ANGPahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas

Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

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I ssue XLI X N o. 8

Apri l 2 1 , 2 01 8

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The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will becommemorating its 45th fouding anniversary on April 24. TheParty is inviting all revolutionary forces and the Filipino people

to hold cultural and political activities to celebrate this historic day.Indeed, the NDFP plays an im-

portant role in building the broa-dest unity of the Filipino people asthey wage revolutionary armedstruggle and civil war against theruling reactionary regime. TheNDFP also currently plays an im-portant role in building the broa-dest anti-fascist united front toisolate, fight, and overthrow theUS-Duterte regime.

The NDFP is the most consoli-dated united front organization ofbasic revolutionary forces underproletarian leadership. The NDFP iscomposed of 18 organizationswhich are united by the Filipino

people's aspiration for national andsocial liberation as crystallized inthe Party's Program for a People'sDemocratic Revolution and theNDFP's 12-Point Program.

The NDFP is established on thefoundation of the basic alliance ofworkers and peasants, chieflyexpressed by the Party's leadershipof the New People's Army, as wellas by revolutionary mass organiza-tions among various sectors of thetoiling masses. It is further compo-sed of various organizations amongthe petty-bourgeoisie. It reachesout and wins over the middle bour-geoisie and establishes temporary

Strengthen the NDFP andcarry forward the people'sdemocratic revolution!

AFP suffers

5 casualties

in Camarines Sur

TWO SOLDIERS of the 83rd IBwere killed and three wounded ina harassment operation carriedout by the New People's Army-Camarines Sur last April 9. Ateam of Red fighters launchedthe military action against theoperating troops at around 8:30a.m. in Barangay Gubat,Lagonoy.

Following the offensive, theNPA operatives encounteredanother enemy column. Here,Jeric "Ka Ems" Gestone was hitin the knee. At around 1:30 p.m.,the military found the woundedand unarmed Ka Ems. Thesoldiers dragged and shot him inthe head. Ka Ems should havebeen considered hors' de combator not in a position to fight.

To cover-up their violation ofthe Comprehensive Agreementon Respect for Human Rights andInternational Humanitarian Law(CARHRIHL), the militaryindiscriminately fired theirweapons for one minute to makeit appear that Ka Ems was killedin a legitimate encounter.

Negros Occidental. TheNPA-Central Negros (LeonardoPanaligan Command or LPC)administered punishment againstretired SSgt. Jose Joerito Amableof the 11th IB and retired SPO1Alejandro Borres last April 9 ataround 6:25 p.m. in BarangayBalud, Crossing Magallon,

EDITORIAL

...continued at page 3

April 21 , 2018 ANG BAYAN2

revolutionary forces through along-term ceasefire. Before long, hedeclared the termination of peacenegotiations with the NDFP, decla-red the Party and NPA as terroristsand ordered the arrest of NDFPconsultants. Amid increasing isola-tion brought about by strong resis-tance to his tyranny, Duterte hasrecently made overtures to revivepeace talks, but has not madesubstantive measure to bring thetalks back to track.

The Filipino people are currentlysuffering gravely under the tyrannyand terrorism of the US-Duterte re-gime. As the strongest united frontorganization, the NDFP plays an im-portant role in building the Filipinopeople's broadest unity to isolateand resist the US-Duterte regime. Bywaging revolutionary resistance,both in the urban underground aswell as in rural armed struggle, theNDFP helps strengthen the people'sdetermination to fight and defeatthe detested regime.

The basic revolutionary forcesmust resolutely be strengthened toserve as solid foundation, rampartand scaffolding for building thebroadest anti-fascist united frontagainst the Duterte regime. To doso, the broad masses of workersand peasants must be mobilized in abig way to expose and actively re-sist the fascist attacks of the Du-terte regime against the people.Solid blows by the NPA against Du-terte's fascist machinery will rousewidespread resistance against theregime's tyranny and terrorism.

All revolutionary forces alliedwith the NDFP must help in buildingthe broadest anti-fascist unitedfront against the Duterte regime.They must exert effort to link up thestruggles against Duterte's fascistterrorism with the people's anti-imperialist and antifeudal struggles.By doing so, the NDFP is beingfurther strengthened as a unitedfront for advancing the people'sdemocratic revolution.Ang Bayan i s publ i shed fortni ghtl y by the Central Commi ttee

of the Communi st Party of the Phi l i ppi nes

alliances with other class forces toisolate the main enemy.

The NDFP is a united front thatsteadfastly serves the revolutionaryarmed struggle being waged by theNPA. For four decades and a half, al-lied organizations of the NDFP haveextended political and material sup-port to the NPA. From the ranks ofthe NDFP allies have emerged NPAfighters and commanders. As a solidunited front, the NDFP has served asthe strong underground core of bro-ad people's movements.

There is a proliferation of revo-lutionary committees nationwide atthe village level which performgovernance roles. The NDFP servesas framework for establishing revo-lutionary organs of governance atthe municipal, district, provincialand regional levels. The NDFP rep-resents the people's democraticgovernment (PDG) until it can beformally established. It performsstate functions including the admi-nistration of justice, taxation andimplementation of policies on theeconomy, environment, and others.

It has established proto-diplomaticrelations with states and other in-ternational agencies. It has alsorepresented the PDG in peace ne-gotiations with the GRP since 1986.

In 2016, the NDFP spiritedlypursued peace negotiations withthe Duterte regime after the lattermade public declarations of being"Leftist" and anti-American andpromising to release political priso-ners, support land reform and pur-sue an independent foreign policy.

