Insurgency: Army Educates Students

One of the tactics used by the AFP to fight the insurgency is education. Specifically going to college campuses and, not just removing subversive books, but educating college students on the dangers of being recruited by the communists.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172622

The Philippine Army’s 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion (91IB) has warned students anew against the deceptive recruitment of communist terrorist groups (CTGs).

In an interview on Thursday, Lt. Col. Julito B. Recto Jr., acting 91IB commanding officer, said the youth must take extra caution against the different strategies being used by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) to lure them to join their organization.

Recto said the troops have been conducting lectures at different schools and universities in this province to boost the youth's awareness of the infiltration of the CTGs into their sector.

“We will continue to intensify the information drive and dialogues with the youth to make them aware of the implementation of the goals of the National Task Force-Provincial Task Force-Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-PTF-MTF ELCAC). Also, we encourage the remnants of the Komiteng Larangang Guerrilla Sierra Madre (KLG-SM) to lay down their arms and surrender to the government,” Recto said.

Meanwhile, Capt. Roberto G. Apelado, acting civil-military operation officer of the 91IB, said it is their mandate to protect the students against the deceptive scheme of the CTGs.

On Wednesday, Apelado led the conduct of lectures to some 350 Criminology students of the Wesleyan University-Philippines in Maria Aurora town, this province to avoid being recruited by the CTGs.

He said the 91IB wants to create awareness among the youth and their parents regarding the indoctrination by the CTGs that tend to draw teenagers and young adults into activism and radicalism.

“Communist agents were showing videos of human rights atrocities to students in order to incite them to rebel against the government, including lectures on the issues of poverty, tuition fee increases, and among others, to agitate students and even those youth living in depressed and isolated areas who are vulnerable to false ideologies due to their innocence,” Apelado said.

He said the youth must not be swayed by the propaganda of the terrorists who only tell bunches of lies and deceptions.

Communist agents, we are not told who, were showing videos of human rights atrocities and lecturing on poverty in order to students in order to agitate them. The goal is to get them to join activism and radicalism. Note that these videos of human rights atrocities are not said to be fake. But from the sound of it the AFP is downplaying the seriousness of what is in those videos as well as the seriousness of poverty in the Philippines. They certainly have nothing to say about the US State Department reporting on numerous abuses by PH security forces.

https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/15/dnd-reacts-afp-mum-on-us-report-citing-numerous-human-rights-abuses-by-ph-security-forces/

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana challenged the United States government on Good Friday, April 15, to provide the details of the reports of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by state security forces in the Philippines.

In its 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, the US State Department confirmed that “there were credible reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses.”

“We question the State Department’s report of abuses by security forces. But since the State Department seems so sure of its facts, we challenge it to provide us with details so our Commission on Human Rights (CHR), a constitutional and independent body, can verify them, and if proven accurate, the perpetrators will be punished,” Lorenzana said in a statement.

“Absent these data, the accusations are nothing but innuendos and witch hunt. At worst, the State has become a gullible victim of black propaganda,” he added.

The report said that among the significant human rights issues include credible reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings including extrajudicial killings “by and on behalf of the government and non-state actors.”

You know, if the US continues to accuse the Philippines of numerous human rights abuses and it's all a lie and a witch hunt meant to smear the nation then why does the Philippines remain a firm ally of the USA? It does not make much sense to allow one of your best friends to slander you ever year. The report is long and comprehensive. I will not cite it here. It is a laundry list of the same problems everyone knows including unsanitary prisons, a corrupt judicial system, and encroachment on free speech. It can be read here.

Who would not get upset and think something must be done when confronted with the long list of abuses by the AFP and PNP.  Here is such a list. It is a fact that activists are routinely targeted and snuffed out by the PNP and AFP. Just last week two soldiers were convicted of the murder of an activist in Negros Occidental.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1584536/bacolod-court-finds-2-army-personnel-guilty-for-death-of-bayan-muna-coordinator

A Bacolod Court has found two Army soldiers guilty of the murder of Benjamin Bayles, Bayan Muna coordinator and a member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

In a decision made public Monday, the Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Branch 42 meted the penalty of up to 40 years imprisonment against Rafael Cordova a.k.a. Roger Bajon, and Reygine G. Laus a.k.a. Ronnie Caurino.

Bajon and Caurino were also ordered to pay the heirs of Bayles a total of P300,000 for civil, moral, and exemplary damages.

