ANGPahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas

Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

Engl ish Edition

Vol . XLVI I I No. 22

November 21, 2017

www.phi l ippinerevolution. info

It is all too obvious that the plan for martial law extension beyondDecember 31 is behind Duterte’s threat to consider the NPA asterrorists and simple criminals, and to crack down on the openprogressive mass movement. Mindanao martial law has long been run-ning out of excuses, as the so-called Maute/ISIS threat has long dis-appeared, and he and his military war freaks could not drumbeatenough noise of a “spill over.”

Duterte is too consistent in hisfascist bluster, even his tired excuseof the progressive left “conspiring”with the NPA, to constantly kowtowto the wishes of the higher echelonsof the US-controlled armed forces.He has resorted to name-calling andthreats so many times, in so many

forms, that the people have grownweary of his constant harping. Thistime, he even invokes his US mas-ters, in placing the NPA and CPP,"same as America, as terrorists."Emboldened by the recent Trumpapproval of his strongman rule, he isbent on eliminating all opposition,. . . continued on page 3

NPA offensivesin Luzon andMindanaoAT LEAST 14 military offensiveswere reported by various NewPeople’s Army (NPA) units toAng Bayan over the past weeks.

North Central Mindanao.The NPA-NCMR under the Mt.Kitanglad Subregional Commandambushed a PNP vehicle tra-versing the highway in Kilometer28, Tikalaan, Talakag, Bukidnonlast November 9. A policemanwas killed while four werewounded. Unfortunately, civil-ians riding a Toyota Fortunerfollowing the police car were hitaccidentally. A four-month oldchild died while her mother andanother companion were woun-ded. The CPP and NPA took fullresponsibility for the accidentand sincerely apologized to thevictim's family.

After the ambush, the NPAunit harassed the police rein-forcements in Kilometer 23 lastNovember 10.

Last November 12, a teamunder the South Central Bukid-non Subregional Command blas-ted two KM450 trucks of theDivision Reconnaissance Coy and8th IB in Barangay Salawagan,Quezon, Bukidnon.

On the same day, at 11 a.m.,a unit under Mt. Kitanglad Sub-regional Command set-up acheckpoint in Sitio Malagsim,Barangay Rogogon, Iligan City.Red fighters flagged down a mo-

EDITORIAL

Vigorously thwartthe threat of a martial lawextension

November 21 , 2017 ANG BAYAN2

Contents

of an amnesty.Duterte is wrong in thinking

that the revolutionary movementwill just roll over and surrender inthe face of his rants. He is wrong inthinking that the progressivemovement will be cowed with histhreats of a crackdown and massarrests. The people shall oppose asstrongly as they opposed his previ-ous plan of imposing martial lawnationwide.

In the face of martial law orany other form of open fascist rule,the democratic mass movementmust continue to strengthen itselfby arousing, organizing and milit-ant mass mobilizations. Appropri-ate methods of work and revolu-tionary organizations in the urbanunderground must be strengthenedto serve as backbone for the openmass movement. The guerrillazones are always places of sanc-tuary for activists whom the stateis targeting for political killing.

At the same time, the revolu-tionary forces must continue ex-panding and recovering guerrillazones, setting up revolutionarymass organizations, committeesand organs of political power inrevolutionary bases, developagrarian revolution and otherforms of struggle for the people’swelfare. Revolutionary massesmust be trained for organized re-sponse to aerial bombings andwidespread militarization in thecountryside. The New People’sArmy must address the intensifyingattacks of fascist forces by con-tinuous and increasing recruitmentand training, and carrying out anincreasing number and bigger tac-tical offensives.

The people will not tire of op-posing and fighting all schemes ofthe US-Duterte regime to place thewhole country under open fascistrule.

Editorial: Vigorously thwart the threat of

martial law extension 1

NPA offensives 1

Protests greet Trump 4

The state of Metro Manila workers 5

The progressive alternative media 6

22 activists arrested illegally 7

PLA-India launches offensives 8

Farmers unite against usury 9

Panay martyrs honored 9

Vol . XLVI I I No. 22 | November 21, 2017

Ang Bayan is publ ished in

Pi l ipino, Bisaya, I loko, Hi l igaynon,

Waray and Ingles.

Ang Bayan welcomes

contributions in the form of

articles and news items. Readers

are encouraged to send feedback

and recommendations for

improving our newspaper.