Duterte, however, turned hisback against his own declarationsand mounted an increasingly brutaland cruel war of suppression underOplan Kapayapaan, targeting unar-med peasants and minority peoplesdefending their land. Aerial bom-bings, curtailment of rights includingarmed occupation of civilian com-munities, food and aid blockades, il-legal arrests, torture and killings arethe norm today under Duterte.

Because of the firm adherenceof the NDFP to basic revolutionaryprinciples, Duterte failed to use thepeace talks to tie the hands of the

Editorial: Strengthen the NDFP and

carry forward the people's democratic

revolution! 1

AFP suffers 5 casualties 1

On the 45th anniversary of NDFP 3

China's billion funds and loans 4

Chico River project 4

Filipino workers' situation 5

Workers' protests 7

Balikatan of US troops 7

Attacks on the Moro people 8

Attacks of the fascist regime 9

IFFM report 10

US military agression in Syria 10

Arrest of Sister Pat 10

I ssue XLI X N o. 8 | Apri l 2 1 , 2 01 8

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"AFP...," from page 1

Isabela, Negros Occidental.According to Ka JB Regalado,

spokesperson for the LPC, Amable is one ofthe "military tacticians" of Mayor Magdaleno"Magsie" Peña's overbearing and anti-peoplecruelties in Hacienda San Benito. He alsocolludes in the militaristic politics in the wholeof Magallon as Civil Defense Security Head.After retirement, Amable became active as anintelligence officer of the 303rd IBde. Heactively recruits civilians and arms them toharass and threaten all of Peña's politicalrivals, and hunt NPA members.

Alejandro Borres is likewise one of Peña'sgoons in Magallon. He is also involved infighting the revolutionary movement togetherwith Peña and Amable in Moises Padilla.

North Cotabato. The NPA-NorthCotabato ambushed Antonio P. Takinan, anintelligence agent in Magpet, last April 4 inBarangay Tagbak of the same town.Confiscated from him was a caliber .45 pistol.

The death penalty was based on Takinan'sactive involvement as an intelligence agentand forcible recruitment of Lumads to theparamilitary CAFGU Bagani Fighters. He isalso actively cooperating with the military intheir military operations which resulted inintense violations of human rights andinternational humanitarian law. He likewisecoerced civilians to surrender as NPA rebelsor admit to supporting the revolutionarymovement. He played a major role in theindiscriminate bombing of Lumad communitiesby the 39th IB last December 21.

Bukidnon. A unit of the NPA-Bukidnonharassed troops of the 403rd IBde under the4th ID in Sityo Pakulab, Barangay Calabugao,Impasug-ong last April 11 at 11:00 a.m.Another encounter erupted between the sameNPA unit and the 8th IB in Sityo Ulayanon inthe same barangay last April 14 at noontime.There was no casualty on the side of the NPAbut Susan "Ka Chay" Cabusao-Guaynon,married and five-months pregnant, wascaptured. She is currently being held by theenemy.

In a radio interview last April 17 with 1Lt.Erwin Bugarin, spokesperson of the 8th IB, headmitted to have incurred casualties in bothfirefights.

On the 45th anniversary of NDFPGroups plan celebrations

ON APRIL 24, all revolutionary organizations in the Philippines andother countries will celebrate the 45th founding anniversary of theNational Democratic Front of the Philippines. Celebrations will beheld under the theme “Build the Broadest United Front to Streng-then Organs of Political Power and the Democratic CoalitionGovernment” in line with the general call of the NDFP.

This theme has an urgentsignificance in the face of thethe Duterte puppet-fascistgovernment’s bombastic decla-ration of smashing the revolu-tionary movement in 2018.Since its founding during thepuppet-fascist US-Marcosdictatorship, the NDFP haswon many victories. This inclu-des the establishment of or-gans of political power or OPPin 73 (out of 83) provinces inthe country. It serves as therepresentative of the said or-gans in the national and inter-national levels. Among its res-ponsibility is facing the repre-sentatives of the reactionarygovernment in negotiations.

In a statement to mark thecelebration, Sison explainedthat for the first time in thehistory of NDFP, it refrainedfor a year (2016-2017) in cal-ling the reactionary regime a“puppet.” This was to giveRodrigo Duterte a chance toprove his declaration of beinga “Leftist” and “socialist”; an-ti-US and anti-oligarchy; andfor reforms and for an inde-pendent foreign policy.

At the onset, it seemedthat Duterte wanted peace ne-gotiations with the NDFP andthe revolutionary forces andthe people it represents,according to Sison. Du-terte pretended to ag-ree with the neededsocial, economic andpolitical reforms de-manded by thepeople for the realization of

a just and lasting peace. Hepromised to honor previousagreements and to grant am-nesty and freedom to politicalprisoners.

But Duterte did not fulfillhis promise. On his second yearin power, he became very hos-tile to the NDFP and termina-ted the peace negotiations.These past weeks, he has againdeclared openness to peacenegotiations. This has yet toamount to anything, especiallywith Duterte and his AFP set-ting preconditions which hin-der negotiations. Foremostamong these is requiring therevolutionary forces to enter abilateral ceasefire, even if allpast agreements have not yetbeen implemented and no newagreement has not yet beensigned. Sison pointed out thatDuterte’s attempt to revive thepeace negotiations is happe-ning amidst the worsening cri-sis of the local ruling systemand of the world capitalistsystem.

What is important for theNDFP, Sison said, is to befaithful to the revolutionaryservice to the Filipino peopleand continue the reforms thatwill lay down the basis for ajust and lasting peace.