Bayles was shot to death on June 14, 2010, in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, by two men wearing helmets and sweatshirts on board a black motorcycle.

One of the witnesses, John Rey Mayongue, said they were on their way home when they noticed a motorcycle stopped by on the side of the road where they were supposed to pass. 

He positively identified Bajon as the first who shot Bayles.

His testimony was corroborated by another witness, a tricycle driver who was also in the area when the incident happened.

As it turned out, as early as April, there were soldiers inquiring about Bayles and the witness also identified both Bajon and Caurino.

Both the accused, who admitted being members of the Intelligence Division of the Philippine Army denied involvement in the killing.

In a not-so-stunning twist the original prosecutor on this cases, Benjamin Ramos, was red-tagged and assassinated in 2018 while having a smoke break.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/11/07/1866774/murdered-nupl-lawyer-was-red-tagged-earlier-2018

Lawyer Benjamin Ramos, who was killed in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental on Tuesday night had been red-tagged—labelled as a communist—earlier in the year, rights group Karapatan stressed Wednesday night.

In a statement, it said Ramos, secretary general of the National Union of People's Lawyers-Negros, was included "in what can only be described as a poster-hitlist" that was reportedly put up by police in Moises Padilla town, also in Negros Occidental.

According to a report on independent news site Bulatlat.com in April, the poster included the faces and names of supposed "CNN" — a government abbreviation for Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front — personalities.

The president's spokesman said, however, that "putting the blame of the slaying on the government by a group or by a member of Congress not only is reckless, (but) irresponsible and baseless as well."

Contrary to what the President's spokesman said not blaming the government, specifically the AFP or PNP, for this man's death is naive to the utmost extreme. How many times have we seen a list of alleged bad guys bandied about and then people on that list end up dead? Is that a coincidence?

https://www.bulatlat.com/2018/04/16/city-councilor-lawyer-activists-included-negros-town-polices-poster-reds/

A councilor of the northern Negros Occidental city of Escalante, a lawyer who has longed worked with peasant and human rights groups, and a number of current and former leaders of activist groups were among more than 60 supposed communist rebels whose faces were printed on a police poster.

The National Federation of Sugar Workers issued an alert with a copy of the poster it said was being pinned up by the police force of the central Negros town of Moises Padilla.

The alert was released Monday, the same day human rights groups reported the arrest in Tarlac of Australian nun Patricia Fox, NDS, a volunteer with the Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura, by Immigration officers.

At the top of the poster is the message, “CNN PERSONALITIES, if seen in the area, please text 09099191720.”

CNN is the acronym used by state security forces to refer to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Among the legal personalities whose faces are on the poster are Karapatan-Negros secretary general Clarizza Singson, Zara Alvarez of the Negros Island Health Integrated Program, UMA secretary general John Lozande,NFSW secretary general Christian Tuayon, National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers-Negros secretary general Benjamin Ramos, Escalante Councilor Bernardino Patigas, Julius Dagatan, Ronald Evidente, Ma Rina Amacio, Rogina Quilop, Lary Ocena and Anecita Rojo.

Out of the names listed here Zara Alvarez was assassinated, John Lozande was arrested but later had the warrant tossed for being faulty, Benjamin Ramos was assassinated, and Bernardino Patigas was assassinated while all the others have been harassed with death threats among others. 

In 2020 the LA Times even put out an article about the systematic killing of human rights activists. 

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-08-27/philippines-zara-alvarez-human-rights

By accusing human rights defenders of being communists, authorities are trying to equate advocacy work with terrorism — a process known as red-tagging that invites harassment and assassination. Calls for justice in the deaths of Ramos and other activists have gone nowhere.

“The key problem here is that state security forces do not make the distinction between loudmouthed activists in the streets and guerrilla fighters in the mountains,” said Carlos Conde, Philippines researcher for Human Rights Watch. “They know there’s a distinction, but they choose to blur it because they are convinced support for the [New People’s Army] comes from the cities and that people are being recruited and brainwashed by activists.

“These people targeted are not combatants,” Conde added. “They are not directly involved in the armed struggle in the countryside. Targeting them is a violation of human rights. They’re being pulled into this vortex of violence.”

Carlos Conde hits the nail right on the head. The PNP and AFP do not distinguish between "activists in the streets and guerrilla fighters in the mountains." The above cited education the AFP is giving to college students is proof positive. Caring about human rights violations and the poor is not only bad but it is coded language to signal that one is part of the communist movement to overthrow the government.

