connections, their probable motivation and the level of accuracy of their reports, Intengan said.

Intengan stressed, however, that “The state has the primary duty to defend and promote respect for human rights, and should be second to none in doing so. The ethical legitimacy of the state is very much a function of its effective defense and promotion of human rights. Hence, in one sense, offenses against human rights by state agents deserve greater blame.”

He said soldiers and policemen should be “educated” on human rights and the Rules of Engagement to eliminate or minimize the use of violence.
(30)

More evidence revealing deceitful and murderous CPP propaganda—Gonzales

26 August 2006

INFORMATION unearthed by the police regarding the slayings carried out by the New People’s Army confirms what government officials have long been saying — that communist rebels are behind many of the extra-judicial killings which they’ve blamed on state security forces, according to National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.

This time, there is evidence and even witnesses to corroborate charges that the Communist Party of the Philippines, through its armed wing, the NPA, have also been killing militants,Gonzales, also the chair of Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, said.

He was certain that Task Force Usig, created to look into the series of killings, will unearth more evidence against the rebels as it widens its probe.

“Like pieces of a complicated puzzle, things are falling into place. The veneer of lies which the communist movement had put up is slowly being peeled to reveal the deceitfulness and ruthlessness of its campaign to blacken the image of government,” the official said.
The police has tagged the NPA in the killing Thursday of a lawyer in Cubao, Quezon City and a peasant leader in Surigao del Sur. Task Force Usig also revealed that communist rebels also killed three militants suspected to have embezzled funds and later blamed the government for these slayings.

The three victims were identified as Paquito “Pax” Diaz, head of the local chapter of the Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) in Eastern Visayas, Fedelito Dacut, regional coordinator of Bayan Muna also in Eastern Visayas, and Rev..Edison Lapuz, member of the Council of the Promotion of Church People’s Response.

Philippine National Police Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, head of Task Force Usig, said the killings were carried out by the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee of the CPP.

Meanwhile, an arrested suspect in the killing of Rodolfo Paglinawan,  lawyer of the Nagkakaisang Samahan ng Purefoods Hormel, also admitted to having killed three others in 2003 upon the orders of the Partido Marxista-Leninista ng Pilipinas.

The suspect, Jeff Rafanan, claimed to have carried out the killings in 2003. Rafanan, a hitman of the Rogelio Laurente command of the PLMP, said Paglinawan was punished because he “took money  from the labor union but nothing happened to the labor cases.”

Police said Rafanan’s group was also behind the slaying of Manila Police Supt. Manolo Martinez and barangay chairman Rodrigo Borgonia in Quezon City.

Gonzales pointed out that while some of the victims were killed because of their “sins” against the movement, the CPP conveniently heaped the blame on state forces to make it appear that the government is behind the killings. The CPP campaign to embarrass the Arroyo government was contained in documents seized from captured communist rebels in Quezon. NPA units were ordered to purge the CPP’s legal organizations of infiltrators and to put the blame for their killings on the Arroyo administration to get back at the President who recently ordered the military and police to crush the insurgency in two years, Gonzales said.

The recent stepped-up communist attacks against military and police targets was also ordered by the CPP central committee as part of its efforts to build up its arsenal as the movement gears up for an intensified war with the government.

“These communist leaders are masters of deceit. They pretend to call for peace talks while they prepare for war. They call for the investigation of the killing of militants some of whom they have killed themselves, and they even want to be part of a fact-finding team to look into the country’s human rights situation. They are the most hypocritical of terrorists,” Gonzales added.

(30)

Leyte killing fields remind nation of continuing CPP purge–Intengan

03 September 2006

JESUIT priest Fr. Romeo Intengan today slammed Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo’s “absolution” of communist leaders’ accountability for the executions of hundreds of people in Leyte whose mass graves were recently discovered.

The Leyte mass graves where around 600 victims of a CPP purge were believed buried are evidence of the extreme paranoia and ruthlessness of communist leaders, according to the priest who is also the leading ideologue of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas.

He said the barbaric executions carried out as far back as 20 years ago have not stopped, since there has been no change in the policies and character of leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines and National Democratic Front who can easily order the New People’s Army to liquidate party members suspected to be traitors to the movement.