Ang Bayan is publ ished fortnightly by the Central Committee

of the Communist Party of the Phi l ippines

legal and otherwise. The people re-cognize these threats against therevolutionary and progressivemovement for what they are: toeliminate the strongest and mostconsistent opposition to his fascistrule, silence dissent against hisanti-people and pro-imperialistpolicies and further perpetuatehimself in power through one-manrule.

The fact is, he does not evenneed to issue this threat. Under hisorders, the AFP has been carryingout an all-out war since Februarynot only against the revolutionarymovement but especially against ci-vilian communities suspected ofsupporting the NPA. He followedthis closely with an order for theAFP to “flatten the hills” of suspec-ted NPA areas, and then proceededto flatten Marawi City through hismartial law declaration inMindanao. He has, time and again,announced that he will unleash theAFP’s military might against theNPA as soon as he finishes with

Marawi. Since coming into power,he has beefed up the AFP arsenalwith more guns, bombs and war-planes.

His wars of death and destruc-tion have spurred aerial bombings,shelling, strafing, political and ex-trajudicial killings, illegal arrestsand detention, resulting in thou-sands of people displaced, billions-worth of properties destroyed andmassive human rights violations.These have roused an increasingnumber of people to join protestsand pushed many activists into re-volutionary struggle.

The reactionary state has alsolong intensified criminalization ofpolitical dissent, charging both re-volutionaries and progressives withtrumped-up criminal charges anddetaining them for long periods oftime. Illegal arrests of civilians andactivists continue, even more afterthe formation of Duterte’s IACLA,and almost 500 political prisonerscontinue to languish in various jailsacross the country despite promises

ANG

instagram.com/prwc.official

youtube.com/PhilippineRevolutionWebCentral

@prwc_info

fb.com/philrevwebcentral

cppinformationbureau@gmail.com

ANG BAYAN November 21 , 2017 3

torcycle with three soldiers. In-stead of halting, the soldiers firedat the NPA, starting a fight thatresulted in the death of a soldierand wounding of another.

Northeastern Mindanao. LastNovember 13, 1:30 p.m., Police Of-ficer 2 (PO2) John Paul Doverte andPO2 Alfredo Degamon were arres-ted by members of the NPA-NEMRin Barangay Badas, Placer, Surigaodel Norte on cases of extortion andpeddling illegal drugs.

On November 9, the NPA am-bushed a column of Special ForcesBattalion (SFB) in Sitio Bakilawan,Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur. TheSFB was ambushed again the nextday and a two-hour firefight en-sued. A Red fighter was martyred,while enemy casualties were innu-merable.

On November 8, Red fightersattacked a team from the SFBoperating in San Roque, Kitcharao,Agusan del Norte. 2Lt. Maurice Sa-lavia Caballero and another soldierwere killed in action.

Last November 7, the NPA har-assed an SFB and Bagani Forcescolumn. The AFP retaliated bysending aerial support. Some sol-diers and paramilitary were killed,including Marcos Belandres, one ofthose who massacred the Lumadleaders in Alcadev last 2015. Sever-al soldiers were wounded.

Last November 6, Red fightersambushed CAFGU elements in Sitio

Logdeck, Brgy. San Isidro, Lianga,Surigao del Sur. They seized two M-16 rifles, one Garand, and one car-bine. Three CAFGU members werekilled and one was wounded.

Ilocos-Cordillera Region. LastNovember 18, an NPA unit underBHB-Abra (Saulo Lumadao Front)harassed the operating unit of 24thIB in Barangay Danac, Boliney,Abra.

A unit under BHB-Ilocos Sur(Benguet-Abra-Mountain Province-Ilocos Sur Command) harassedthe 81st IB in Barangay Patiacanlast October 15. This resulted inthe death of a soldier and injuryof another. The AFP unit was har-assed earlier in Barangay Patun-gcaleo on October 9. The jointforces of 81st IB, PNP-RPSB andCAFGU have been occupying thebarangays of Lamag, Patungcaleo,Patiacan and Legleg in Quirino,Ilocos Sur since September.

The assault on the CommunitySupport Program Team in Patung-caleo and Patiacan is part of theNPA's support for the struggles ofthe people of Quirino and Cervantesagainst the plunder of mining com-panies and of AFP and PNP fascisttroops.

Last November 12, Red fightersunder the NPA-Abra (Agustin Beg-nalen Command) assaulted soldiersfrom the 24th IB between BarangayBeew and Kili in Tubo, Abra. Threesoldiers were wounded. The next

day, the NPA unit targeted twohelicopters, hindering the military'ssupply support for the operatingtroops in the area.

