Insurgency: Joma's Death 'End of an Era'

The death of Joma Sison of heart failure in The Netherlands is the single most important event regarding the insurgency to happen this year. Will his death mark the end of the insurgency once and for all? Let's take a look at what is being said about this momentous occasion. 

For former President Duterte Joma's death marks the end of an era. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1191139

Former President Rodrigo Duterte said the passing of Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), marks the end of an era for communist insurgency.

“His death certainly marks the end of an era, and it is my hope that with it, the end of insurgencies in the Philippines and the revolutionary movement that he has founded as well,” Duterte said in a Facebook post on Monday.

On Dec. 17, the CPP announced that Sison, 83, died after a two-week confinement in a hospital in the Netherlands.

Duterte said Sison is known for his radical ideas that affected the course of the country’s history and birthed a movement New People’s Army (NPA), that carries on up to this day.

“While Mr. Sison and I have had many disagreements – especially in the ways in which he chose to pursue and effect change in the country – I would like to believe that, at the end of the day, we shared the same dream of creating a better future for every Filipino,” he said.

The former president also urged the Filipinos to carry on the work of building a more harmonious and united country for the present and future generations.

“My sincerest condolences to his family and I pray that the Lord Almighty grants him and our country peace,” Duterte said.

Don't forget that JOoma was Duterte's mentor and said in 2016 that he represented the best chance at peace between the governemt and the CPP-NPA.

The DND claims with Joma's death the greatest stumbling block to peace is gone. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1706196/dnd-on-joma-sisons-death-greatest-stumbling-block-to-ph-peace-is-gone

The death of exiled communist leader Jose Maria Sison marks the end of the “greatest stumbling block to peace” in the country, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Saturday.

“The greatest stumbling block of peace for the Philippines is gone; let us now give peace a chance,” the DND said.

The DND added that Sison’s death is symbolic of the “crumbling hierarchy” of the Philippine communist movement.

“The death of Jose Maria Sison is but a symbol of the crumbling hierarchy of the CPP-NPA-NDF, which he founded to violently put himself in power,” the DND added in a statement, referring to the Communist Party of the Philippines, its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) and its political arm the National Democratic Front (NDF).

The DND however lamented that with his death, Sison was not brought to justice and to answer for his alleged crimes.

“His death deprived the Filipino people of the opportunity to bring this fugitive to justice under our country’s laws,” they said.

The Office of the Presidential Advisor on Peace expressed the same sentiments as the DND hoping that Joma's death means the end of the insurgency. OPAPRU chief Carlito Galvez Jr. also agrees with Duterte that the death of Joma is the end of an era. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1191002

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on Sunday said it is hopeful that the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison will put an end to the local communist insurgency which has largely stalled development in the countryside.

"With the death of Mr. Sison, it is our hope that it will also put an end to the local communist armed conflict that claimed the lives of so many Filipinos and pushed back development in the countryside," OPAPRU chief Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement Sunday.

He also noted that the passing of Sison marks “the end of an era in the nation's history.”

"It was a period largely defined by armed hostilities, which to this day, is still being felt by Filipinos, especially those whose lives were affected by the communist movement," Galvez added.

The CPP says despite the death of Joma the revolution will continue.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1706285/cpp-founders-death-not-the-end-of-rebellion

The death of Jose Maria “Joma” Sison is not the end of the revolutionary movement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said on Saturday in response to the military’s claim that the vacuum left by its late founder would deplete the half-century-old Maoist insurgency.

“Of course, the passing of Ka Joma is a great loss for the Party and revolutionary movement,” Marco Valbuena, the CPP chief information officer, said in a statement.“But like the children taught, guided and trained by their Great Father, the Philippine revolutionaries can stand on their own feet,” he said.

Valbuena was reacting to a post on Facebook by the Civil Relations Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines stating that the CPP, its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), and political arm, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), would be “greatly weakened resulting from the death of their founder.”

“Due to their leadership vacuum, a leadership crisis within the underground organization of the CPP will significantly affect the whole communist movement,” according to the post.

While there may be a leadership vacuum at the moment the PNP says they have eyes on 3 -5 people who could take Joma's place.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1707472/pnp-looking-into-3-to-5-names-that-may-replace-cpp-leader-sison

Will the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) find a new leader to replace Joma Sison?

The Philippine National Police (PNP) intelligence has indicated the CPP is looking into three to five individuals that may replace deceased Sison as its new leader, an official said Wednesday.

PNP spokesman Police Col. Redrico Maranan said the agency is still studying the names and cannot yet divulge their personalities.