“The Leyte killing fields resulted from the paranoia and insecurity that has characterized the CPP-NPA-NDF ever since. The killings and disappearances were blamed by the NPA and their supporters on the military and police so that the people would hate the government. More than 20 years after, it is only now that we realize the truth. To those who accuse government now of the same heinous crimes, the truth will come out at the right time,” Intengan said.

Intengan disputed the claim of Ocampo that he, CPP leader Jose Ma. Sison and Luis Jalandoni could not have ordered the purge because they were either in jail or in exile at the time.

“The CPP has its internal procedures guided by democratic centralism. There are no deviations, no questions. NPAs in Leyte carried out the purging on what they believed were party directives. Rep. Ocampo dishonors the memory of purging victims by absolving the party again of accountability,” Intengan said.

Ocampo earlier said the CPP admitted the purging a long time ago and has even declared the victims martyrs.

However, Intengan noted that the execution of party members suspected to be government informants or deep-penetration agents continues. He said it is possible that most of the militants recently killed are also victims of the cleansing ordered by CPP leaders to rid their ranks of traitors and infiltrators.

“It is despicable that the CPP-NDF-NPA had not stopped carrying out summary executions. It has been rabid in condemning alleged killings perpetrated by the military and police. Communist leaders have no right to point an accusing finger at the government when they themselves are behind many of the killings,” the priest said.

He challenged human rights group Karapatan to send a fact-finding team in Leyte to investigate the killing of hundreds of people there whose remains were recently dug up by soldiers.
(30)

NSA Gonzales to Sison et al:  the courts and the people will judge you

07 September 2006

THE courts and the Filipino people will decide on the responsibility of three top communist leaders for the purge that made Leyte and other places in the country communist killing fields, according to National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.

Gonzales today maintained that Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Ma. Sison, Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and National Democratic Front peace adviser Luis Jalandoni did have a hand in the execution of hundreds of people during the `80s contrary to their claim of innocence.

“They cannot hope to escape accountability by presenting lies and flimsy alibis,” he said.

“At any rate, they are not in a position to absolve each other. The matter will be decided by the local and international courts and the Filipino public,” Gonzales, also the chair of Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, said.

The three claimed that they had nothing to do with the purge in the communist movement because they were either languishing in prison or in exile. Gonzales however pointed out that they could have easily ordered the killings even if they were detained.

“The three are misleading the public by saying that the purges occurred at a time when all of them were either incarcerated or in exile overseas. The purges came in waves for the entire decade of the 1980s. The earliest started in 1982. Since then, several series of purges were perpetrated, some of them carried out even after Sison and Ocampo were released from prison, after which both continued to be active member of the CPP Central Committee,” Gonzales said.

He said the killings were carried out through Operation Mission Link from 1987 to 1989 in Laguna and Quezon, Operation Olympia in Metro Manila, Operation Linis in Central Luzon and Operation Zombies in Mindanao.

The alibi given by the three does not hold water because Sison and Ocampo both continued to be high-ranking members of the CPP Central Committee upon their release in 1986 and Sison continued to issue and sign directives to the CPP under the nom de guerre Armando Liwanag. Gonzales said Ocampo went mainstream only after the 2001 elections as party-list representative and up to now he “actively serves” the central committee.

Jalandoni also cannot be absolved from the crimes based only on his claim that he was in exile in the Netherlands since the 1970s. Gonzales said even if he was overseas, Jalandoni kept the local communist movement afloat by strengthening the NDF’s international solidarity work.

“After several decades of successfully running the insurgency from that part of the globe, it’s rather late for Mr. Jalandoni to now say that the physical absence of a leader ever posed a problem,” Gonzales  added.

The military is readying multiple murder charges against Ocampo, Sison and Jalandoni for the killing of hundreds of their comrades suspected to be infiltrators or government spies. The remains of the victims were recently dug up by soldiers in Leyte.
(30)

NPA, tormentors of the people—Intengan

07 October 2006

Social democrats condemned the continuing systematic extortion by New People’s Army rebels who not only victimize businessmen and politicians but also the very poor.

The Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas said it is doubly reprehensible that communist rebels have also been bleeding the masses who can barely make ends meet.