These military actions serve aswarning to plans of land grabbingand entry of foreign projects underDutertenomics. The towns of Tubo,Manabo, Luba, Boliney, Bucloc,Daguioman, Sallapadan and Licuan-Baay are part of the Pan PacificRenewable Power Philippine Corp.project for geothermal energywhich covers at least 49,000 hec-tares of ancestral land of the Ting-guian tribe.

Bicol. The NPA-Masbate (JoseRapsing Command) ambushed agroup of the Provincial Operationfor Socio Economic DevelopmentAgainst Crime (POSDAC) last Octo-ber 31, because of their anti-peopleactivities. The Red fighters confis-cated an M16 rifle, a caliber .357pistol and ammunition.

Criminal cases were filedagainst POSDAC in the people'scourt, including extortion of smallfishermen. If the fishermen fail togive the amount set by POSDAC,their boats are confiscated. If theycannot put up the amount for re-covering their boats, these aretorched by the POSDAC. There wasan incident when even a reservepropeller, 870 liters of crude oil, 14tubs of fish, P8,000 in cash andcellphones were taken forcibly bythe POSDAC.

"NPA offensives. . . , " from page 1

November 21 , 2017 ANG BAYAN4

These rallies conveyed theFilipino people's anger overASEAN's neoliberal agenda and theUS militarist presence in the region.The rallies were led by national-democratic organizations under theBagong Alyansang Makabayan(Bayan).

On the day of the ASEAN Sum-mit, the rallyists marched to thePhilippine International ConventionCenter where the summit was beingheld. They were still a long wayfrom the area when they wereblocked by the police and dispersed.They were bombed with water can-nons and an LRAD (Long RangeAcoustic Device), a machine whichemits a noise destructive to humanhearing, was deployed againstthem. Around 50 activists were hurtbut the rallyists stood their ground.At the end of their program, theyburned a large effigy symbolizingthe Duterte regime's puppetry andfascism.

The next day, they marched toMendiola to condemn the ongoingEast Asia Summit. Despite Trumpcalling this meeting as the “mostimportant day” of his visit, he didnot attend the summit and flew outof the country by 3 p.m.

Prior to this, from November 9-12, different sectors marched to theUS embassy. They were blockedeverytime by thousands of policepersonnel and fire trucks to preventthem from getting near the em-bassy. On November 11, Anakbayanmembers managed to slip throughthe police cordon and were able toget close to the CCP Complex. Thefollowing day, police violently dis-persed the rallyists, usingtruncheons and water cannons,

hurting around 20 activists.On November 8, the rallyists

marched to Mendiola to denouncethe P15.5 billion expenses for theASEAN party. Led by Kadamay, theywere joined by urban poor residentsfrom Manggahan Floodway in Pasigwho have encamped in the areaafter their community was demol-ished last October.

On November 7, KADAMAYmembers discussed the effects ofASEAN on their sector and on thecountry on the occasion of their19th founding anniversary. Around10,000 Kadamay members gatheredin Pandi, Bulacan for the occasion.

On the said dates, various act-ivist groups also launched otherprotests. These included pickets infront of the Trump Tower in Makatiand in front of the Department ofAgrarian Reform on November 10.On November 11, Migrante mem-bers picketed in front of the De-partment of Labor and Employmentoffice to condemn the lack of jobsinside the country and the state'slabor export policy.

In Central Luzon, hundreds ofBayan membersrallied at theClark Inter-national Air-port in Pam-panga to greetarrivingASEAN visitorson November 12.Another rally washeld in the Uni-versity of the Phil-ippines-Los Baños.

In Mindanao, mem-bers of the League ofFilipino Students led a picket

inside the Mindanao State Uni-versity-Marawi on November 11.On November 14, another rally washeld by Bayan-SMR in Davao City.

Yolanda survivors protests.Led by People Surge, more than9,000 survivors of typhoon Yolandarallied in Tacloban City, and in thecities of Catbalogan and Catarmanin Samar on November 8. That day,soldiers blocked the rallyists inCatarman. Soldiers also blockedsome rallyists at their checkpoint inPalapag. The previous day, ele-ments of the 87th IB gathered res-idents in Calbiga and ordered themnot to join the rallies.

Thousands of Panayanon alsorallied in Estancia, Iloilo onNovember 9 to condemn the US-Duterte regime's inutility to resolvethe lack of housing and decent jobsin the province.