April 21 , 2018 ANG BAYAN4

In 2017, Chinese investmentsin the Philippines amounted to $1.6billion, a mere 15% increase from2016. This is despite Duterte's sha-meless subservience and sale ofsovereign territories in South ChinaSea.

Prior to this, Chineseinvestments in the Philippines makeup a small portion of the country'sdirect foreign investments (FDI) andaid. In 2015, Chinese investmentsamounted to only $3.6 billion, a me-re 1.5% of the entire FDI in thecountry. Its promised aid only amo-unted to $120 million, a mere 0.9%of the entire official aid which ente-red the country that year.

It has been reported that Chi-na-Philippine trade is centered onthe Manila-Shanghai/Shang-dong/Tianjin axis, all Chineseprovinces where Filipino-Chinesebourgeios compradors haveinvestments. In Mindanao, Chinesetrade is centered in Davao, where afew Filipino-Chinese families domi-nate trade between the twocountries.

In the past, most Chineseinvestments are in manufacturing,mining and agribusiness. Under thethen US-Arroyo regime, the planwas to give Chinese companiescontrol over hundreds of hectaresof agricultural land to be plantedwith corn, rice and sorghum, as wellas cassava and sugarcane forbiofuel. Most of these plans did notmaterialize, especially under theUS-Aquino regime which directlyconfronted China over the SouthChina Sea issue.

There were also projects whichfell through due to anomaly scan-dals, such as the NBN-ZTE deal

China's billion fund and loans,a Duterte fantasy

This April, Rodrigo Duterte once again boasted of bringing home $9.8 bil-lion from China for the Philippines. This will supposedly create 10,000

new jobs. With his entire family in tow, he went begging to China for fundsfor his plunderous and anti-people infrastructure projects. But like last year,his boasts are all mere fantasy.

Group resist Chico River project

THE CHICO RIVER, a major river which flows through the provinces of Mt.Province and Kalinga, was among those peddled by Rodrigo Duterte in China.In exchange for a P3.2 billion loan, Duterte awarded a contract to a Chinesecompany to build the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project (PIP). In March,the National Irrigation Administration gave the P4.3 billion project contractto China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd. This loan for this is to be paid within 20years.

The Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) strongly condemned thedestructive project and the loans which comes with it. This is another of theregime's schemes to sell the national minorities' natural resources andancestral lands to foreign capitalists. It does not have the approval of theaffected communities.

According to the CPA, this will result in the privatization of irrigation, a

from which Gloria Arroyo benefited.In general, these investments aresmall-scale and fragmented, com-pared to the Philippines' major tra-de partners (Japan, Korea and theUS).

On the other hand, a large por-tion of the country's capitalization(estimated at 50-60%) are underthe control of Chinese-relatedbourgeios compradors who havestrong links to Chinese capitalists.These include Henry Sy and LucioTan, two of the richest Filipinos,who both have extensive businessinterests in China. They also controltwo of the biggest banks in the Phi-lippines, and thus control a largepart of foreign capital inflow andoutflow.

In Sy's case, around 10-15% ofhis profits from his SM Mall chainare from his malls in China. Thesemalls are a major dumping groundfor Chinese consumer projects. Hisbusinesses are also a major channelfor Chinese capital to gain entry toparts of the local economy closed toforeigners. For instance, Sy is

instrumental for a Chinese companyto operate the National Grid Cor-poration of the Philippines, a publicutility privatized by the then Ramosregime. Many of Sy's businesses, aswell as other Filipino-Chinese bour-geois-compradors, have individualor corporate partners who arewholly Chinese. Recently, Sypartnered with Dennis Uy in corne-ring both land and air carrierservices. Uy is believed to be adummy of the Duterte family.

Based on Duterte's statements,most of his Build-Build-Build projectsrely on Chinese capital. Last year,finance ministers of both countrieshave already signed agreements foraround 15 of his "priority projects."These included big-ticket projectswhich Sara Duterte and Duterte'scronies in Mindanao directly control.Most of these projects are plunde-rous and destructive, and have metresistance from the people. Becauseof these, and also due to the localbourgeios compradors' infighting,most of the agreements remain onpaper.

ANG BAYAN April 21 , 2018 5

basic service, and will force peasantsin the area to enter into exploitativeagreeements and pay high fees fortheir own resources. The projectonly hastens the entry of a foreigncompany to extract profits from thenatural resources owned by thepeople.

The Chico River PIP is not new.This was once known as the ChicoRiver Irrigation Project or ChicoDams Project, initiated by the WorldBank on 1976 under the then US-Marcos dictatorship. The projectbecame the center of the Igorotstruggle from 1976 to 1985. This is abig part of the people struggles' his-tory against destructive projectswhich encroach and privatizeancestral lands.

Duterte's revival of the projectwill surely further unite the thepeople of Kalinga and Mt. Provinceagainst his regime. They will not allowDuterte to use their legitimate de-mand for a free and appropriate irri-gation to step on their right to theirown ancestral lands so that a foreigncompany can make a profit from asocial service. They likewise resistother plunderous projects in ChicoRiver such as the Karayan Dam.

The CPA called on the people ofCordillera to intensify their campa-igns and struggles, alongside the ot-her peoples of the country, for theirright to their ancestral lands and toself-determination. This is alongsideintensifying resistance against therelentless fascist attacks by the Du-terte regime against the people.

On April 22-25, the CordilleraDay is scheduled to be held at Bara-ngay Asin Road in Baguio City. Va-rious issues affecting the Cordillerapeople, including the Duterte regi-me's tyranny and the continuingappropriation of their ancestrallands by foreign companies. TheCordillera Day is an annual comme-moration by the Cordillera peoplemarking the day in 1980 when theMarcos regime killed Macli-ing Du-lag, a respected Butbut leader wholed the fight against the Chico RiverDam Project.

