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Red-tagged individuals create their own classification (1)
It is amusing to read about individuals or groups protesting about being tagged as New People’s Army or NPA supporters, or even communists themselves. At least one of them filed a civil suit for damages against two anchors of a program in SMNI for allegedly tagging him as a communist sympathizer and his mother as a closeted communist. Red-tagging has become a whipping boy of leftist organizations and their sympathizers. The dwindling number of left-leaning party-list representatives who survived the electoral debacle of their comrades have become the mouthpiece. They have been regularly and constantly attacking the government officials who described them as supporters of the communist rebels. This protesting sector of our society has described red-tagging as “the act of labeling individuals or groups as “communist fronts,” “communist terrorists,” or communist sympathizers.” They have likened such acts to “McCarthyism” in the 1950s in the United States. The American Heritage Dictionary defines McCarthyism as “1. The political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence; and 2. The use of methods of investigation and accusation regarded as unfair, to suppress opposition.” McCarthyism is known as the “second Ref Scare” in the United States. It was an era of “political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of alleged communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and Soviet espionage in the United States during the late 1940s through the 1950s.” Joseph McCarthy, a Wisconsin Senator, started what appeared to become a national witch-hunt in the United States in the late forties and early fifties. He rose to national prominence in the US after an alleged three-year undistinguishable stay in the US Senate, after delivering a speech in Congress where he claimed to have a list of “members of the communist party and members of a spy ring employed in the US State Department.” As a result of McCarty’s speech, congressional hearings were conducted by the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities that led to the imprisonment of 10 Hollywood screenwriters and directors. Likewise, hundreds of their colleagues in the movie industry were placed on the “blacklist.” The so-called human rights groups in the Philippines claim that red-tagging is often done without evidence. A human rights alliance group, Karapatan, slammed the NTF-ELCAC for gaining “notoriety in the red-tagging, harassing and intimidating political activists and other government critics and for instigating mass surrenders of civilians alleged to be supporters of the revolutionary movement.” Karapatan alleged, “Many of the victims of NTF-ELCAC’s red-tagging campaigns had ended up arrested and detained on trump-up charges, while others have been killed by vigilante groups or in armed encounters staged by the military.” There is a whale of a difference between the red-baiting in the United States during the McCarthyism period and the so called red-tagging in the Philippines. For one, those who have been red-tagged, if they feel they have been unjustly classified as communist supporters or secret members of the NPA, can always resort to civil suits for damages, just like one of them did. Unlike the late Senator McCarty, the perceived violators of their human rights are not immune from lawsuits. McCarty was immune from being sued when he red-tagged suspected members of the communist party because he enjoyed parliamentary immunity when he delivered the red-tagging speech. The claim that those red-tagged by government officials led to their deaths is just a claim. The human rights groups have not produced any proof of that. As to those arrested and jailed, it only means there was probable cause for the crimes they have been charged with — hence, the courts issued warrants for their arrest. As to the claim of trump-up charges, there have been instances where the courts have dismissed those criminal cases filed against them because the prosecution failed to produce the quantum of proof required by law in court. They can seek judicial redress by filing malicious criminal prosecution against those who made up the false charges plus damages. (To be continued) The post Red-tagged individuals create their own classification (1) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
ASG member nabbed in QC
The Southern Police District on Thursday reported that its operatives arrested an individual believed to be a member of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group and listed as one of the most wanted in Zamboanga. SPD director P/Brig. Gen. Kirby John Brion Kraft narrated that the suspect — identified as Janhar Abdulhari alias Janjan or Julpikar Pendiwata — was arrested on 21 June at about 6:30 p.m. at Tierra Pura Homes in Tandang Sora, Quezon City. Kraft said that the suspect — listed as No. 7 Most Wanted Person (Municipal Level) and No. 5 (Provincial Level) of Zamboanga — was being hunted for a murder case and has been evading arrest for years. Operating teams composed of joint personnel of District Special Operations Unit of the SPD along with other units including the District Mobile Force Battalion, National Intelligence Support Group-NCR, Quezon City Police District-DSOU, 3rd Special Operations Unit of the Philippine National Police Maritime Group and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission joined forces to nab the suspect. The operation was conducted based on intelligence reports about the lair of the suspect in Quezon City. Initial reports showed that the suspect is operating under Kumander Wanning Abdusallam, who was killed in a joint military and police operation in 2016. The arrest warrant, issued by Judge Anthony dela Torre Isaw of the Regional Trial Court Branch 24 in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, was in connection with a murder case with Criminal Case number 1-8776. Meantime, National Capital Region Police Office director Maj. Gen. Edgar Ala Okubo lauded the efforts of the operating units for their professionalism and dedication to eradicating terrorism in the National Capital Region, as he stated that they will further intensify manhunt operations against wanted persons. In other developments, a total