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Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng PilipinasPinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo ANG

English EditionVol. XLIII No. 2

January 21, 2012www.philippinerevolution.net

Editorial

T he Filipino people gravely abhor their contin-uously deteriorating economic conditions un-der the US-Aquino regime. After a year and ahalf in power, Benigno Aquino III has clearlydemonstrated that his regime is no different fromthe Arroyo regime and all other past regimes interms of economic policy and its inability to addressthe people's poverty and hunger.

The problems of unemployment, low wages andrising costs of petroleum products, food and otherbasic commodities and services go on unabated.Landlessness, lack of housing for the urban poorand epidemics run rampant even as education andhealth services continue to deteriorate. Massive en-vironmental destruction has moreover aggravatedthe people's economic hardship.

Social inequality has become increasingly stark,with the masses of workers, peasants, farm work-ers, minority peoples, ordinary employees, smallprofessionals, students and other sectors livinglives of growing wretchedness and big foreign capi-talists and their big comprador capitalist, landlordand bureaucrat capitalist cohorts living ever moreprofligately by intensifying their exploitation andoppression of the toiling masses, plundering the na-tion's natural resources and wielding reactionarystate power to favor and protect their busi-nesses and properties.

The Aquino regimewould have the people be-lieve that it is taking therighteous road in contrastto the rampant corruptionof the previous regime. Infact, not only are bureaucrat capital-ism and corruption widespread underthe Aquino regime. It has also perpe-trated the trade and investment liberal-ization policies as well as deregulation,

End the pro-imperialistand antipeople economic system

privatization and denationalizationthe very sameones enforced by Arroyo during her time.Laws on deregulation remain in effect and con-

tinue to be used by big foreign capitalists and theircohorts to raise the prices of oil, water, power, trainfares, toll fees and medical and educational servic-es with impunity. Deregulation also continues toserve as the framework for justifying state budget-ary reductions in social services and giving free reinto the private sector of big capitalists and com-pradors to commercialize schools, hospitals androads, among others.

Trade and investment liberalization policies thathave provided the context for laws such as the Min-ing Act of 1995, the Foreign Investments IncentivesAct, the Omnibus Investments Code and provisionsof the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT) continue to cause great destruction to thelocal forces of productiom, especially the masses of Filipino workers. To attract foreign investments,wages have been frozen to provide cheap labor. Ca-sualization, contractualization and other flexible la-bor systems continue without letup.

The Aquino regime

In this issue...

SC: Court of ruling classes

3

Persecution of Alan Jazmines

5

22 AFPcasualtiesin Bukidnon

9

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2 ANG BAYAN January 21, 2012

continues to favor foreign bigcapitalists by granting them taxholidays and easing restrictionson profit and capital remittancesand repatriation. It protects theoperations of foreign big miningcompanies and allows the latterto plunder the country's mineralwealth, ostensibly to generateemployment. The mining compa-nies' less than 1% contribution toemployment generation comes atthe cost of depleted natural re-sources and irreversible environ-mental damage.

The liberalization of the agri-cultural sector has for decadesbeen invoked by big capitalistcountries to dump their agricul-tural products in the Philippinesto the detriment of local agricul-tural production. The liberaliza-tion of this sector has allowedthe entry of foreign big agro-cor-porations that have been propa-gating seeds, pesticides and oth-er products that have erodedself-reliant production and tiedlocal production to expensiveforeign capital goods. Foreign bigmultinational corporations con-tinue to seize vast tracts of land.

Big landlords, merchants andforeign big capitalists have in-tensified their exploitation andoppression of peasants and farmworkers.

Aquino has allocated a hugeportion of the government budg-et to serve the interests of for-eign big capitalists through thePublic-Private Partnership Pro-gram (PPP). Through the PPP,major infrastructure projects areceded to foreign big capitalistsand their local business partners.The projects are funded by gov-ernment money and state-guar-anteed loans contracted fromforeign banks. As in the case of the Light Rail Transit, the SouthLuzon Expressway and similarprojects, the private sector of bigcapitalists is eventually given fullcontrol to amass profits.

The Aquino regime's econom-ic policies are all geared towardsthe perpetuation of the currentsemicolonial and semifeudal sys-tem. These policies intensify theexploitation and oppression of the toiling masses and the Fil-ipino people. They condemn theentire country to crisis. They

stunt local industries and pre-vent the emergence of an inde-pendent and self-reliant econo-my. They perpetuate monopolycontrol over land. They destroylocal production and generateproblems of mass unemployment.Instead, the regime contents it-self with exporting labor to othercountries and concocting short-term showcase programs thatgenerate temporary employ-ment.