The Filipino workers’situation under Duterte

Malacañang first announcedthat Duterte will sign the orderthat was drafted by various laborgroups. This, however, failed tomaterialize as Duterte claimedthat he still needs to compromisewith capitalists and draft a finaland “more acceptable” version ofthe order which has already beenapproved by the workers. He pro-mised to sign the final version ofthe order on May 1, but he backedout once again after a few days.On April 19, Sec. Silvestre BelloIII of the Department of Laborand Employment (DOLE) absolu-tely junked the draft order.

DO 174: bogusanti-contractualization

Duterte’s pretentiousness andpompousness are nothing new. Inhis campaign speeches, he posedas a “socialist” and he promised to“end contractualization.” In anattempt to make workers believethat this promise was deliverednine months after his inaugurationas president, the regime issuedDepartment Order (DO) 174 onMarch 2017. But just like Aquino’sDO 18-A which it purportedly ai-med to improve, it reaffirmed thepractice of contractualization un-der the guise of regulation. Inste-ad of prohibiting contractualizati-on, DO 174 merely stressed theimportance of strictly ensuringcompliance with existing laborstandards and laws on contractingand subcontracting. It merely re-hashed the same prohibitions thathave long been stipulated inprevious DOs, including the prohi-

bition of labor-only contracting,which have long been outlawedbut are still widely implementeduntil today across the country.

Similar to other forms ofcontractualization, flexible laborarrangements such as subcon-tracting and job outsourcing legi-timize the removal of employer-employee relationship betweenoutsourced employees and princi-pal companies. It absolves capita-lists from all their legal obligationsand leaves the task of respectinglabor rights to the agencies. Theprimary objective of such arra-ngements is to minimize the laborcost of capitalists.

Under such arrangements,workers are denied their right tobe regularized. Furthermore, wor-kers are denied their right tounionize and strike, and col-lectively demand for their right tominimum wage and benefits, 8-hour workday, health and safety.

Contractualization has remai-ned rampant under the Duterteregime. Orders issued under DO174 mandating the regularizationof workers are merely for show. InFebruary, DOLE ordered Coca-Co-la to regularize 675 employees.Similar orders were issued fornearly 8,000 PLDT workers in Ja-nuary. This April, DOLE orderedJollibee and Burger King to regu-larize 6,482 and 704 workers,respectively. But none of thesecorporations has complied. DOLEorders are toothless because thegovernment has no implementingmechanism to ensure the compli-ance of capitalists. Instead of pe-

Duterte’s duplicity in addressing the plight of workers is con-temptuous. In an attempt to appease workers, he made it appear

that he was intending to sign an executive order (EO) that will purpor-tedly outlaw and prohibit contractualization or “endo” and establish di-rect hiring as the employment norm in the entire country. At the last mi-nute, however, he reneged and reasoned out that he will just pass theresponsibility of resolving the matter to Congress.

April 21 , 2018 ANG BAYAN6

Wages also remain sig-nificantly low. The P512 minimumwage in the National Capital Regi-on (NCR) does not even meet halfof the P1,171 needed by a family ofsix to live decently.

Over the past years, wageincreases have remained very lowand insignificant. The economy issaid to have doubled (120%) since2001, but the real value of wor-kers’ daily wages rose by less thanone percentage point (0.54%). In2015-2016, the real value of wageseroded by almost 3%. This meansthe prices of goods and services(or inflation rate) rose faster thanwages. In contrast, the net-worthof the 40-richest capitalists in thePhilippines grew by almost 14%.

This year, real wages are dueto fall further as prices of goodsand services are set to rise as a re-sult of the regime’s anti-peopleTRAIN (tax reform). According tosome economists, the inflation ratecould possibly reach up to 5 to 6%,almost double the government’sconservative estimates.

Amid this and the overall lackof employment opportunities in thecountry, Filipino are forced to workoverseas to support themselvesand their families. According to thePhilippine Overseas EmploymentAdministration (POEA), 1,281,506overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)were deployed from January toSeptember, or an average of 4,694per day.

Neoliberal offensiveagainst labor

For capitalists, the right to

decent wages, 8-hour workday,security of tenure, and the right tounionize and strike are barriers thatneed to be removed to ensure grea-ter profit. The rights that have beenwon and claimed by the workers intheir long and noble struggle againstthe bourgeoisie across the globe arenow being revoked through laws,amendments, regulations, and statepolicies under the framework ofneoliberal or imperialist globalizati-on.

Filipino workers are enraged bythe regime’s failure to endcontractualization and its conti-nuous subservience to big local andforeign capitalists. It has put towaste the 2 years of negotiationswith workers which has resulted ina draft EO.

This coming May 1, the Filipinopeople should launch big massprotests all throughout the countryto consolidate the collective angerof the workers and the peopleagainst the demagoguery of theDuterte regime. They should con-tinuously demand the governmentto end contractualization in all itsforms, alongside their demand fora strategic plan for national in-dustrialization which is crucial increating sufficient and decent jobsin the country.

Most importantly, workersshould continue to contribute theirstrength and vigor to advance thearmed struggle by joining the NewPeople’s Army, in order tooverthrow the representative of thereactionary classes, the fascist US-Duterte regime, and ultimately, thewhole reactionary system.

nalizing Coca-Cola and other cor-porations who violate the DOLEorders, the Duterte regime evensent police forces to violently dis-perse legitimate pickets and stri-kes and arrest workers on trum-ped-up charges.