Protests on the 13th an-niversary of the Hacienda Luisitamassacre. Hundreds of farm work-ers under the AMBALA joinedprotests in front of the haciendagates on November 16. Before this,police arrested AMBALA presidentFlorida Sibayan and detained herfor two days on trumped-up crim-inal charges. She was released onNovember 16 evening after mem-

bers of Bayan and KMP-Cent-ral Luzon picketed in

front of Camp Gen.

Series of protests greet Trump

A series of protests greeted US president and chief imperialist DonaldTrump on his Philippine visit for the ASEAN Summit last November 12.

. . . continued on page 5

ANG BAYAN November 21 , 2017 5

Macabulos where she was jailed.Lumad, Tumandok and Moro

actions. On November 16, Lumadchildren under the Save Our SchoolsNetwork set up camp in front of theDepartment of Education in Pasig tocondemn the department's inutilityagainst the military's destructionand encampments in their schools.

In Panay, Tumandoks protestedin front of the National IrrigationAdministration office on November18 to reject the construction of amega dam in the hinterlands ofTapaz, Capiz. The project, worthP25 billion, falls under the PanayRiver Basin Integrated DevelopmentProject and is part of the regime's"Build, Build, Build" program.

Kalinaw Mindanao, together

with the Interfaith HumanitarianMission held a picket in Iligan Cityon November 17 to condemn thecontinuing imposition of martial lawin Mindanao and the plan to extendit up to next year.

Workers actions. Workers ofSumifru and Musahamat Farmspicketed in front of the company of-fice on November 20 to condemn itsuse of the poisonous chemicalFlouzinam which has caused illnessamong the workers.

On the same day, workers fromWyeth (Sama-Ako KMU) picketed infront of the Court of Appeals in Ma-nila City to condemn the court's de-cision favoring the company againstregularizing its contractuals. Wyethis a producer of infant formula and

medicines.On November 16, residents

from Purok 24, Talisay, BarangayBucana in Davao City launched aprotest, together with Kadamay, toresist moves by DM Consunji In-corporated to drive them away.Around 300 families have been liv-ing in the area for more than 30years and they have twice receivednotices to vacate the area.

US protests. While Trump wasin Asia, Filipino-Americans launcheda series of protests in the US.Members of Bayan-USA held picketsin the cities of Boston, New Yorkand Philadelphia against Trump'santi-immigrant policies, includinghis plan to build a wall at the Mex-ican border.

The state of Metro Manila workers

During the recently-concluded ASEAN Summit, workers from Metro Ma-nila (National Capital Region or NCR) were among the thousands whoprotested against the capitalist shindig and US imperialist chief DonaldTrump's visit. For decades, Filipino workers have suffered the effects of neo-liberal policies instituted in unequal agreements which the ASEAN and othertrade formations have pushed. The workers in the national capital bear thebrunt of these policies, as they work in the commercial, financial and indus-trial center of foreign companies and the local bourgeoisie.

NCR is the smallest but thedensest of all regions in the country.Around 12 million Filipinos residehere, where density is at 19,000people per square kilometer. In thepast year, it has overtaken Mumbaias the densest city in Asia. In ManilaCity alone, density is at 66,000people per square kilometer.

As the center, NCR provides athird (36%) of the country's GDP.The bulk of its GRDP (gross regionaldomestic product) is from the servicesector (83%). Though lower than theservice sector, industrial productsfrom the region is still the highest invalue added compared to other re-gions. NCR factories produce elec-tronics, as well as clothing, food andbeverages and various chemicals.

More than 22% or 212,000 busi-nesses and industries in the country

are based in Metro Manila. Thirty-five percent of industries and 38%service companies are in NCR andCalabarzon. A large number (44%)of big companies (with 20 and upworkers) are found in the region. Inthe past decade, most of these werein sales and services, followed bymanufacturing, hotel and restaur-ants and support services.

For now, the region has thesecond highest working population(9.1 million), second to Calabarzon(9.8 million). But the labor forceparticipation rate here is only at60% or about 5.4 million residents.Employment rate is supposedly at92% while the unemployment rate isat 8% and underemployment at7.4%. Around 60% of those unem-ployed are men. Like in other partsof the country, around half of the

employed are in the informal sector.

Compared to the national aver-age, unemployment rates in MetroManila are almost always higher.More than half of those out of workhere are young workers. Urban poorcommunities have the largest num-ber of the unemployed (40%). In thepast two decades, about half of thethousands of retrenched workerscame from NCR. Their numberswere highest during the time whenfactories relocated to export pro-cessing zones outside Metro Manila.