The poverty and oppressionof the Filipino people are boundto worsen in the face of plans bythe Aquino regime to furtheropen the Philippine economy tocomply with US imperialist dic-tates.

The crisis is pushing the Fil-ipino people towards the path of mass struggle to fight for theirdemocratic interests. The wors-ening crisis that has been bludg-eoning the Filipino people is cre-ating conditions that rouse themto awareness of the basic prob-lems that lie at the roots of theirpoverty and suffering.

It is the duty of the revolu-tionary forces to reach out to thepeople in their millions and rousethem to the need for nationaland democratic change. The rev-olutionary and progressiveforces must thoroughly expose

the roots of crisis and dispelcounterrevolutionary and re-formist ideas being propagatedby the imperialists throughschools, the mass media, the in-ternet and other informationchannels.

The revolutionary forcesmust persevere in mobilizing mil-lions upon millions of people to

tread the path of people's warand advance it to the next higherstage. Growing numbers are be-coming conscious of the fact thatthe Filipino people's welfare canbest be ensured only under agovernment that truly servestheir interests. ~

Ang Bayan is published fortnightly by the Central Committeeof the Communist Party of the Philippines

Ang Bayan is published inPilipino, Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligay-non, Waray and English editions.

It is available for downloadingat the Philippine Revolution WebCentral located at:

www.philippinerevolution.net Ang Bayan welcomes contribu-

tions in the form of articles andnews. Readers are likewiseenjoined to send in their com-ments and suggestions for thebetterment of our publication.You can reach us by email at:

[email protected]

Vol. XLIII No. 2 January 21, 2012

ContentsEditorial: End the pro-imperialist

and antipeople economic system 1Oil price hike 3

SC: Tribunal of the ruling classes 3

Coronas impeachment 5

Persecution of Alan Jazmines 5

Ka Bart still in jail 6

GenSan media man killed 7

Farmers arrested in Pangasinan 7

Violent demolition in San Juan 7

Mining in Pantukan 8

22 AFP casualties in Bukidnon 9

8th IDs Gen. Mario Chan: Liar 10

Strike in Nigeria 10

ANG

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3ANG BAYAN January 21, 2012

Confront onerous policies with massive protests

T he Communist Party of the Philippines standsin solidarity with the Filipino people in con-demning foreign oil companies for raising theprices of petroleum products four times in merely20 days. These oil price increases come on top of ahike in water rates of P2.335 per cubic meterstarting January 1 and higher power rates im-posed by companies owned big bourgeois com-pradors like the Lopez and Aboitiz families.

The CPP also condemns the US-Aquino regimefor turning a deaf ear to the people's sufferings,its intransigence in imposing the 12% Value-AddedTax on petroleum products and its continuing im-plementation of privatization and deregulationwhich adds to the Filipino people's burdens. Par-ticularly onerous to the people are the oil deregu-lation law, the Electric Power Industry Reform Actof 2001 (R.A. 9136) or EPIRA which has spurredhikes in power rates, and the law that privatizeswater services.

In the face of these unceasing hardships im-posed on the people, the CPP called on workers'unions and people's organizations to resist hikesin oil, water and power rates by launching huge

protest actions. The CPP cited the mass actionslaunched by the Nigerian people who have recent-

ly been victimized by an oil price hike of closeto 130% after the withdrawal of governmentoil subsidies. Nigerians in their numbers col-lectively waged strikes, work stoppages anddemonstrations. After a week of protest ac-tions, the Nigerian government effected a35% reduction in fuel prices.

In the Philippines, the Pagkakaisa ngSamahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Na-tionwide (PISTON) trooped to the PilipinasShell office in Makati City on January 11 tocondemn the latest round of oil price hikes.Diesel prices rose by up to P1.50 per literwhile gasoline prices were marked up byP1.75 per liter. Oil prices were earlier raisedon January 3, with diesel prices hiked by 30centavos per liter and gasoline, by 70 cen-tavos per liter.

PISTON chair George San Mateo blastedthe foreign oil cartel for exploiting conflictsin the Middle East to raise the prices of pe-troleum products artificially despite the ab-sence of an actual war or a shortage in oilsupplies. The regime has likewise been cash-

ing in on the oil price hikes by collecting moretaxes. ~

Supreme Court: Tribunalof the ruling classes

T he Supreme Court has been placed at the center of factional

struggles among the ruling classes with the ruling Aquinoclique's attempts to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona.Nonetheless, like other branches of the reactionary government, theSupreme Court has historically served as an instrument to preservethe puppet, rotten and repressive reactionary system and the collec-tive interest of the ruiling classes.