Clearly, Duterte’s campaignpromise was a lie and a mere pub-licity stunt to woo voters. Hedeceived millions of desperatecontractual workers who have longbeen struggling against theexploitative practices of local andforeign capitalists.

DO 174 has failed to addressthe worsening jobs crisis in thecountry. In fact, after more thanone year since its issuance, therate of contractual employmentremains high across all economicsectors. Government’s conserva-tive estimates reveal that 30 mil-lion workers are still contractualsuntil today. Ironically, thereactionary government as anemployer remains to be one of theleading implementer ofcontractualization.

Unemployment, wagesand infation

The jobs crisis worsens toget-her with the similarly worseningunemployment crisis. According tothe Ibon Foundation, the number ofemployed Filipinos fell by 663,000to 40.3 million in 2017 from theprevious year and the number ofunemployed rose by 66,000 to 4.1million. This is the largestcontraction in employment in 20years or since the 821,000 lost in1997. The unemployment rate hasalso risen to some 5.7% and rema-ins by far the highest in ASEAN.

Widespread unemploymentand a swelling surplus labor crea-tes conjusive conditions for wagedepression and regularization.Due to lack of stable and decentopportunities, workers are leftwith no choice but to enter exploi-tative contractual employmentarrangements.

April 21 , 2018 ANG BAYAN7

They will likewise continue todefend victories won through theworkers' collective action. LastApril 11, Coca-cola FEMSA wor-kers illegally dismissed in 2017staged a protest in Sta. Rosa, La-guna. This followed most recentnegotiations for regularizationwhich again ended in a stalemate.The company intends to reinstateonly 152 of the 178 retrenchedworkers, while planning more dis-missals this April.

Earlier, Coca-cola FEMSAworkers under the Kilusang MayoUno (KMU)-SMR launched a pro-test in Davao City last April 9.The protest was carried out bythe workers coinciding with Arawng Kagitingan, and scornedcontractualization as a "DeathMarch." They demanded thereinstatement of 65 workers ret-renched illegally last March 31,and the regularization of morethan 300 contractuals.

Meanwhile, workers underthe KMU-Metro Manila and AlmaKontraktwal, staged a weekly"Black Friday Protest" as a build-up for the massive national pro-test in commemoration of theInternational Labor Day on May1. On April 6, they marched toMendiola to protest Duterte'sfailure to end contractualization.The workers brought with theman "Endo" or endo of contractnotice to Duterte as a symbol ofthe Filipino workers' indignationover the regime's continuous vio-lations of their rights.

Students' Black ParadeStudents from UP Diliman

headed by STAND-UP launched aBlack Parade last April 13 to op-pose Duterte's tyranny anddictatorship. Up to 500 studentsmarched to reiterate their de-mand to end martial law in Min-danao and the intensifying rep-ression by the Duterte regime'styranny.

Farmers protestFarmers' group Danggayan da-

giti Mannalon ti Isabela staged apicket against the planned GoldenRice field testing by Syngenta onchildren and pregnant women inBarangay Malasin, San Mateo. Thegroup likewise criticized the immi-nent commercialization of the saidrice variety in Isabela. Syngenta'sGolden Rice is a genetically mo-dified rice variety by the foreignagro-industry company beingpeddled for commercial cultivationin different parts of Asia.

Meanwhile, in Naga City, Ca-marines Sur, the Kilusang Mag-bubukid ng Bikol (KMB) held a fo-rum last March 21 to expose theill effects of Golden Rice to thepeople.

After the forum, KMB re-la-unched their campaign againstthe field testing of the said ricevariety. KMB's Ka Bert Autorquestioned the renewed GoldenRice field tests in other parts ofthe country despite thegovernment agreeing in 2013 toend these.

Workers protests

against contractualizationUS troops arrive in thecountry for Balikatan

ON APRIL 19, thousands of Ame-rican soldiers arrived at the Ma-nila Bay for the annual Balikatanexercises that will commence onMay 7. The exercises target ba-rangays in Tarlac, Nueva Ecija,Cagayan and Isabela for civil-mi-litary operations. Included in theactivities are “preparations” inlocal government units purpor-tedly for disasters and “extre-mist” invasion. Military troopsfrom Australia and Japan willparticipate in the exercises. USutilizes Balikatan to train AFPtroops in great numbers and di-rect its operations.

Previously, the US opened onApril 18 in Cesar Basa Airbase inPampanga the first military faci-lity under the Enhanced DefenseCooperation Agreement (EDCA).The aforementioned facility,which is misleadingly publicized asa "humanitarian assistance anddisaster relief warehouse," willactually be used to store militaryequipment and weapons. Philippi-ne officials have neither the aut-hority to enter nor inspect thesefacilities. Under EDCA, the US canstore nuclear weapons or relatedmateriél in these facilities withoutthe Filipinos knowing.

The push for new military ba-ses is part of the operationaliza-tion of the Operation Pacific Eag-le, replacing the Joint SpecialOperations Task Force-Philippineswhich permanently based US tro-ops in the country 15 years.

The bombing campaign of theDuterte regime during the MarawiSeige paved the way for them toreturn to the Philippines. Here,American troops blatantly playeda significant role in the regime’scampaign of suppression againstvarious armed groups, includingthe revolutionary movement.

VARIOUS WORKERS GROUPS vehemently condemned Rodrigo Duterte'srefusal to sign an executive order to stop "endo." According to the Kilu-sang Mayo Uno, Duterte wasted the workers' two years of negotiationswith him. The group said that the Filipino workers will not forgive Du-terte's deception in riding on their legitimate grievances. They pledgedto continue fighting for their rights to regular and decent jobs, es-pecially this coming May One.