Brig. Gen. Carlos Holganza, Army Battalion commander in Compostela Valley, earlier bared that NPA rebels demand 50 percent of the profit of big businessmen and collect P1 from poor households in the barrios. The money is used to pay the “salaries” of the rebels.

In Davao City, NPA guerillas chopped down over 800 banana trees when the plantation owner refused to pay revolutionary tax. The rebels’ rapacious act caused P4 million in damages and left around 300 people without jobs.

Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan said communist rebels have also not stopped extorting from local officials. He cited some cases in Agusan del Sur where the rebels demanded P3 million from one mayor and a smaller amount from another.

These “acts of terrorism” only proves that communist insurgents are the tormentors, not the protector of the people as they have repeatedly claimed, Intengan said.

He again stressed the need for a total government approach to address the problem of insurgency to put a stop to the illegal and inhuman acts of the NPA rebels. The priest, who heads the education commission of the PDSP, said aside from the military approach, efforts to crush communist insurgency should also include economic, legal, political and diplomatic components.

Intengan said economic development will play a big role in solving the problem because it will negate the rebels’ influence in their strongholds. Other sectors of society, such as the Church, academe, and civic groups can also help in the campaign against insurgency, he said.

“The rebels will not stop since they’re after power,” Intengan said.

That is why it is vital that the rebel force be incapacitated so that they will have no choice but to negotiate for peace and return to mainstream society, he added.
(30)

CPP-NPA anti-poor and anti-development—Gonzales

09 October 2006

THE communist treacherous attack on a major airport project in Silay City, destroying P30 million worth of equipment, only proves our point that the communist rebels are anti-people, anti-poor in particular, and anti-development. They are a major obstacle to the country’s economic development and they are actually worsening rather than helping address poverty.

The economic cost of that attack is far bigger than the P30 million worth of equipment destroyed. This destruction will delay development in the province in terms of jobs generated and will be generated by the construction itself, by the operation of the airport and by the businesses that the airport will spawn. The cost to economic development actually goes beyond Negros island. The attack was actually meant to scare other potential foreign investors in the country.

With the attack, the New People’s Army, and the group that controls it, the Communist Party of the Philippines, merely lived up to their “terrorist” tag. They also showed that they are afraid of economic development, and that they don’t really care about the poor Filipinos at all.

On the positive side, the Silay incident and other increasing indiscriminate attacks by the CPP-NPA on government, private and people’s projects showed the desperation of a terrorist group hurting from a total government approach to finally crush it. These incidents stress the need for government to intensify even more its comprehensive anti-insurgency campaign consisting of military, economic, legal, political and diplomatic components.  It is vital that the rebel force be incapacitated so that its leaders will have no choice but to negotiate for peace and return to mainstream society.  Other sectors of society, such as the Church, academe, and civic groups should help in this campaign against communist terrorism.
(30)

Intensified total campaign will crush communist terrorists—Gonzales

10 October 2006

NATIONAL Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales vowed government will intensify its comprehensive campaign to crush communist terrorism, which has been a major hindrance to the country’s economic development, soonest.

He said the recent attack by New People’s Army rebels on a Korean construction company building an airport in Negros island showed that more than being threats to security, communist rebels are a major menace to the economy and a big stumbling block to progress.

The attack on the airport project in Silay City and other acts of terrorism committed against companies and traders only prove that the NPA, and the Communist Party of the Philippines that controls it, are against development and anti-poor, the national security chief added. By burning down equipment at the construction site, NPA rebels left hundreds of laborers without jobs and delayed the completion of the airport, which is one of the major projects of the government in the province.

“The economic cost of that attack is far bigger than the P30 million worth of equipment destroyed. This destruction will delay development in the province, as well as the operation of the airport. The cost to economic development actually goes beyond Negros island. The attack was actually meant to scare other potential foreign investors,” Gonzales, also the chair of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, said.

Gonzales noted that NPA rebels have made it their practice to punish companies and businessmen who refuse to pay revolutionary tax. In the past months, communist guerillas have torched a number of Globe cell sites, burned passenger buses and destroyed plantations. These raids show that the NPA and the CPP don’t care if their criminal acts are victimizing the poor people in the countryside.

