Last week landmines placed by the NPA killed a young man and his cousin. This was nothing out of the ordinary as the NPA has used landmines for decades. However this particular incident has the potential of being a watershed or turning point in the 52 year war against the CPP-NPA.
First of all, after much cajoling over the years, the Makabayan Bloc has finally condemned an action of the NPA.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1443655/masbate-blast-makabayan-bloc-condemns-npa-units-military-action |
The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives called on the families of the victims of a landmine explosion in Masbate City to file a complaint as they condemned Wednesday the “military action” of a unit of the New People’s Army that led to the incident.
This came after the Communist Party of the Philippines and the NPA have taken “full responsibility for the tragedy” in Masbate and declared “deep remorse” for the “untimely and unnecessary” deaths of Far Eastern University football player Kieth Absalon and his cousin Nolven Absalon.
“We condemn the military action by a unit of the NPA in Masbate City that caused their death and injuries to others for violating international humanitarian law,” the Makabayan bloc–which is composed of Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat; ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro; Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas; and Kabataan Rep. Sarah Jane Elago–said in a statement.
“Our commitment to human rights binds us to condemn any and all acts that harm or kill unarmed civilians, non-combatants, and protected persons in situations of armed conflict,” the bloc added.
The lawmakers likewise urged the Absalon family to report the incident to the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC), the body that accepts complaints on the non-compliance by either the CPP-NPA or government forces such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) on the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
“Filing a complaint with the JMC will serve as an important reminder on the need for both the signatories to the CARHRIHL – the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) that represents the CPP-NPA – to always abide by the laws of war: all non-combatants, civilians and civilian populations should be spared and protected, so that there will be no more Absalons to be needlessly lost,” the Makabayan lawmakers said.
“We welcome the CPP-NPA statement acknowledging and accepting full responsibility and expressing deep remorse over the Absalons’ deaths. We look forward to a full and impartial investigation into the incident, and to the CPP-NPA’s response to any complaint to be filed against them with the JMC,” they added.
The Makabayan lawmakers likewise said that the Absalons’ deaths and the “rising number of CARHRIHL violations by the PNP-AFP” should compel the government and the NDFP to fully reactivate the JMC and “to reopen the formal peace negotiations and to fully address the root causes of the raging armed conflict.”
This is a highly duplicitous condemnation. They are not condemning the military action in and of itself or the NPA but they are condemning that the military action resulted in the death of unarmed civilians and non-combatants. Implicitly that means any deadly attacks against the PNP or AFP are not to be condemned.
Next they advise the family of the slain to file a complaint with the JMC (Joint Monitoring Committee) which takes complaints on the non-compliance of the CPP-NPA and government forces with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Then they accuse the PNP-AFP of committing a rising number of violations against the CARHRIHL and suggest the government and the NDFP should reactivate the JMC and reopen peace talks.
That is all problematic because, as Makabayan even admits, there is no JMC. So why advise the family to file a complaint with them?
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/790967/dilg-makabayan-bloc-deceiving-kin-of-masbate-mine-blast-victim/story/ |
The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Thursday slammed the Makabayan Bloc for urging the Absalon family to file a complaint before the Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) for the death of FEU athlete Kieth in a landmine blast in Masbate last Sunday.
In a statement, DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the JMC no longer exists as peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines has ended.
“The Joint Monitoring Committee was disbanded many years back. It no longer exists,” Malaya said.
“It’s unfortunate that the Makabayan Bloc is misleading the Absalon family who is demanding justice for the death of Keith and Nolven Absalon,” he added.
This misleading statement coupled with their blaming the PNP-AFP for rights violations, a classic tu quoque fallacy wherein one's opponent is discredited because of their behavior, caused DND Secretary Lorenzana to call their apology "half-hearted."
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143203 |
"Their comrades, the NPA, were caught in flagrante delicto (in the act) kaya no choice sila (they have no choice) but to acknowledge it. But their condemnation is half-hearted," he said in a message to the Philippine News Agency when sought a reaction on the progressive lawmakers' condemnation of the incident.
Also, Lorenzana slammed the Makabayan bloc for being silent over past similar atrocities committed by the NPA.
"There were hundreds of such atrocities committed by the NPA before and the Makabayan Bloc’s silence (was) deafening. Worst (of all), they impute them to the AFP-PNP (Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police)," he added.
The reason that they did not speak up is because attacks against the PNP-AFP are OK since they are enemy combatants of the NPA.
The second indication that this atrocity might be a turning point is that the CHR has condemned the CPP-NPA and demanded they turn over those responsible.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1444828/chr-tells-reds-yield-rebels-in-killing-of-absalon-cousins |
The commission said if NPA was “serious and sincere about taking accountability,” it should “identify all those responsible and surrender them to lawful authorities to face justice within the court system.”
The CHR said communist rebel leaders should go “beyond owning responsibility, offering indemnity and promising an investigation.”
“They should likewise be held accountable for all other crimes they have perpetrated in violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws since they began pursuing this armed conflict,” it added.
Though they have before, usually the CHR does not speak up on the atrocities committed by the NPA as they are not a police agency. Their mandate is to monitor the government and any of their abuses of human rights. That confusion leads some morons to ask dumb questions like, "Does CHR condemn Kieth’s murder or the use of APMs?"