Under the past regime, theSupreme Court issued a series of decisions favoring Gloria Ar-royo's pro-imperialist and an-tipeople policies, among themthe Mining Act of 1995, the Ex-panded Value-Added Tax andthe oil deregulation law.

The Supreme Court declaredthe Mining Act of 1995 uncon-stitutional in January 2004 be-

cause of its provisions that al-low foreign mining. But aftera pro-mining campaign byArroyo, theS u p r e m eCourt re-versed itsown decisionin Decemberof that year, justifying it

by saying that it had no power toprevent the president and thecabinet from entering into con-tracts with foreign companies.Also in 2004, the Supreme Courtdeclared constitutional Arroyo's

order expanding the scope of

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the Value-Added Tax. (The Ex-panded VAT, a law that did notpass through Congress wasstrongly opposed by the people).The Supreme Court had alsopreviously reversed its ruling onthe oil deregulation law despitethe continued existence of a mo-nopoly in the oil industry. It hadearlier struck down the law be-cause of the prevailing oil cartelin the country.

Even in individual cases, themajority of Supreme Court deci-sions were on the side of foreigncapitalists, big bourgeoisie andlandlords favored by the presi-dent in power. One example in-volves the Supreme Court deci-sion on September 7, 2011 de-claring the termination byPhilippine Airlines (PAL) of 1,400 stewards and stewardess-es illegal. A month after, it re-versed its decision on a meretechnicality.

Corona and Arroyo's rela-tionship. In the majority of cas-es, a Supreme Court justice'svotes or decisions are in accor-dance with the interests of the

appointing president and his orher patrons. This is apparent inthe record of the current chief justice Renato Corona who hasbeen impeached by the LowerHouse and is now facing trial atthe Senate. Arroyo appointed

him associate jus-tice in 2002. Beforehis appointment tothe Supreme Court,Corona served asArroyo's spokesper-

son when she wasstill vice president.When Arroyo be-came president,Corona served asher chief of staff,spokesperson andexecutive secre-tary.

The Supreme

Court decision overturning aNovember 2011 order of the De-partment of Justice banning theArroyo couple from travelingabroad is but one of the manypro-Arroyo rulings issued by thehigh tribunal under Corona. TheSupreme Court had earlier over-ruled Congress' impeachment of Merceditas Gutierrez, anotherArroyo lackey.

In Corona's nine-year stintat the Supreme Court, up to 78%of his decisions on political cas-es favored the Arroyo camp. Heupheld Presidential Proclama-tion 1017 issued in 2006 whichimposed a martial law-like stateof emergency nationwide. Themajority of the Supreme Courtdeclared PP 1017 unconstitu-tional but Corona issued a dis-senting opinion. Corona alsotook Arroyo's side on ExecutiveOrder 464 which barred depart-ment heads and agency chiefsfrom attending and testifying inthe series of Congressional andSenate investigations then beingheld on corruption in the Arroyoregime. He also upheld NationalEconomic Development Authori-ty director Romulo Neri's deci-sion not to testify on the anom-alous arrangements entered in-to by the Arroyo couple with theChinese-owned ZTE company.

Corona had likewise defend-

ed the Arroyo camp when itlaunched the People's Initia-tive to introduce amendmentsto the 1987 Constitution thatwould have extended the termsof incumbent officials.

The control wielded by theruling clique on the chief justiceor the majority of SupremeCourt justices is crucial. Arroyohad appointed up to 21 justicesduring her term. Even if theSupreme Court had gone maver-ick under Chief Justice ReynatoPuno (2006-2010), it was nevera threat to her rule. Thus, be-

fore Arroyo stepped down aspresident, she lost no time inputting Corona at the court'shelm.

Aquino is himself aware of the Supreme Court's importancein his family and clique's rule.The Supreme Court decision or-dering the distribution of Ha-cienda Luisita's lands to itsfarmers and farm workers was abig blow to him and his family.Earlier, the Supreme Court hadalso struck down the Truth Com-mission that Aquino had osten-sibly formed to prosecute Ar-royo. Aquino, has, from the verybeginning, refused to recognizeCorona as a legitimate chief jus-tice.

The essentially reactionaryand filthy character of the rivalAquino and Arroyo-Coronacamps is increasingly beingbrought to the fore as the con-flicts between the two cliquesintensify.