“The increasing indiscriminate attacks by the CPP-NPA on government, private and people’s projects also show the desperation of a terrorist group hurting from a total government approach to finally crush it. These incidents stress the need for government to intensify even more its comprehensive anti-insurgency campaign consisting of military, economic, legal, political and diplomatic components.  It is vital that the rebel force be incapacitated so that its leaders will have no choice but to negotiate for peace and return to mainstream society,” Gonzales said.

He called on other sectors of society, such as the Church, academe, and civic groups to help the government in it campaign to stop “communist terrorism.” At the same time, he urged state security forces to improve security in and around vital installations and major government infrastructure projects so that these may not be destroyed by rampaging communist rebels.
(30)

11 November 2006

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS asked the Department of the Interior and Local Government to look into the situation in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur where local officials are reportedly being stopped from building infrastructure projects in the area by a large paper company.

The Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas made the appeal after receiving reports that Picop Resources Inc. had been preventing local officials in Bislig City from implementing infrastructure projects, in the process depriving residents of better services. A report submitted to Jesuit priest Fr. Romeo Intengan, head of the education commission of the PDSP, said Picop, which occupies 60 percent of Bislig City, had also stopped the local government unit from conducting a ground survey so that it could establish the city boundary.

The report sent by a junior military officer detailed in the city said the paper company, which has a giant logging concession in the province, won’t even allow local officials to enter its concession area. As a consequence, over 4,000 workers inside the concession area are deprived of basic social services, the report said. The officer who requested anonymity said this set-up makes the area a breeding ground of insurgency, especially since Picop won’t allow the military to take supervision of its Special Cafgu Active Auxiliary army. He said the Armed Forces should have control over the SCAA following the unexplained killing of lumads or community leaders in the area.

The officer said that the 36 IB detailed in the area also complained that soldiers are not allowed to operate inside Picop’s concession area despite the presence of New People’s Army rebels there.

The PDSP said the DILG should step into the problem so that local officials in Bislig can exercise their power unhampered and so that the LGU reach out to people living inside the Picop-controlled area.

Some environmental groups earlier accused the giant paper company of polluting the environment. They also urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to investigate reports that Picop is conducting logging operations even in the watershed area in Surigao del Sur.

(30)

‘Red tag’ report irresponsible—Intengan

21 December 2006

The Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas described as unfair and irresponsible newspaper reports that National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales wants all leftist groups labeled as communists.

Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan, who co-founded the PDSP along with Gonzales, said the Secretary’s statement was taken out of context and misinterpreted because he did not say that left-leaning party-list groups should be branded as communists.

Intengan took up the cudgels for Gonzales after the national security chief was assailed over reports that he wanted to pin the red tag on leftist groups. He decried the “sensationalized interpretation” of Gonzales’ statement, saying the report “put words into the secretary’s mouth.”

The priest, head of the education committee of the PDSP, noted that what Gonzales said was that party-list groups who will participate in the coming elections should be “described.” “What Gonzales said was ‘there will be plenty who will run in the party-lists in the coming elections and we have to describe them all. As national security adviser, it is important (for me) to show soldiers and police what groups are being used by the communists to continue their bad intentions on the public,” the priest clarified.

Intengan lamented that the story painted Gonzales as an enemy of all leftist groups. He pointed out that the national security chief himself comes from a “leftist” party, being the chair of the PDSP.

“His target is only the extreme left, the pro-Sison Reaffirmists in particular, not the left in general,” the priest said, adding that Gonzales merely wanted to “unmask extremists who are manipulating and exploiting the weaknesses of Philippine society.”

Intengan said the communist threat is real because there are some groups which are being used as fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army. He said some of these groups which support armed rebellion were able to enter Congress “because the party list system was carelessly crafted and implemented.”

“The basic contradiction today in Philippine society is not between the Left and the Right, but between democratic forces and anti-democratic ones, the former being those who defend political democracy and the latter those who seek to destroy and replace it with party dictatorship or authoritarianism,” the priest added.