ANG BAYAN April 21 , 2018 8

The AFP attacked a suspectedBangsamoro Islamic FreedomFighters camp in Tual, Paglat, Ma-guindanao. At the same time, a mi-litary operation was launched incommunities in Maguindanao. TheAFP announced that 13 BIFF forceshave been neutralized in firefightswhile nine have surrendered lastApril 9.

Earlier, troops of 2nd Mecha-nized Infantry Battalion shot deada Moro businessman identified asNasrudin Kadatuan after he wasaccused of being a member of theBIFF. Abu Misri Mama, spokesper-son of the BIFF, belied this state-ment. Mama argued that Nasrudinis a businessman and that even themilitary knows this fact.

This military practice is not-hing new. The AFP has long beenattacking communities and taggingresidents as members of an armedgroup to justify their harassmentand forced surrenders among civi-lians. Such viciousness is con-ducted in the name of “war on ter-ror.”

Not contented with the Marawisiege, the regime is now targetingthe BIFF, an armed Moro groupwhich advances the aspiration ofestablishing a separate Islamicstate. BIFF leaders and troops areformer members of the Moro Isla-mic Liberation Front who are dis-mayed with the agreement enteredinto by the MILF with the Arroyoregime in 2008.

With the objective of comple-tely defeating the armed group,AFP troops are now ravaging com-munities in Maguindanao. This ispart of the AFP’s OperationDarkhorse launched in January

2014 against the BIFF. This ope-ration was conducted in communi-ties of Shariff Saydona Mustapha,Datu Piang and Sultan sa Bagongisin Maguindanao and some parts ofPikit, North Cotabato and has re-sulted in the eviction of about35,000 individuals.

Since 2010, around 60,000 in-dividuals have been forced toevacuate by AFP offensives againstthe BIFF. Among these was theoperation launched in 2015 follo-wing the botched operation of theSpecial Action Force last 2015 inTukanalipao, Mamasapano, Magu-indanao. One of the other mostruthless attacks was the aerialbombing by elements of the 6th IDin Barangay Andabit, Datu SaudiAmpatuan, in retaliation to theMarch 2017 BIFF attack againsttheir detatchment.

According to Mama, civiliansare the ones gravely affected bythe all-out war being waged by thestate. He also condemed the ter-ror-tag on the BIFF and empha-sized that their struggle is just.

According to some Moro gro-ups, not less than 150,000 peoplehave died and billions of pesos inlivelihood and properties have beendestroyed in the past decades ofthe armed conflict. This has alsoresulted in widespread hunger andpoverty in the entire region.

Coveted wealth of theBangsamoro

The Duterte regime’s all-outwar against the Moro people is re-lentless in an attempt to subduethe armed struggle of the Moropeople. Upon the instruction of USimperialism, the AFP has persis-

Worsening military attackson the Moro people

tently mounted armed strikes aga-inst communities in the ARMM withthe objective of repressing Morogroups opposed to foreign conces-sions.

Among the areas targeted byinvestors is the 220,000 hectare-area covered by the LiguasanMarsh which extends up to NorthCotabato and Maguindanao. TheBIFF is active in these areas. In2011, a US embassy report wasexposed stating that 70% of mine-rals in the country, including natu-ral gas and oil, can be found inMindanao.

The Department of Energy alsoreported that the Cotabato Basin,where Liguasan Marsh is located,has 202 million barrels of oil andabout 821 billion cubic feet of na-tural gas, while 209 million barrelsof oil and 716 billion cubic feet ofnatural gas can be found in SuluSea.

Aside from oil, Malaysian busi-ness groups have also expressedinterest in investing $575 million toconvert 66,000 hectares of Ligua-san into oil palm plantations. Someparts of Maguindanao are alsotargeted for banana plantations.Moro ancestral lands are alsooffered to foreign investors.

Among those still being deba-ted under the BBL are its provisi-ons on the distribution of theBangsamoro’s wealth, including the75% profit from the tariffs and ad-ditional fees which will be imposedby the regime inside the provincescovered by the Bangsamoro.

But as with past regimes, Du-terte’s main objective is to mono-polize the wealth of Mindanao. Foralmost two years, his administrati-on failed to pass the BBL. Dutertemockingly uses peace negotiationsto pacify the MILF section while itruthlessly sows fear among theMoro people.

Last April 15, combined forces of the PNP and AFP attacked a suspectedBangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters camp in Tual, Paglat, Maguin-

danao. At the same time, a military operation was launched in communitiesin Maguindanao. The AFP announced that 13 BIFF forces were neutralizedin firefights while nine surrendered last April 9.

April 21 , 2018 ANG BAYAN9

Attacks of the fascist regimefrom Luzon to Mindanao

The US-Duterte regime’s armed forces continues to ruthlessly attack thepeople across the archipelago. These past few weeks, there have been

reports of an intense torture of a Lumad family by the military, illegal ar-rest of civilians in Cagayan Valley, and militarization in various towns ofCamarines Sur.

Threats and harassment. Anentire Lumad family was tortured,threatened to be killed, and forcedto admit that they are members ofthe New People’s Army by the mili-tary.

Last March 22, 2018 the familyof Rosalia Cahangan, 41 years old,“Lisa”, 16, and couple Jason andGiselle Cahangan, 22 and 19, werethreatened, harassed and torturedby troops of 8th IB at their resi-dence in Purok 5, Barangay Dalwa-ngan, Malaybalay, Bukidnon. Themilitary forcibly entered their hou-se at around 4:00 a.m., handcuffedand blindfolded “Lisa”, Jason andGiselle and mercilessly draggedthem out of their house. They werethreatened to be killed if they re-sisted arrest. Arresting soldiersshowed them no warrant.