It's a lie. Just like the numbers given of those who have surrendered since 2016 are, maybe not a lie per se, but not exactly truthful either.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172443

Getting more communist rebels to surrender is among the greatest legacies under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Malacañang said Tuesday.

In a Palace press briefing, acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar announced that over 22,000 people linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) have surrendered and abandoned the local armed struggle since 2016.

“Kasama sa Duterte legacy ang pagbalik loob ng mahigit22,000 rebel returnees (Getting 22,000 rebels to return to government fold is among Duterte’s legacies),” he said.

I have analyzed this overblown number before and it's still ridiculous. The fact is in January 2016 there were an estimated 3,900 NPA rebels left. So, who are these 22,000 rebels which have surrendered over the past 6 years? In November 21, 2021 the AFP estimated there were about 3,500 actual NPA fighters remaining.

The NPA strength reached more than 20,000 in the 1980s. While the number has dwindled over the years, various administrations failed to realize their pronounced goals of crushing the armed movement. The military currently estimates the number of armed communist rebels at 3,500.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/11/29/21/43-npa-guerrilla-fronts-remain-active-says-afp

The Asian Sentinel nicely sums up the purpose of the inflated surrender numbers: propaganda.

A steady stream of new recruits has also been key to the NPA sustaining its campaign. Despite the NTF-ELCAC reporting the surrender of 20,500 rebels since Duterte came to office in 2016 – a figure overstated for propaganda purposes, which likely includes mostly family members of NPA fighters and ‘supporters’ of the movement rather than armed rebels – the AFP acknowledges that the NPA still has 3,500 fighters across at least 43 rebel fronts, with around 1,000 fighters based in the rebel stronghold of eastern Mindanao.

These estimates are broadly in line with the NPA’s strength over recent decades, which since the early-2000s the military has reported annually to be around 3,000–4,000. After suffering losses, the NPA retains the ability to replenish its ranks from the impoverished rural areas in which it operates, which economically lag far behind Manila and main provincial cities.

https://www.asiasentinel.com/p/maoist-rebellion-outlast-duterte?s=r

While eastern Mindanao may remain a rebel strong hold Zamboanga del Norte has now been declared insurgency free.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172653

Zamboanga del Norte is now insurgency-free after state forces successfully dismantled the last guerrilla front of the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in the area, officials said Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) of Zamboanga del Norte declared the province as such through a resolution approved Wednesday.

Nicolas said the last NPA guerrilla unit in the province, Guerrilla Front Big Beautiful Country, was officially dismantled on April 4.

“We have no more guerilla fronts or any entity in the province that is affecting our peace and security. The bulk of communist group forces had surrendered and are with us now,” Nicolas said.

On Wednesday, a peace rally participated by former rebels was held here in support of the 44th and 97th Infantry Battalions (IBs) under the 102nd Infantry Brigade.

Highlights of the activity were the mass parade, burning of NPA flags, sharing of testimonies by selected former rebels, and a pledge of allegiance to the flag and country.

Burning of NPA flags is how you know this activity was nothing but propaganda.

We also have another pronouncement this week that the war against the insurgency is on track to be finished real soon. By mid 2022 in fact.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1507944/afp-chief-says-military-on-target-to-crush-npa-by-mid-2022

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Jose C. Faustino Jr. has said that the military is on track in its mission to crush the communist movement by the middle of next year, citing the significant gains of  the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Faustino, who is set to retire next month, visited  troops of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) here on Wednesday, and led the demilitarization of 316 firearms seized from New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in various operations from February to December last year.

“Right now, we are on target,” Faustino said, referring to their self-imposed deadline of crushing the NPA by the time President Duterte bows out of office on June 30, 2022.

Faustino particularly pointed to the dwindling strength of the rebels in the eastern Mindanao region where he used to hold command as an Army official.

“Our enemies are getting weaker,” he said, adding that a similar trend is observed in other parts of the country that have the presence of NPA guerrillas.

It appears that Faustino is only talking about actual NPA guerrillas and not about the thousands of activists including the 300,000 to 400,000 the NICA claims have infiltrated the government. Even Duterte has not expressed confidence that the NPA will be crushed by July when he leaves office, calling the government's anti-insurgency efforts a work in progress. Even so, good luck.