“Secretary Gonzales does not want to tag all leftist groups as communists. He wants the people to know the multiple characteristics of the CPP-NPA. It claims to be a revolutionary armed movement, but it has also become a nationwide extortion gang damaging the interest of basic sectors by discouraging investments and economic activities, destroyer of infrastructure and other facilities, collaborator with organized crimes and mercenaries of landlords and traditional dynasties,” Intengan said.
(30)

NPA living up to terrorist image—PDSP

24 December 2006

THE New People’s Army, which celebrates its anniversary tomorrow, is living up to its notorious image as a  bandit group engaged in extortion, robbery and other criminal acts.

Reports that the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, plans to exact higher permit-to-campaign fees from candidates in next year’s midterm elections proves that the rebel group is not a revolutionary movement as it claims to be but a big-time extortion gang that operates nationwide, according to Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas.

While the people are becoming more aware of the atrocities committed by NPA rebels, there is a need to educate the public about the multiple characteristics of the rebel group, Intengan said. While it claims to be the protector of the people, the NPA has blocked progress in the countryside by discouraging investments because of its frequent attacks on companies and businesses that refuse to pay revolutionary tax.

“The people are waking up and realizing that the extreme left has committed and continues to commit atrocities—the Plaza Miranda bombing, the paranoid purging of thousands of its cadres, and its persistent and widespread killing of noncombatants including those belonging to rival political organizations and government officials,” Intengan, head of the education commission of the PDSP, said.

“The NPA has become a destroyer of infrastructure and other public facilities, a collaborator profiting from organized crime such as narco-trafficking, illegal logging and illegal gambling, and a mercenary force that hires itself to landlords and traditional politicians,” he added.

The priest pointed out that even the police is aware that NPA guerillas are sometimes hired as hitmen since investigators are looking into the possibility that communist rebels could have been hired to assassinate Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin, Jr.

“These rebels will not hesitate to kill for a fee. They plan to intensify their extortion activities in order to collect funds so that they can acquire more firearms. Politicians should not give in to their demands by paying permit to campaign fees because this would only embolden the group to continue with this illegal act with impunity,” Intengan said.

Documents seized by the military showed that the NPA will demand three to 10 percent of a candidate’s campaign fund in exchange for a permit to campaign in rebel-held areas next year.
(30)

“I want them jailed and voted out, not killed”—Gonzales

10 January 2007

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER Norberto Gonzales yesterday laughed off repeated accusations made by party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo and other extreme left leaders that he is responsible for the unabated slayings of political activists.

“Ridiculous! Are they running out of propaganda ploy, or of issues to exploit? Satur should know that many of the victims are slain by their own comrades because of infighting, as investigations by the police have shown,” he said.

“Them blaming government is expected. They do that every time someone is killed. But pinpointing me is ridiculous. Of all people in government, I should be the last one to be accused of promoting assassination of activists. I want communist leaders jailed, not killed,” the secretary explained.

The national security chief reminded that he pushed for the formation of the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) to pursue prosecution of reaffirmist communist leaders rather than allow physical violence against non-combatants and even against armed rebels who are not direct participants in combat.

Gonzales also admitted that he wants party-list organizations fronting for the underground communist movement out of Congress before they can do real damage to democracy. “Yes, I wanted them disqualified, and until that is possible, I want them voted out by the people,” he said.
He said this is the reason his groups, the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas and Aksyon Sambayanan, are helping government expose the atrocities and the “grand deception” of the local communist movement.

“Their entry in the party-list elections does not signify reform or moderation. They are merely manipulating the weaknesses of mainstream politics to pursue their dictatorial agenda,” the national security chief, who is also the chair of PDSP, explained.

“Perhaps Satur’s wild accusation is indicative that PDSP and Aksyon Sambayanan’s grassroots-level information campaign against the reaffirmist communist movement is hurting them very badly,” Gonzales noted.
(30)

CPP to employ NPA to win more party-list seats in May—Gonzales

21 January 2007

TO realize its ambition to gain more political power by winning more seats in Congress, the Communist Party of the Philippines will again unleash the New People’s Army in May to secure votes for party-list groups fielded by the CPP.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said it is very likely that the NPA, the armed wing of the CPP, will again resort to acts of terror to win votes for party-list groups of the extreme left. These illegal acts include harassment of rival groups, coercion of non-allied candidates to endorse CPP party-list groups, and intimidating voters.