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/opinion/pieces/438-does-chr-condemn-kieth-murder-or-the-use-of-apm |
The prejudiced of the CHR against the police and military oftentimes elicits doubts on its fairness and sense of justice. In July 2013, Sally Chua, a businesswoman from Quezon City was kidnapped but later rescued in Davao City by police operatives led by then Col. Bato dela Rosa. Three of the four kidnappers who fought it out with the law were killed. When the raw video clip that showed the dead bodies of the kidnappers in the aftermath of fighting was seen by CHR Chair Etta Rosa, she exclaimed: “...but this is murder”.
The CHR is not supposed to be friendly toward the PNP and AFP because those are the groups they are monitoring and with the PNP's long track of corruption and human right's violations such prejudice is certainly warranted. One could ask this guy, "Do you condemn the AFP's use of psy-ops and lies?"
This brings us to the third indication that this atrocity could be a turning point. The AFP alleges that not only were these two young men blown up but were shot afterwards.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/06/10/2104482/absalon-cousins-killed-npa-blast-were-also-shot-military |
"Our investigation shows that aside from being blown up, they were also shot," AFP spokesperson Edgard Arevalo said in Filipino over state-run People's Television.
Arevalo said they are now determining whether the two men were shot first or were first injured by the explosion and then shot.
Autopsy reports prepared by the Masbate City Health Office which were sent to reporters late Wednesday night said that the Absalon cousins died from blood loss due to gunshot wounds and blast injuries they sustained.
Kieth, 21, sustained a gunshot wound in the right eye, while Nolvin, 38, had gunshot wounds on his right shoulder blade and his thigh.
The older Absalon also had a “gaping wound” on the left side of his head “with brain tissues exposed.” They also sustained numerous wounds across their body, according to the autopsy reports.
One expert says a full autopsy is needed to determine whether or not these two men were actually shot.
Forensic pathologist Raquel Fortun told Philstar.com that Masbate City Health Officer Victoria Manalo only conducted an external examination on the bodies of the two men, when other procedures like X-rays should have been done.
“This requires a full forensic autopsy and crime scene investigation, a full forensic investigation,” Fortun said in an online exchange.
A full forensic investigation, she said, would answer a lot of questions surrounding the blast that killed the Absalon cousins last week, including if they were finished off by being shot.
“To finish the victim off, you aim for usual head and chest fatal shots. In this case, shoulder and thigh gunshot wounds? Report says gunshot wound near eye, but again, I ask what’s the doctor’s basis for identifying them as a gunshot wound,” she said.
Could the AFP be lying? Sure. These two men were victims of a bomb blast which means their bodies were mangled with all sorts of lacerations and wounds. A full forensic examination should be done on the bodies. It also does not make any sense. Why would the NPA blow them up and then finish them off by shooting them anywhere except the head? Why fire any finishing shots when they were blown up?
While the PNP, AFP, CHR, and others are imploring the NPA to give up those involved in the bombing the AFP says they already killed three men responsible for the attack.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/790674/3-suspects-behind-masbate-bomb-attack-killed-in-hot-pursuit-ops-military/story/ |
Three alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) who were suspects in Sunday's bomb attack in Masbate City were killed during a hot pursuit operations on Tuesday, government forces said.
In a statement, the Joint Task Force Bicolandia said the 9th Infantry Division and Police Regional Office 5 conducted the operation after residents reported about the presence of the rebels in Barangay Anas.
Around 5:30 a.m., the operating troops scoured the area and encountered at least 30 NPA members. The firefight lasted for 15 minutes until the rebels fled.
Recovered items were 11 M16 rifles, an M653 rifle, three M16 rifles, an M14 rifle, various war materials, and propaganda materials, the task force said.
Lieutenant Colonel Siegfried Felipe Awichen, commander of the 2nd Infantry Battalion (2IB), attributed the operation's success to the informants who tipped off the location of the communist insurgents.
How many men were involved if the AFP killed three and yet continues to call for the NPA to give up those involved? The Makabayan Bloc, however, denies this report saying the three men were only farmers.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/791134/3-slain-suspects-just-farmers-solon-seeks-probe-military-cries-propaganda/story/ |
Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate on Friday called for a thorough investigation on the killing of three individuals being linked by the military to last Sunday's deadly bomb attack in Masbate.
At a virtual presser of the Makabayan Bloc, Zarate claimed that those killed were farmers, citing information from their families. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the three, who were killed in an operation, were communist rebels.
(The military claimed that they were rebels but according to the families, they were farmers. They were tagged as among those behind the blast that killed the Absalon cousins.)
"Panawagan din natin na magkaroon ng masusing imbestigasyon [We are urging for a thorough investigation into the matter]," he added.
Were they farmers or were they NPA fighters? One group says yes and the other says no. It does not really matter. What does matter is that this event, the killing of the two cousins, seems to be a turning point in the insurgency. People are tired of it all. It's high time for it to end. 52 years is more than enough to wage a rebellion. But the onus is on the AFP. They'd rather give these men houses, money, and jobs than run through the jungles and mountains finishing the job.
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