The military suspected that theCahangans are members of theNPA when in fact they are mem-bers of Pigyayungaan, a local Lu-mad organization that activelydefends their land and ancestraldomain.

“Lisa” narrated that they werebrought to the camp of the SpecialCivilian Active Auxiliary (SCAA), aparamilitary unit under the 8th IB.All of them were blindfolded for 12hours. Male soldiers guarded “Lisa”and Giselle, who followed them eveninside the bathroom. “Lisa” waspunched in her face when she at-tempted to remove her blindfold. Asoldier pointed a gun at her whilewhile other soldiers threatened to

make her “eat the gun” if she wouldnot admit being an NPA member.

On April 4 and 5, soldiers re-turned to the Cahangans’ resi-dence and brought Rosalia to thecamp. She was interrogated andforced to sign a document underthe name of “Lisa” stating that she“surrendered”. The said documentwas notarized by a certain “Atty.Pabillon.”

Meanwhile, the couple Jasonand Giselle are detained in theSCAA camp.

The Cahangan family is amongthe families who evacuated fromtheir communities in Malaybalay dueto militarization and abuses both bythe military and paramilitaries.

Illegal arrest. The Duterteregime’s armed minions are ram-paging not only in Mindanao butalso in Cagayan Valley where theycontinuously abuse, threaten andendanger people’s organizationsand communities.

On February 18, 2018, fivepeasants dubbed as the “Ilagan 5”from Barangay Old San Mariano,Isabela were illegally arrested byelements of the 86th IB in Ilagan,Isabela. The victims identified asMauricio Sagun, 65; MaximianoDomingo, 44; Bernard Penaflor, 21;Ariel Penaflor, 49; and MarioTurqueza, 65 underwent intenseinterrogations and were chargedwith “illegal possession of firearmsand explosives.” The soldiers plan-ted a .38 caliber pistol and threegrenades in the belongings of the

victims.Sagun is currently detained in

BJMP Ilagan while the four are inIsabela Provincial Jail. The farmersare all accused of being members ofthe New People’s Army.

The detention of the five far-mers added to the list of Karapa-tan’s tally of political prisoners to501, 170 of them arrested underthat Duterte regime.

Militarization. Since March,military operations have been con-ducted relentlessly in the neighbo-ring barrios of Goa, Lagonoy, Ti-nambac, Siruma, Garchitorena,Presentacion and Caramoan andhave sown fear and apprehensionsamong the people of PartidoDistrict in Camarines Sur. With nospecific schedules, troops of the83rd IB, 22nd Echo Coy, 93rd DRCand Philippine National Police(PNP) enter and operate in thebarrios.

AFP and PNP troops spreadpsywar while launching combatoperations. They said that they willkill all supporters and those whointend to support the revolutionarymovement similar to what theyopenly did in Barangay Gubat, La-gonoy on April 9.

On March 21, while the militaryand police were operating, localgovernment employees were shot inSitio Tigman, Barangay Bagacay,Tinambac.

Elino Teope, Jr., Edgardo SanAndres and Nicolas San Agustin, allresidents of Bagacay, were woun-ded. The three are governmentemployees of Tinambac and arepart of Task Force Gantad thatguards all illegal activities thatdestroy the environment.

ANG BAYAN April 21 , 2018 10

Arrest of Australian nun, condemned

THE ILLEGAL arrest by the Duterte regime of Sr. Patricia Fox, 71, anAustralian nun, who has long been conducting community service in thePhilippines as part of her missionary work in the country, drew condemna-tion from the people.

54 EJKs in Mindanao—IFFM

THE INTERNATIONAL Fact-Fin-ding and Solidarity Mission(IFFM), conducted last April 6-9in various parts of Mindanao,proved that there are rampantcases of killings and variousforms of abuses against farmersand indigenous people perpetra-ted by the state’s armed forcesunder martial law.

This was the summary of thefour-day investigation in Minda-nao which was spearheaded bythe Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pili-pinas (KMP) and participated byvarious people’s organizations.

Among the 54 violations re-ported by the communities to theIFFSM were cases of extraju-dicial killings (EJKs) and frustra-ted EJKs, torture, illegal arrestand detention, trumped-up char-ges, threat, harassment, intimi-dation, forced surrender, and il-legal search and seizure.

The IFFM reported that thetargets of the counterinsurgencycampaign of the Armed Forces ofthe Philippines (AFP) are farmersand Lumads. They are accused ofbeing NPA members or suppor-ters and filed with trumped-upcases for their active participati-on in land struggles and affiliati-on in peasant organizations.

The IFFM also listed thecrackdown on people’s organiza-tions, including fake terroristlists, threats to people’s de-mocratic rights and curtailmentof basic civil and political rights.

The use of Army troops andmilitary deployment in communi-ties are clearly used to pursuethe interests of corporate plan-tations and other forms of envi-ronmental plunder.

Duterte straightforwardly ad-mitted that he personally orderedthe Bureau of Immigration to ar-rest and hold Sr. Pat last April 18for purportedly vilifying him. Beforethis confession, Malacañang was-hed its hands from the incidentamid criticism by human rightsdefenders and the religious sector.In defense, Presidential Spokesper-son Harry Roque apologized for sa-ying that the arrest and detentionof Fox was a mistake.