of 111 members of the Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army have surrendered to different police units in the Mimaropa region since January this year, according to Police Regional Office 4B director Brig. Gen. Joel Doria. Records showed that of 111, eight are listed in the periodic status report and the rest are alleged members, supporters and militiamen. Further, 53 of the surrenderers have turned themselves in since the assumption of Doria on 21 March this year. Among the latest surrenderers is “Ka Carlo,” a former member of Milisyang Bayan of Kilusang Larangang Gerilya Ignacio Calabria Magadia, SRMA 4D, ISLACOM, Lucio De Guzman Command, Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee, who surrendered to the personnel of 1st Platoon, 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company at 1st PMFC Headquarters in Brgy. San Isidro, Victoria, Oriental Mindoro on 19 June 2023. The surrender of “Ka Carlo” was through the relentless efforts of the intelligence unit of Oriental Mindoro PPO, in collaboration with the 203rd Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army, and other partner agencies under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. The post ASG member nabbed in QC appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
CPP’s guerilla fronts weakening, says NSC
National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya on Sunday disclosed that the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines — the New People’s Army — is already weakening. Malaya — who also heads the agency’s Strategic Communications Office — said that at least 75 percent of all NPA guerrilla fronts have been dismantled and only 22 out of the original 89 fronts are still operational. “When we say weakened, they are running out of barangays or a mass base. That’s where they get their strength, from the support of the villagers... The remaining 20 guerrilla fronts, some still have weapons,” Malaya said. He added that of the 22 left, 20 are weakened and the remaining two are the subject of focused military operations and development efforts by NTF-ELCAC agencies. “We are monitoring them to eliminate and arrest them. It doesn’t mean that they can’t attack anymore... Let’s expect that there will still be attacks, but their previous formation, when they could organize 20 up to 40 people, that’s already gone,” Malaya said. “The military was committed to ending things this year. They are very, very hopeful that all the guerilla fronts will be finished. We will weaken them and wipe them out eventually,” he added. Malaya also called on Congress to support President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s continued trust to the NTF-ELCAC with marching orders to “sustain the whole-of-nation approach to peace and development” to prevent communist terrorists, their front organizations, and other lawless elements from recruiting, regrouping, and regaining power. “P10 million per barangay is just very small amount that are given to the residents who chose on what should be to prioritize (road, classrooms or livelihood),” Malaya said. “He (Marcos) also directed the Task Force and the local government units to continue working together to seize the gains in the regions and ensure that we carry this momentum towards total victory over communist terrorism under his administration,” he added. The post CPP’s guerilla fronts weakening, says NSC appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Arrested CPP leader in Davao not ‘a terrorist’, groups and family say
While authorities hailed the arrest of Casilao and labeled him as a "communist terrorist," his lawyers and family decry this tagging......»»
The Tiamzons, dead or alive? (1)
A puzzling statement was issued that couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon were dead. It was not an assumption but a confirmation made by the faceless spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Marco Valbuena, on Thursday that their top-ranking leaders did not die from a sea encounter in Catbalogan, Samar but were tortured and killed by the military. Ahead of DNA test results on human remains believed to be the Tiamzons, Valbuena made a premature claim. Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., said the PNP Forensic Group has yet to release its official DNA report which is also being awaited by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Tiamzons were traveling with eight members of a guerilla group on a boat off Catbalogan City when they figured in a firefight with Joint Special Operations Task Force Trident and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on 22 August 2022. The military believed the group perished after their boat exploded. Human remains were found in the water in the succeeding days but were not identified. Who really are the Tiamzons? Benito, 71, National Democratic Front consultant, was the vice chairman, executive committee member, and political bureau member of the CPP–New People’s Army-NDF. Wilma, 70, was CPP secretary general and, like her husband, was a member of the executive committee and political bureau of the CPP-NPA-NDF. She was also NDFP negotiating panel national consultant and the National Finance Commission secretary. The couple were arrested on 22 March 2014 and detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Two years after, they were granted bail when the peace talks with the government resumed under the Duterte administration in August 2016. When the peace talks collapsed in 2017, the couple refused to surrender and went into hiding until a Quezon City court ordered their re-arrest in 2018. On 27 November 2020, Benito and Wilma were sentenced to up to 40 years in prison after being convicted of the kidnapping and serious illegal detention of Lt. Abraham Claro Casis and three other Army officers in Quezon in 1988. They were also ordered arrested for 15 counts of murder, issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 32 in Manila on 17 September 2017, in connection with the alleged 1985 purge in Leyte of communist rebels accused of being military informants, known as the “Inopacan massacre.” After running around headless since the death of its ideological founder in December 2022, timing is everything for the orphaned communist groups. Yes, everything happens at the perfect