By 2016, most NCR workers(24%) work in wholesale and retailtrade where almost all workers arenever regularized. Next are in ad-ministrative and other support ser-vices, manufacturing, constructionand transportation and storage at9% each. On types of work, 20% arein sales and services, and 18% aremanagers, but there remains a largenumber of industrial workers in theregion (17%) who work as machineoperators and assemblers.

NCR workers' rights to unionize,collectively bargain for wages and

. . . continued on page 6

November 21 , 2017 ANG BAYAN6

benefits and security of tenure arecontinually attacked. From the 1990sup to the 2000s, capitalists man-euvered relentlessly to break up thebiggest unions of country's moststrategic companies which are basedin the region. These include SanMiguel Corporation, Philippine Air-lines, PLDT, Nestle, SM and other bigfactories. This was done in tandemwith widespread lay-offs of regularand unionized workers, replacingthem with contractuals and signinginto law anti-union and anti-strikepolicies to ensure that the workerswill not be able to reorganize. Thus,the number of unionized workersshrank by the year, from 2,778,000union members in 1998, to only1,068,000 by 2012.

NCR's minimum wages have al-ways been bandied as the highest inall of the regions. This October,wages for large companies were atP512 after the state granted a P21-increase while wages in micro com-panies remained at P475. However,less than a million workers will ac-tually benefit from the wage in-crease as most establishments hereare categorized as micro. Addition-

ally, almost half (44%) of the com-panies do not pay their workers theminimum.

In the past decade, real wagesremained static, or even fell, despitethe small increases in the nominalwage (an average of P15/year since2007). Nominal wages in June stoodat P491 but real wages were only atP354 due to high inflation rates. Thisis even far lower compared to thefamily living wage which is pegged atP1,141 this year.

Worse, the region is now underthe two-tier wage system. NCRwages are now based on the “floorwage” which is set by a povertythreshold arbitrarily decided on bythe state. In 2016, floor wages inMetro Manila were at P10,276/month per family of five, or P68.51/day per individual. This amount issupposedly enough to pay for food,education, transportation, commu-nication and other needs of a familyof five.

An estimated 40% of all wageworkers live in urban poor com-munities where sanitation, waterand electricity services are in badshape. According to a study by the

Metro Manila Urban Service for thePoor, there are around four millionpeople living in these communitiesin 2015. This number is estimatedto increase to six million in 2020.These communities are always indanger of demolition to give way tobuildings of big compradors andpublic infrastructure projects.

In the face of these attacks andhardships, NCR workers have neverstopped in their struggles to de-mand decent jobs and just wages,humane working conditions andtheir right to a union and CBA.Their involvement in the anti-ASEAN protests is just a part oftheir continuing struggle.

The progressive alternative media and fakenews in the time of Duterte

During the ASEAN Summit and even earlier, paid pro-Duterte bloggersmultiplied and went full-scale in attacking political enemies of the re-gime. These include bloggers Sass Sasot and RJ Nieto, as well as Mocha Uson,the regime’s appointee to the Office of Presidential Communications. Sasoteven grabbed the scene last November 13 when she confronted a reporter ofthe British Broadcasting Corporation after the channel aired an interviewwith an anti-Duterte blogger.

Even during the last campaignfor the presidential elections,Duterte’s camp had already beenactively employing such types ofbloggers and thousands of other paidtrolls to make Duterte popular andattack his rivals.

Coming from the statement ofno less than a troll from theDuterte-Cayetano social mediacampaign team, part of their jobwas to create fake websites and

social media accounts for this pur-pose. They produce tons of ac-counts in sites such as Facebookwhereupon they generate discus-sions regarding primary social is-sues. Most of those managing theseare professional public relationsconsultants. Since the campaignperiod till the present, they func-tion as political operators whosemain task is to divert public atten-tion away from the regime’s un-

pleasant actions, and influence andconvince the people on Duterte’s“effective leadership.” Aside fromUson, they are formally employed as“consultants” of government agen-cies and receive salaries of up toP60,000/month.

These operators slyly manipu-late information and legitimatenews. In so many occasions, theyresort to cursing and threats, car-rying out hate campaigns in order tocall attention and underscore theiruntruths. Whenever confronted bylegitimate arguments, their re-sponses are oftentimes rude andpointless. They claim victorywhenever their opinions and fakenews appear on traditional media.