At around 2:30pm yesterday,April 16, six intelligence officers ofthe Bureau of Immigration went toSr. Pat’s house in Project 3, QuezonCity. The BI agents “invited” herfor random checking and verificati-on of her immigration papers andstatus. When they arrived at the BI

office, Sr. Pat was read the Miran-da Doctrine or her political rights,and thereafter arrested and detai-ned her.

Sr. Pat was freed on April 17after proving that her missionaryvisa was valid and that she has notviolated any immigration law.

The Communist Party of thePhilippines also said in one of itsstatements that those who defendhuman rights and the welfare ofpeasants and all others who areoppressed, just like Sr. Pat, arefriends of the people and areopenly welcomed in their homesand communities. It is the opposi-te of how they consider the brutaland fascist Duterte regime whichsows terror and fear in their com-munities.

US military aggression in Syriacondemned

More than 100 missiles were fired against Syria by the US and its allies,UK and France, on April 14. The attack was pretexted on US accusa-

tion that the Syrian government used chemical weapons on April 7 againstcivilians in the town of Douma, near the capital Damascus.

According to the InternationalLeague of Peoples' Struggle, theUS and its allies have proventhemselves to the world asaggressors of the most viciouskind. Under international law, theuse of military force can be jus-tified only as an act of self-defenseafter an armed attack by anotherstate, or, with the approval of theUnited Nations Security Council.

The ILPS condemned the saidattack as the supreme internatio-nal crime and the worst kind ofterrorism against the aggrievedstate and people. According to theorganization, the US accusation ofusing chemical weapons is made incollaboration with the pro-US gro-up White Helmets. This group isfunded by the US and its allies and

...continued at page 11

April 21 , 2018 ANG BAYAN11

cooperates with Nusra Front andother terrorist groups in Syriafighting the government of Basharal-Assad.

The US has yet to prove pastclaims of Syria's use of chemicalweapons. Its accusation that theSyrian government carried out achemical attack in Eastern Doumadefies logic, considering that theregion has just been recently libera-ted by government forces from re-bels and terrorist groups armed andfinanced by the US. In 2013, Syriahad disposed of its arsenal of che-mical weapons in a deal brokered byRussia and the US. On the otherhand, the jihadist armed groupstrying to overthrow Assad have beenproven in a number of instances tohave carried out chemical attacks ina clear attempt to provoke such ar-med aggression by the US.

In fact, the Organization forthe Prohibition of Chemical Wea-pons was in the country to investi-gate the supposed April 7 attack.Russia and Syria have asserted thatthe missile attacks by the US, UKand France were meant to sabotagethe investigation.

Civilians victims of bombingThe airstrikes intensify the

continuing war in Syria which star-ted in 2011. The US instigated thiswar, primarily by sending militaryadvisers, funding and providingweapons to groups opposed to theelected government of Bashar al-Assad. Because of intense USaggression, Syria sought the sup-port of Russia’s Vladimir Putin's inorder to defend the country. Thearmed conflict in Syria has takenthe shape of a proxy war betweenthe US and Russia, started by theUS and its allies. The US intervenedin Syria mainly to overthrow al-Assad and replace him with a leader

who willacquiesce toits dictatesand turn itsback on Rus-sia.

Around2,000 Ame-rican soldiersparticipate inthe war, inclu-ding US warpla-nes and battles-hips. To justify itscontinuous military attacks inSyria, the US used the pretext offighting ISIS. It is estimated thatby 2020, US expenses in the Syrianwar would have amounted to $1.3trillion. Aside from the US, Franceand the UK, groups fighting theAssad regime are likewise beingsupported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar,Turkey and Israel.

On the other hand, Russiaprovides major military support tothe Syrian government, the twocountries being allies since theCold War. Syria's air defense aga-inst the April 14 attack, which cla-ims to have intercepted majority ofthe missiles, were all provided byRussia. Iran and Lebanon alsoprovided soldiers and militaryequipment in support of the Assadregime.

In recent years, Syria hasbecome the launching pad andtesting ground of advanced wea-ponry from the US and Russia, suchas Russia's latest fighter jet, andthe US' newest missile which wasused in the said airstrike.

Most affected by these airstri-kes are civilians.

An estimated 110,000 civilianshave been killed since the start ofthe war in Syria. Also, up to 12million of the country's populationhave been driven away from theirhomes destroyed primarily by USbombings. In 2017, more than

"Agression...," from page 10

8,000 civilians were killed throughdifferent types of explosives. This is55% higher compared to 2016.

Syria tops the countries withthe most number of civilians killedby bombings. An average of sevencivilian casualties per incident wasrecorded in 1,750 incidents in 2017.From a total of more than 15,300casualties, up to more than 13,000or 85% of these are civilians.

According to a journalist groupfollowing the US war in Syria andIraq, 2017 is the bloodiest year forcivilians in both countries. Up to18,000 civilians were killed in US-led operations. From this figure, anestimated 6,102 were killed as aresult of airstrikes. Also, the num-ber of airstrikes and artillery fireincreased by more than 200%. From2014-2017, 65% of civilian deathsoccurred during the last year.

In the April 14 airstrike, Vladi-mir Putin warned of severe con-sequences to the attackers. Russiais intent on keeping its position inSyria towards the MediterraneanSea, and profit from the world'slargest natural gas reserves whichcrosses the country from Iran. Onthe part of the US, the Departmentof Defense stood firm that its troopsmust remain in Syria, and must bereinforced, despite having suppo-sedly defeated ISIS in the area.With imperialist interests rife in theregion, the US intensifies its in-tervention in Syria to the detrimentof civilians.