Insurgency: Global Pressure

Recently the media has been captivated by the killing of two cousins by an NPA landmine. Their story has been covered in many stories even documenting their burial. But not all NPA crimes get as much coverage.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143794

Two police officers from Butuan City Police Office Station 4 (BCPO-4) were held at a gunpoint, hogtied, and killed by 10 armed men believed to be members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

Brig. Gen. Romeo M. Caramat Jr., Police Regional Office Caraga director, identified the slain police officers as Police Executive Master Sergeant (PEMS) Sherwin Roy Cajutol and Corporal Nazar Libot.

“They were dispatched in Sitio Tagulaje, Barangay Antongalon, Butuan City at around 6 a.m. on Tuesday (June 15) to conduct follow-up intelligence operation when attacked by NPA rebels,” Caramat said in a statement Tuesday.

He added that BCPO-4 received information last week on the plan of the NPA rebels to attack the farm of Col. Canilo Fuentes, the former chief of BCPO.

“The two police officers were held at gunpoint, hogtied and dragged by the NPA rebels towards the nearby farm of Col. Fuentes. Inside the farm, the rebels mercilessly shot and killed the two police officers,” Caramat said.

The NPA rebels also carted away the issued short firearms of the slain police officers, he added.

“We slam this atrocity that claimed the lives of our police officers. What the NPA showed was a blatant arrogance and disregard to the value of human life,” Caramat said.

That is a very atrocious act of violence agains two policemen. The details are also of the kind that would certainly attract readers and the nature of the crime lays bare the viciousness of the NPA. So why did this story not get as much coverage as the killing of the Absalon cousins. Maybe the media recognizes that the PNP are legitimate targets in the NPA's revolution while the Absalon cousins were innocent civilians? Probably not. 

Last week I wrote that the killing of the Absalon cousins seemed to mark a turning point the 52-year old insurgency. I am not the only one to think that. 

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/15/news/national/task-force-eyes-global-pressure-for-dutch-to-deport-joma/1803212

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) will seek global pressure to push the Dutch government to deport Jose Maria "Joma" Sison to the Philippines to make him pay for the crimes committed by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army, particularly violations of the International Humanitarian Law.

Undersecretary Severo "Nonoy" Catura, task force spokesperson on the peace process, human rights and international engagements, said the government will bring the matter to the United Nations, which is slated to meet this week.

The move comes a week after the killing of Keith Absalon and his cousin who died when NPA rebels exploded an anti-personnel mine in Masbate.

The task force said the NPA violated the Anti-Personnel Mine (APM) Treaty Convention signed in 1997 that bans the use of such weapons "especially by terrorist groups."

"All European nations, including the Netherlands, have ratified and acceded to this (banning of APM)," Catura said in a briefing on Monday. He pointed out Sison is in the Netherlands supposedly for humanitarian reasons, but he is responsible for ordering the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) to carry out attacks using APMs against government troops and civilians.

Catura said the death of Absalon and his cousin might serve as the key for global pressure to bring back Sison to the country to answer for his heinous crimes.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy, NTF-Elcac spokesperson for Social Media Affairs and Sectoral Concerns, called on the removal of the Makabayan bloc to end its misrepresentation in the House of Representatives for being the "mouthpiece of Sison."

Members of the bloc are representatives of Bayan Muna, Kabataan Partylist, Act Teachers Partylist and Gabriela.

"They continue their classic lies by pretending to condemn what had happened to push the government to negotiate for another round of peace talks," Badoy said.

"They ought to resign, and Joma ought to be brought home to answer for their crimes," she added.

"For as long as the Makabayan bloc and the CPP-NPA-NDF are still in Congress, and for as long as Joma Sison is being harbored by the Netherlands, they are harboring the head of a terrorist organization," Badoy said.

Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., commander of the South Luzon Command said the dwindling numbers of terrorist rebels was the main reason why APMs are being used "to show they (NPA) still exist."

There's a lot to breakdown in this article. First of all the NPA has been using landmines or APM's for decades. The 1997 treat regarding APMs is also known as the Ottawa Treaty. Why would the NPA care about this treaty? They are not signatories to it but guess who else is not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_the_Ottawa_Treaty

The USA, Russia, and China, along with 32 other nations, are not signatories. Three permanent members of the UN Security Council are not signatories to this treaty. The USA, in particular, is not a signatory because they have landmines all over the DMZ in South Korea. 

The Clinton administration declined to accede to the Treaty under pressure from the Pentagon, which was concerned with the strategic importance of landmines along the Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ) between North and South Korea. The United States, in conjunction with South Korea, has deployed thousands of landmines across the DMZ to serve as a deterrent against North Korean invasion. Robert Beecroft, a State Department official under President Clinton, said that the United States would have signed the treaty if not for the issue of Korea.

https://hir.harvard.edu/all-mine-the-united-states-and-the-ottawa-treaty/

Interestingly Finland is looking to get out of the obligations of this treaty which their Minister of Defense calls a "blunder."

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/15686-joining-ottawa-treaty-was-a-blunder-by-a-peacetime-fool-says-minister-of-defence.html

“Finland’s decision to join the Ottawa Treaty was a blunder by a peacetime fool. By joining the treaty, Finland created a hole in its military defence capabilities that is useful only to the enemies attacking us,” he wrote in a blog on Puheenvuoro on Monday.

Why does the Philippines care about this treaty all of a sudden? They have a ruling from the UN arbitral court giving them the disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea but the Duterte administration refuses to press the issue because, as the repeat ad nauseam, there is no body to enforce the ruling. What body is there to enforce the Ottawa Treaty? There is none! Why go before the UN to pressure the Netherlands to deport Joma and decline to seek the same kind of international pressure against China to abide by the UN ruling? Surely the issue of China encroaching on Philippine territory and building military bases is more important that making sure an old man return home to face punishment for his crimes?