time. And, yes, the NDF’s 50th anniversary on Monday, 24 April is the perfect time. According to security forces, on occasions like this, CPP-affiliated organizations are expected to continue propagating issues and propaganda to portray them as still winning against the government and to expedite their recruitment of new revolutionaries. This is their strategy to portray the AFP as the primary violator of human rights in the country; and that the Philippine and American governments are conspiring to execute the apprehended terrorists. True enough, their digital spokesperson, whose face is always left to everyone’s imagination, announced that at the break of dawn on 24 April, all NPA units have been ordered to stand in formation and silently perform a 21-gun salute to pay respects and give the highest salute to the Tiamzon couple — their heroes for a day. (To be continued) The post The Tiamzons, dead or alive? (1) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest
The police and military also forced the victims to sign a document linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA), CEGP said. The post Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
12 Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest
The police and military also forced the victims to sign a document linking them to the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA), CEGP said. The post 12 Zambales youth activists released after Labor Day arrest appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
‘Randomized swab testing’ used to arrest 2 activists, youth group says
Alicia Lucena’s phone was then confiscated, denying her the opportunity to contact a paralegal or a lawyer. Bangayan said Lucena’s father arrived at the village hall, accompanied by a staff from the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. The post ‘Randomized swab testing’ used to arrest 2 activists, youth group says appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Teachers condemn arrest of Butuan City vice principal
"The arrest came days after the DILG release a memorandum tagging ACT and other progressive groups in the public sector as a communist terrorist groups." The post Teachers condemn arrest of Butuan City vice principal appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Teachers press for release of Butuan school official who had been red-tagged since 2018
A teachers' group hit on Thursday the arrest of one of its members in Caraga region over a charge which they said was fabricated and is a result of the government accusing her of being a communist rebel......»»
Farmer attacked, killed inside his home by terrorists
CAGAYAN — A band of terrorists killed a farmer inside his residence in Barangay Isca, Gonzaga here on Wednesday. PHOTO VIA LIEZLE BASA INIGO/ MANILA BULLETIN The victim was identified as Freddie Pahicniyon, 34, a native of Banaue, Ifugao and resident of Purok 7, Barangay Isca, Gonzaga, Cagayan. Investigators said that at about 5:15 a.m. on Wednesday, at least 10 unidentified terrorists in camouflage uniforms barged into the house of the victim and shot him several times causing his instantaneous death. The suspects fled towards Sitio Tagcar of Brgy. Isca, Gonzaga, Cagayan. Police Regional Office 2 (PRO2) Regional Director Police Brigadier General Crizaldo O Nieves said the murderous act of the Communist Terrorist Group is proof of their criminal nature and total disregard for the life and rights of other people. “I urge the public to deny support to these lawless groups and to immediately report to the authorities their presence in the community to prevent them from disturbing the peace and order in the region,” he added. Nieves assured the family of the slain farmer that they will hunt down the perpetrators and have them face the full force of the law. He directed Cagayan Philippine National Police Provincial Director Col. Ariel N Quilang to conduct a thorough investigation and manhunt operation for the identification and immediate arrest of the perpetrators. “They are no different from ordinary criminals. Hence, treat them as such,” Nieves said......»»
NPA terrorists arrested in Surigao del Norte
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Oct. 22 -- Two active members of the communist terrorist group (CTG) fell into the hands of the authorities following their arrest in Purok 1, Barangay Marayag, Mai.....»»
NPA terrorists arrested in Surigao del Norte
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Oct. 22 -- Two active members of the communist terrorist group (CTG) fell into the hands of the authorities following their arrest in Purok 1, Barangay Marayag, Mai.....»»
Security forces arrest four NPA rebels
Joint elements from the military and police in Negros Occidental arrested four members of the Komiteng Rehiyon-Negros/Cebu/Bohol/Siquijor (KR-NCBS), an affiliate group of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported. Troopers from the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion and Moises Padilla Police Station, acting on a […] The post Security forces arrest four NPA rebels appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NPA arms cache seized in Negros
Military operations against communist guerrillas on Negros Island on Thursday led to the recovery of an arms cache and the arrest of a New People’s Army rebel......»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS.....»»
7 nanlaban drug suspects dead after Baste Duterte declares drug war
Less than a week after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared a "war on drugs" in the city, at least seven drug suspects were killed during a buy-bust operation in the city — violence that highlights the seriousness of the mayor's recent threat of outright killing persons caught using illegal drugs......»»
CHR alarmed by war vs drugs in Davao City
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is alarmed by Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s “war against drugs”, as seven drug users were killed from different barangays in the city over the weekend, just a few hours after his declaration......»»
Revisiting Uniteam (Last of 2 parts)
THE Uniteam coalition of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, described by many political analysts as the "dream team", had come a long way since sweeping the 2022 elections......»»