ANG BAYAN November 21 , 2017 7

22 activists arrested illegally

On the evening of November 20,nine members of a fact-finding mis-sion to Barangay Utod, Nasugbu,Batangas were stopped and illegallyarrested by elements of the 730thCombat Group and the Batangaspolice upon allegations that theywere members of the NPA. Theywere identified as Leonardo delosReyes, Josefino Castillano, CarlosSanoza, Peping Sacdalan, RobertHernandez, Jocelyn Cabadin,Jenelyn Bayani, Orlan Cabadin andAnthony Banaga. The arrested wereall members of the peasant organiz-

ations Habagat and the Samahanng Pinagkaisang Damdamin ngBarangay Quisumbing. They wereon their way to Barangay Utod tomonitor the AFP’s human rights vi-olations on civilians after an en-counter between the NPA and AFPin the area.

On November 13, soldiers of the86th IB illegally arrested civiliansOliver Molina and Robert Dalupangin Barangay Diasan, Echague, Isa-bela after an encounter between theNPA and AFP at an adjacentbarangay. They were detained at

In a University of Oxford studyby the Reuters Institute for theStudy of Journalism, low-quality re-porting is considered fake news:baseless; deficient in data or stand-ing on shallow analysis; if these ori-ginate from politicians and theiravid supporters and come in theform of advertisements; if the con-tent is paid.

Duterte’s propagandists are ex-perts at this kind of journalism. In asenate hearing on fake news, Usoneven took pride that they are pur-portedly an alternative to informa-tion being released by the tradi-tional media.

Genuine alternative mediaContrary to Uson’s claims,

genuine alternative media does notspread fake news or serve the rul-ing clique. Instead, real events andconditions of the people are repor-ted. Alternative media is not ob-structed by commercial interestsunlike traditional media which isowned by big bourgeois compra-dors and rely on profits from ad-vertisements by the biggest cor-porations.

In the Philippines, alternativemedia has a long history of struggleagainst the oppression and exploit-

ation by the Spanish colonialistsand their cohorts, by US imperialismand its puppets in the neo-colonialstate, up to the struggle against theMarcos dictatorship. Among themost prominent alternative news-papers were Diariong Tagalog andKalayaan during the Spanish coloni-alism, El Renacimiento and MulingPagsilang at the time of US coloni-alism, and Malaya, We Forum andother mosquito press during thedictatorship. These newspapers rannews and analyses regarding thestate of the people, highlighting vi-olations of human rights, environ-mental destruction, state of theeconomy and other people’s issuesnot published by big media whichare controlled by, or afraid of, thedictatorship. The undergroundpress such as Ang Bayan and Liber-ation also played important roles,challenging the Marcos regime’sstatements and calling for the ad-vancement of armed and unarmedstruggle.

With the development of socialmedia, using the label “alternative”has become commonplace to includeall forms of media outside tradi-tional media. Nonetheless, its pillarremains to be the progressive mediawhich has a well-defined partiality

towards the people.Contrary to claims by some

members of the dominant and tra-ditional media that the progressivemedia conceals data and real eventsbecause of its advocacy, the core ofthe alternative press and media’stradition is accurate and correctreporting. Big media outfits regardtheir own advocacies as “activism”while waving the slogan “partial tono one, defending nobody,” but thissame reasoning restricts their ca-pacity to expose, analyze and com-prehend the primary concerns ofthe people.

Foremost audience of the pro-gressive or pro-people media arethe vulnerable and oppressed sec-tors of society such as the workers,peasants, indigenous peoples, wo-men and children. This means thatnews is derived from the narrativeand direct experiences of their sec-tors. Being mainly involved in newsmaking, issues concerning theirsectors get attention from the pub-lic. News is also centered on eco-nomic issues, politics, culture anddevelopments which advance thestruggle of the oppressed peoplesuch as militarization, contractual-ization, widespread dislocationsand killings.

At least 22 activists were arrested by state forces within this past fewweeks only. the 86th IB camp and their relativesand members of Dagami and Kar-apatan-Cagayan Valley were notallowed to visit them.

In Eastern Samar, the 87th IBarrested leader of the Tag-alagFarmers and Fisherfolk Associ-ation Carlito Badillo, 41, in frontof Osmeña National High School inTag-alag, Marabut on November10. He was charged with rebellionand illegal possession of explos-ives. According to Badillo, he wasdragged by the military and tor-tured while being accused of beingNPA member. They tried forcinghim to sign papers which he did

. . . continued on page 8

November 21 , 2017 ANG BAYAN8

not understand.In Oriental Mindoro on the same

day, operatives of the 203rd IBdearrested health worker Emelia Mar-quez, 29, at the Medical MissionGroup Hospital in Calapan City whileshe was attending to her sick infant.Marquez was one of the “Morong43” who were illegally detained fromFebruary to December, 2010.