Second of all the NPA has never stopped using landmines so why would the government use this issue now to pressure the Netherlands to deport Joma Sison? Why haven't they done this before?

Thirdly, Badoy's call to boot the Makabayan Bloc out of Congress is just more of the same stunts the government has been pulling for years. If they have evidence against these people that they are indeed fronts for the CPP then they should show it and take them to court. But they have never attempted such a thing. Instead they lob accusation after accusation. It is simply not enough the Sison red-tagged them, as the NTF-ELCAC is fond of saying, but they need real proof. After all this time it appears they do not have any.

Fourthly, the NTF-ELCAC will have to prove that Sison is indeed pulling the strings all the way from the Netherlands. It is hard to believe that one old man thousands of miles away is directing day-to-day operations in the Philippines. Why not secretly meet with the government of the Netherlands, lay out their concerns, and put a tap on his phone and computer and find out exactly what his role is? Has the AFP even thought of that?

What would bringing Sison back to the Philippines accomplish anyway? Sure he would be brought to justice but it might enflame the NPA and cause more attacks. Why focus on that old man instead of going all out to destroy the NPA once and for all? When looked holistically what we see is the AFP chasing their tails. In 2018 Cebu was declared insurgent free.

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1010797

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), 302nd Infantry Brigade stationed in Carmen, Bohol, assures the public that Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor are insurgency-free.

"Generally, lahat ito remains to be insurgency free. Wala tayong established na politiko-military structures, yung CPP-NPA dito. Wala tayong mga regular NPA formations na nag ooperate at wala ding guerilla fronts na established. (Generally, all areas remain to be insurgency-free. We have no established political-military structures, the CPP-NPA, here. We have no regular operating NPA formations and no established guerilla fronts)," stressed Col. Ignacio B. Madriaga, Commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army.

“Ang insurgency natin ay grievance-based. What drives insurgency is the discontent of the people na hindi nasosolusyunan noong unang panaho,” Madriaga said the brigade continues its effort in maintaining peace and order in the three areas of coverage.

Alongside the brigade, the LGUs and ordinary citizens have taken the bulk of the responsibility in ensuring that Bohol, Cebu, and Siquijor remain insurgency-free.

However, Col. Madriaga clarified that while the areas are insurgency-free, they are not insurgent-free.

Insurgency free but not insurgent free. Why, when they are fighting a war, are they concerned with making these kind of meaningless distinctions which only confuse the real status of the conflict? Well, three years later there is a different story in Cebu.

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/382801/afp-not-discounting-presence-of-npa-rebels-in-cebu

The Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command is also not discounting the possibility that there could be members of the New Peoples Army (NPA) in the province of Cebu. 

Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, group commander of the 3rd Civil Relations Group-Civil Relations Service AFP issued the statement following a similar assertion by Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Engelbert Soriano a week ago. 

Martinez said there is still a possibility that there may be NPAs roaming around and looking for people to recruit in Cebu despite the secured environment here. 

However, he believed that Cebuanos have become wary of the rebel group after they have experienced the destruction of communities and witnessed the unnecessary loss of lives. 

He acknowledged that NPAs have the flexibility to roam around without carrying firearms and can also recruit but he said that the question remains, “do the people want or like them?” 

Martinez said this will always go back to the community but he believed that Cebuanos are peace-loving people and will continue to cooperate with the authorities. 

Talking about the recent Bohol encounter between the AFP and NPA, Martinez believed that the latter’s combatants are not actually from Bohol and are merely recovering there. 

Though he cannot ascertain as to how many NPA members are present in Cebu, Martinez assured that the figure is manageable and that they are making sure that the entire province is secured by government forces and the police. 

Maybe Martinez simply does not want to panic anyone, maybe be believes what he is saying. But nothing he says make sense. He says there might be NPA's ruling around Cebu but he does not know if so or how many. Then he assures the public that the number is manageable. But he just said he does not know how many are present! So he is lying at worst and overconfident at best when he says the figure, which he does not know, is manageable.

Then there is the encounter in Bohol. It is very doubtful that these men were "merely recovering there."

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141409

A high-ranking leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) and four other rebels died in an encounter with government forces in Cabacnitan village, Bilar town in Bohol on Tuesday.

A soldier was injured in the firefight, and is now in stable condition in one of the hospitals in Tagbilaran City.

A statement by the 3rd Infantry “Spearhead” Division’s (3ID) public affairs office said the soldiers from the 47th Infantry “Katapan” Battalion (47IB) were conducting a combat operation in response to reports of local residents on plans of the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) to “liquidate” known government supporters and personalities.

“While responding, the troops encountered more or less 11 armed members of the communist-terrorist group,” Maj. Cenon Pancito, the Army Division’s public affairs officer, said.

The government troops seized from the encounter site two M16 rifles; five .45 caliber pistols, a bandolier, three short magazines of M16 with 30 rounds of ammunition, six cellular phones, a laptop, a grenade, a hand-held radio, and various subversive documents with high intelligence value.

Pancito said one of the fatalities was believed to be the vice commanding officer of SYP Platoon of the CTG's Bohol Party Committee.

The operating soldiers said they encountered 11 rebels, six of whom escaped eastward.

Even if this group was not from Bohol they were certainly not there to "recover", whatever that means. They were there to wreck havoc. And if the AFP continues to handle the insurgency in the way they do the NPA will wreck havoc for years to come.