(If I am not mistaken, we are looking at three to five individuals, but I am not at liberty to tell you those names because we are still studying them.)

The AFP says there is no one worthy to succeed Sison. 

https://mb.com.ph/2022/12/18/afp-no-one-else-fit-to-head-cpp/

For the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), there is nobody close to Sison’s caliber that is qualified to lead the CPP.

“No one of his quality,” replied Col. Medel Aguilar, acting AFP spokesperson, when asked by the Manila Bulletin on Sunday, Dec. 18, if the military is monitoring Sison’s possible successor.

“If they want, I offer myself so the government can save all their recruits and move them away from harm,” he quipped.

When news of Sison’s death reached the military, Aguilar said that the CPP “needs to have a good teacher and guiding light who will lead its members away from violence and destruction.”

In the Philippine Army (PA), the monitoring of the line of succession in the CPP is ongoing but Col. Xerxes Trinidad, Army spokesperson, said it will be “very difficult” for the communist party to find a new leader.

“We are still monitoring the developments on the ground. The CPP has its organizational structure and process on how they fill in the vacuum in their leadership. It would be very difficult for the CPP to establish its new leader given the successive neutralization of their core leaders down to their armed components,” Trinidad said in a separate interview.

But outside the confines of Camp Aguinaldo, rumors were aplenty as to the next leader of the CPP.

Names were floated such as Julieta de Lima Sison, wife of Joma; Luis Jalandoni, once a chief negotiator of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) during the peace talks; and even alleged communist leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, although the military earlier announced that there were indicators the couple died during an encounter with troops in Catbalogan City, Samar last August 22.

“Right now, we, at the AFP, do not see any problem that might arise after Joma died. In fact, their members and supporters are continuously declining and returning to the folds of the law. Even their combatants and members of their mass base and underground mass organizations are losing ground,” Aguilar said in a radio interview over dzBB.

Funny that the PNP and AFP do not seem to be on the same page on this issue. 

It is not clear yet where Joma's final resting place will be but one IP leader says burying him in the Philippines would be an insult.  

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1191385

Burying the remains of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison in the country would be a "big insult" to the victims of New People's Army's (NPA) atrocities, a leader of the indigenous peoples (IPs) in Surigao del Sur province said.

This was according to Datu Rico Maca, the Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) of San Miguel town, following proposal of Sison’s supporters to bring home his ashes in the country.

“I strongly disagree with their proposal to bring the remains of Sison into the country. It’s an insult to the families of the victims of New People’s Army (NPA) executions and killings,” Maca said in an interview Friday.

Marco Valbuena, CPP public information officer, said in a media interview on Dec. 17 that Sison’s remains or ashes should be returned to the country “in accordance to his wishes as a Filipino."

Sison had been on self-exile since 1987 in The Netherlands until his death last Dec. 16.

“I strongly disagree with their proposal to bring the remains of Sison in the country. It’s an insult to the families of the victims of NPA executions and killings,” Maca said in a phone interview on Friday.

As CPP-NPA leader, Maca said Sison was responsible for IP members who were "mercilessly executed by the NPA rebels in the past years."

Burying Joma Sison in the Philippines would certainly entail a lot of problems. Where would he be buried? How would the government prevent his grave from becoming a shrine? 

An odd take on the death of Sison came from Senator Jinggoy Estrada. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1706881/with-joma-dead-govt-can-intensify-efforts-vs-communism-estrada

The death of Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), gives the government a chance to intensify its efforts to end the communist armed struggle, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said in a statement issued on Monday.

Estrada noted that Sison’s death would not be the end of the CPP and the New People’s Army, but it could still weaken them.

“The government must take this opportunity to intensify the collaboration of different agencies, stakeholders, local government units, and even the general public in crushing the communist idea that drives the armed struggle,” Estrada said.

“It is the responsibility of each of us to safeguard the future of future generations and ensure that we achieve the elusive lasting peace,” he added in Filipino.

Estrada also pointed out that “efforts to establish a communist state have been nil” as communist numbers continue to decline.

Is this guy even paying attention? The AFP has been very vocal that the NPA has dramatically weakened due to their intensified efforts which include the work of the NTF-ELCAC as well as LGUs. It's like he is just spouting off to say something, anything. 

Joma Sison is dead but the insurgency is far from over. Remember the Makabayan Bloc has been tagged as a communist front, the NICA says there are 300,000 to 400,000 known communists who have infiltrated the government, and the government is still very concerned about recruitment efforts by the CPP-NPA. The death of Joma Sison is certainly a milestone in the 54 year long insurgency but the fight is far from over if the statistics of the government are to be believed.