Also on November 10, fourmembers of the Lumad organizationKASILO were illegally arrested by58th lB troops in Sitio Gamot,Barangay Sta. Filomena, Quezon,Bukidnon. Asilan Batao, DodongLampasan, Henry Lacubay and LeoPangcat were arrested and accusedof being NPA supporters. The sol-diers were not able to take them tothe camp because the villagersmassed up and insisted they will allaccompany the four where they maybe taken.

Earlier on November 9 atBarangay Palaminya, Oslob, Cebu,combined PNP and AFP troops ar-rested Rustico Tan, a former priestof the Missionaries of the SacredHeart of Jesus (MSC). In his ad-vanced age of 76, Tan is practicingorganic farming in Oslob. He was aNational Democratic Front of thePhilippines negotiator in the 1986-1987 peace talks. Prior to this, Lo-pito Paquigbao and Eddie Cul-lamat, farmers who worked on hisfarm, were also arrested. They

were brought to the AFP CentralCommand in Camp Lapu-Lapu,Cebu City. Tan was brought to facethe court on November 20 ontrumped-up murder charges.

On October 19, joint PNP-CIDGand ISAFP personnel arrestedJeremy Ang, convenor and seniorconsultant of Assert Socio-econom-ic Initiatives Network of the Philip-pines (ASCENT), and his colleagueRita Espinoza in Kabankalan,Negros Occidental. There was nowarrant of arrest and their lawyerswere not allowed to see them fortwo days. At present, they are illeg-ally detained in Camp Crame inQuezon City.

In Kabangkalan City, NegrosOccidental, Webby Argabio, mem-ber of Kilusang Magbubukid ngPilipinas, was shot dead on Novem-ber 8 by four hooded gunmen whilehe was watching a game in PurokMahogani Abtao, Barangay Tapi, ofthe said city.

Meanwhile, on November 18,military agents killed Dondon Bar-tolaba, resident of Sitio Palo 7,Barangay Tomanding, Arakan, Co-tabato. Earlier on October 29 in Bo-ston, Davao del Norte, relatives andneighbors found the body of ArnelOtacan, 33, former member ofpeasant organization NagkasinabotKoy Maguuma Tu Boston. His bodywas riddled with bullets and hisknees and arms were broken. He

had been visited and interrogatedseveral times before by intelligenceagents of the 67th IB.

In Capiz, military troops inter-rogated and threatened two farm-ers and their companion, a minor,between barangays Tacayan andLahug, in Tapaz town on November5. Mario Aguirre, his brother-in-law, and son, were returning homefrom delivering their bananaproduct when they were accostedby a squad of soldiers in civilianclothes. The harassment was re-lated to the Tumandok struggleagainst the planned megadam inPan-ay River that will submerge 12villages. There has been a similarincident the week before in the vil-lage of Lahug.

In Samar, members of theAlyansa san mga Paraguma Kontra-kagutom san Las Navasnon (APK-LAS), together with Katu-ngod–Northern Samar, held a con-frontation with the 20th IB unit onNovember 6 to demand the with-drawal of the latter from their vil-lage. The soldiers have been en-camping in Barangay San Migueland other Las Navas villages, in vi-olation of International Humanit-arian Law.

Meanwhile, soldiers of the 22ndIB shelled the mountain in Daguio-man, Abra on November 10. A mor-tar shell hit a hut of an Itneg farm-er in Barangay Ableg.

PLA-India launches tactical offensives

IN INDIA, in the morning of November 3, members of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) under the Communist Partyof India-Maoist, blasted the pipelines of Essar Steel in its cut off area near the forest of Gunthabeda in Odisha.

The pipeline is used to transport iron ore (in slurry form) from the Baladila iron ore mines to its pelletisationplant in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Essar Steel India Ltd. is a multinational mining, mineral processing and iron exporting corporation. Essar Steelhas been known for environmental destruction, land grabbing and worker exploitation.

Last November 9, exchanges of gunfire between Red fighters and patrolling police followed after the latter wasblasted in the Chattisgarh-Jharkhand border at around 2 p.m., in Balrampur District, Chattisgarh. Five police fromthe Central Reserve Police Fore (CRPF) and two from the Jharkhand Police were wounded.

On November 10, ten PLA members raided a construction camp in Narengtola, Kalyansinghpur in Odisha. Tencompany vehicles were also torched. The punitive action was served to show opposition to the anti-people Nareng-tola-Lakhapadar road project.