Gonzales, who is also the chairperson of Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, said the CPP will not hesitate to employ violence in the coming elections since the group is desperate to attain its political and electoral objective: to get more seats at the House of Representatives.

Gonzales cited military documents which disclosed the CPP’s ambitious plan to double the number of its representatives in Congress from six to 12, which is distributed as follows: Bayan Muna, 3, Anakpawis, 3, Gabriela, 2, Kabataan Party, 1, Suara Bangsa Moro, 1, Migrante, 1, and Kadamay,1.

The military report quoted CPP chair Jose Ma. Sison as saying: “While the progressives have no hope for the candidates at the senatorial level, there is a big possibility that they can gain more seats on the congressional level through the party-list and in the local executive offices.”

Military documents also showed where the CPP party-list groups got their votes in the 2004 elections. The most substantial votes were delivered in Visayas and Mindanao through the CPP’s guerilla fronts. The military said 85 of the group’s 106 guerilla fronts worked to win votes nationwide. The highest number of votes, which translated to 60 percent share of party-list votes, was delivered by 28 guerilla fronts in eastern Mindanao and the Visayas, while the CPP’s guerilla fronts in Northern Luzon and Southern Tagalog also managed to acquire votes.

At least 229 municipalities considered strongholds of communist rebels gave the party-list groups substantial votes, the military documents revealed. With this record, Gonzales said the CPP will enhance its campaign “strategy” which is to win votes for its party-list candidates through harassment or intimidation by its “armed goons.”

The CPP stands out as the only political party in the country with a built-in private army. Gonzales and his group, the PDSP, maintain that communist rebels are exploiting the present defective party-list system to participate in mainstream politics and to gain access to government resources.
(30)

NPA’s ‘permit to win’ to increase poll violence

26 February 2007

ELECTION-RELATED violence would rise if political aspirants agree to pay permit-to-win fees to the New People’s Army to ensure their victory in May.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales issued the warning following reports that communist rebels are willing to employ violence to ensure the victory of their “clients.” If scare tactics won’t work, the rebels will liquidate the rivals of politicians who paid permit-to-win fees.

Gonzales, who also heads the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, cited the reports of some local leaders in the Zamboanga peninsula who were approached by people “promoting” this new strategy of the NPA. These community and civic group leaders said permit-to-win fees are so-called because NPA guerillas will do everything to secure the victory of their candidates, including the physical elimination of their rivals.

“If these unprincipled candidates who will stop at nothing to win will conspire with ruthless extortionists and assassins, there will be increased electoral violence and chaos,” Gonzales said. “By eliminating other political candidates, NPA rebels will also deny the people the right to choose especially if only a single candidate, the one willing to buy victory, will be left standing,” Gonzales said.

He appealed to politicians to reject offers of “help” of the NPA and to seek the protection of the police if they are being harassed by the rebels. The national security chief said politicians should not endorse, tolerate or worse, employ these terrorist campaign schemes of the NPA because it not only subverts the will of the electorate but it could start a new trend of election-related killings.

“The government is doing its best to make the coming electoral exercise peaceful and orderly but communist rebels are doing their worst to sow chaos and destroy the credibility of the elections,” Gonzales said.

The permit-to-win fee is the newest “levy” being collected by communist rebels. In previous elections, NPA guerillas collected permit-to-campaign fees from candidates who want to campaign in rebel strongholds.
(30)

NPA-Bayan Muna link confirmed—Gonzales

06 March 2007

NATIONAL Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales yesterday said the recovery by the military of Bayan Muna campaign materials from New People’s Army rebels confirms that the extreme leftist party-list group is part of a “single politico-military complex controlled by the Communist Party of the Philippines.”

Gonzales said the campaign paraphernalia are the latest evidence of the bond between the armed communist movement and six party-list groups.
The national security chief has said the alliance between the NPA and the party-list groups becomes obvious during elections because NPA rebels campaign for their candidates and at the same time intimidate or harass rival groups. He has also been pointing out that the extreme leftist party-list groups have never denounced the violence of the NPAs.

Aside from Bayan Muna campaign posters, soldiers also recovered pocket-sized calendars along with machine guns, improvised landmines and medical kits from an NPA camp abandoned by the rebels after an encounter in Davao City.

The Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, which Gonzales heads, yesterday also hailed the recent collective decision of local chief executives of Mindoro Occidental, led by Gov. Josephine Sato, not to give in to the demands of NPA rebels for permit to campaign (PTC’s) fees.

Jesuit priest Father Romeo Intengan, top ideologue of PDSP and Gonzales’ co-founder of the party, described the decision as an act of courage and a concrete expression of love of country that “deserves emulation by other local government executives.”

Intengan called on all political leaders to follow the good example of the governor and the mayors of Mindoro Occidental, saying “this is essential to resolutely end the communist insurgency which has derailed for so long the country’s achievement of economic progress.”

The PDSP leader urged President Macapagal Arroyo to provide protection to politicians who have made public declaration and have taken concrete actions against the communist insurgents. He also urged the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to punish politicians found to have given aid to the NPA.

Intengan noted that the collusion by intimidated and opportunistic politicians with anti-democratic forces is one of the major factors that contribute to the resilience of the communist insurgency. He said it provides the CPP–NPA–NDF forces with votes for the latter’s candidates for national office (including party-list candidates) and local office, legal cover for their personnel, organizations and activities, and financial and logistical support such as firearms and ammunition, motor vehicles, and communication equipment.

The economic gains derived by the rebels in their illegal activities allowed the CPP-NPA-NDF to sustain its armed operations, Intengan added.
(30)

NSA Gonzales to Satur:  face your charges

11 March 2007

NATIONAL Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales yesterday urged party-list representative Satur Ocampo to surrender and face his charges.

“Let the courts decide,” Gonzales said about Ocampo and his colleagues’ claim that he was in jail when the Jose Ma. Sison-led communist movement was carrying out massive purging.

Gonzales stressed the government’s intensified legal campaign against local communist leaders is not meant to eliminate them but for them to embrace peace and democracy.  “We want them to denounce armed rebellion and be honest in doing so,” he said.

He lamented that based on their actuations, “they are not interested in peace and they have not made the decision to join our democratic system.”

“Instead, they are studying the loopholes of our political system and exploiting these weaknesses to advance their ultimate aim of overthrowing government mainly through armed struggle,” Gonzales, himself the head of a democratic leftist political party, the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, said.

Gonzales said Sison thought they had the golden opportunity to achieve their dream of seizing state power during the height of the anti-government sentiment. “He thought he could fool the opposition. He volunteered the New People’s Army to be the army of the opposition.”

Gonzales also admitted he “felt a little bad” that Ocampo is “going to jail for the case of mass murder and not the rebellion case I filed last year.”  The case was filed by the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group(IALAG) which the national security chief established.

He said there are now around 80 cases filed in courts against communist leaders. He disclosed, however, that very few judges are willing to touch these cases.

The national security chief said the armed communist movement “is now a very weakened movement,” not growing in size and “there is no way it can take over the country.” He noted, however, that NPA rebels have intensified their activities.

He said that the communists, after accepting that the opportunity to overthrow government is now gone, have shifted their strategy to training an elite squad of snipers to assassinate key political figures topped by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and himself.
(30)

Satur can stop many of the killings—NSA Gonzales

16 March 2007

FUGITIVE party-list representative Satur Ocampo doesn’t really need to invite interventions from outside the country to resolve the unexplained spate of killings. He himself is in a position to help put an end to these killings.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales yesterday made this reaction as he twitted Ocampo who surfaced on the internet calling on American lawmakers and the international community to send more fact-finding missions to look into the unexplained killings.

“Satur can stop many of the killings if he wants to,” Gonzales said. “He is part of the leadership that orders many of these killings.”
The national security chief added Ocampo is seeking foreign investigations precisely because the killings are part of the unreformed communist movement’s efforts to discredit the Arroyo government in the international community.

“Instead of continuing fooling the people, Satur should present himself and face the charges against him. He should let the courts decide on his claim that he was in jail during the massive communist purge,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales, himself the head of the leftist Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, earlier said government wants local communist leaders to honestly denounce armed rebellion and embrace peace and democracy. He laments that Ocampo and his colleagues have not made the decision to join the democratic system.

Gonzales also said government is bent on crushing communist insurgency by 2010 through a comprehensive approach that stresses the legal campaign component.

(30)