In the same day, four CRPF troops were wounded after the PLA set off explosives in the Baresandh District,Latehar, Jharkhand.

Red fighters in India have been waging a people's war similar to that of the NPA in the Philippines.

ANG BAYAN November 21 , 2017 9

Panay martyrs given honorsA HEROES' BURIAL was held for three NPA-Panay martyrs Federico Diaz (Ka Val), Felizardo Cerilo (Ka Bong) andRemy Beraye (Ka Lito) who were killed in action while battling with the 61st IB on November 7 at Sitio Tigpaka,San Antonio, Cuartero, Capiz. Hundreds of people, many on vehicles and more on foot, accompanied the threecoffins draped with red flags to the cemetery. The funeral hearses had tarpaulins declaring their heroism. Wreathsof flowers designed with the hammer and sickle abounded and the funeral procession was filled with revolutionarymelodies. Several groups of farmers lined up at the roadsides and raised their clenched fists in tribute at thepassing hearses.

In a message of tribute, Concha Araneta, NDF-Panay spokesperson, said that in more than an hour of battleagainst a platoon of enemy troops, the three, although obviously outnumbered, did not raise their hands but heldon to their guns and used these against the enemy till their last breath. Three soldiers were also killed and fourwere wounded.

Ka Val and Ka Bong were peasant youth leaders of the Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Magbubukid (PKM) be-fore they joined the people’s army. They were well-known and respected by peasant masses in Cuartero, Dumarao,Maayon and Pontevedra in Capiz, and in Lemery, Iloilo. They gave the best time of their lives in more than threedecades of revolutionary action and service to the people. As Red commanders, they were always approached bycomrades and village people for advice on their problems, and they were able to help much because of their deepknowledge of the masses and area of operation.

Ka Lito, 43, has been serving the masses for almost 25 years, first as a student leader of the League of FilipinoStudents in West Visayas State University, and after graduation as trade union organizer of the Kilusang MayoUno. He also worked as urban poor organizer in Roxas City, till he headed Bayan-Capiz. His extensive contributionto the resurgence of the democratic movement in Capiz made him a target of enemy persecution, one of the reas-ons that pushed him to join the NPA last month.

While condoling with their family and loved ones, the NDF also called upon comrades to turn their grief intorevolutionary courage. “We cannot but feel the heaviness in hearts. But it is only fitting for any revolutionary tofollow their example of dedication and wholehearted service to the people,” Araneta added.

Isabela farmers gain victories against usury

Farmers in San Mariano, Isabela reaped victories as a result of aconfrontation initiated by Dagami (Danggayan dagiti Mannalon ti Isabelaor Unity of Farmers in Isabela) with trader-usurers and the local governmentagainst merchant exploitation.

Last November 11, more than400 farmers from differentbarangays of San Mariano gatheredat Barangay Minanga and marchedtowards San Mariano CommunityCenter where the confrontation wasto be held and also attended by 11traders. The farmers brought alongwith them cardboards and sackspainted with their demands. At theconclusion of the confrontation,they successfully demanded the fol-lowing:

1. Increase the corn farmgateprice from P10 to P12 per kilo, andcassava from P7 to P10 per kilo;

2. Reduce interest rates from15% to 13% and extend the graceperiod of five months to six monthsbefore imposing interest;

3. Cancel all interests on loansduring calamities, as well as on allprevious loans.

4. Return sacks used by farmersfor their produce since these arepaid for by the farmers;

5. Commissions for the traders’drivers should not be shouldered bythe farmers.

These will be contained in anagreement to be signed by thetraders. Likewise, the farmers wereable to press for the local govern-ment officials to spearhead the en-actment at the municipal and pro-vincial levels of the gains from theconfrontation. The successful con-frontation is the culmination ofmonths-long preparations by thefarmers. In a conference on genuine

agrarian reform held in September,Dagami members identified theleading burdens on farmers as theextremely low prices of their pro-duce, unfair classification andfraudulent weighing scales, highprices of seeds, pesticides and oth-er farm inputs, high interest rateson loans, and shouldering thetraders’ expenses.

After such identification, thefarmers organized a group to leadthe confrontation to demand theabolition of the said exploitativepractices. They underwent trainingsin public speaking and on facing theexploitative traders militantly.Public support for their just de-mands was likewise gatheredthrough publication of their stand-point and radio interviews. At theconfrontation, Dagami’s most ef-fective weapon was their unitedranks and their solid and broadunity.