Just a few days into theCorona trial, Hacienda LuisitaInc. (HLI) filed a motion of re-consideration and clarificationbefore the Supreme Court on itsdecision to distribute the ha-cienda lands and abolish theSDO scheme. HLI also plans tofile a motion to ban Corona from joining any of the court's delib-erations on the hacienda. ~


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Chief Justice Corona on trial

C hief Justice Renato Corona's trial at the Senate began on January 16.The Filipino people have been focused on this

trial because they consider it a part of the over-all effort to hold Gloria Arroyo accountable forher crimes against the people. Arroyo raced tohave Corona appointed as chief justice of theSupreme Court to ensure that things will go fa-vorably for her in her time of need.

The congressman-prosecutors have begunto look into allegations on Corona's ill-gottenwealth. They said Corona has 45 pieces of property worth more than P200 million held in

his wife and close relatives' names, and whichhe failed to declare in his Statement of Assets,Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). As the trialruns, the prosecutors are also expected todemonstrate how Corona's decisions favoredArroyo.

The internal bickerings and range of politicalinterests within the Supreme Court are becom-ing more and more public as the trial progress-es. The justices and their patrons have been

scrambling to have themselves appointed to the

powerful post in place of Corona.Long before the trial began, the two camps

had already been at each other's throats. Coro-na has openly said that the real reason behindhis impeachment is Aquino's hurry to have himreplaced as chief justice.

On the other hand, the Aquino regime's alliesin the Lower House have been unstoppable in ex-posing Corona and his family's corruption andthe other skeletons in their closets. Aside fromextensive real estate properties, Corona is said

to have large amounts deposited in several bankaccounts.

Malacaang has also been quick to exploit aWorld Bank report complaining about how theSupreme Court has used a loan it extended in2003 for purposes other than judicial reforms.

As far as the democratic organizations andthe Filipino people are concerned, a majorstrumbling block to having Arroyo and her lack-eys tried for their crimes will be removed should

Corona be found guilty. ~

Progressives condemn AlanJazmines persecution

E ver since NDFP Consultant Alan Jazmines' illegal detention,officials of the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame havethreatened several times to transfer him to another prison.Jazmines first caught the ire

of prison authorities when hebegan exposing the latter's vio-lations of the detainees' humanrights and the unjust restric-tions and inhuman conditions of the prisoners. He led the de-tainees' struggles against re-pressive policies and inhuman

conditions inside the detentioncenter.Jazmines was again threat-

ened with transfer when helodged a complaint after prisonauthorities banned the entry of postcards saying Free All Polit-

ical Prisoners. He also slammedthe police for opening his per-sonal correspondence, includingconfidential documents andcommunication on the peacetalks.

Of late, Jazmines wasthreatened anew when hecomplained against maneu-

vers of the custodial centerto prevent the visit of more than 30 support-ers of three detainedNDFP consultants (him-self, Eduardo Sarmientoand Eduardo Serrano).

The police claimed that thecamp was on heightened alert.Also barred were legitimatereading materials that were inthe public domain and broughtin by the visitors such as a doc-ument of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines enti-tled Churches' Response as Hu-man Rights Defenders, a KARA-

PATAN primer on

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Ka Bart still languishing in jail


Oplan Bayanihan and issues of Pinoy Weekly .

Jazmines belied claims bythe PNP Custodial Center thathe was being transferred be-cause of his bad behavior inside

the prison. He is being targetedfor transfer to Bicutan, whereconditions are more stringentand more repressive.

Free all political detainees.Meanwhile, 38 congressmenfiled House Resolution 1956,which calls for the granting of general and unconditionalamnesty to all political de-

tainees who are victims of polit-ical persecution and chargedwith, or convicted of, politicaland/or common crimes done inpursuit of their political beliefs.

House Resolution 1956states that the first priority forrelease are ten political de-tainees who should have beenfreed as early as 2001 and2004, in accordance with agree-ments arrived at in the peace

talks before the latter was sab-otaged by the Arroyo govern-ment. They are Matricio Manue-lito, Joshue Ungsod, JuanitoItaas, Rogelio Natividad andDarwin Rojas (2001); Ricardo

Solangon, Galo Omar, PaliliJammang, Moner Taufic andAbibakar Bimbas (2004).

In the second priority areelderly political detainees, inparticular Rolando Paniamigan,the Alegria family, Sandino Es-guerra and Moahamadiya Ham- ja.

In the third priority are the

remaining NDFP consultants whoare protected by the Joint Agree-ment on Safety and ImmunityGuarantees (JASIG) and whoserelease is also in accordancewith a promise by the GPH Nego-tiating Panel in February 2011 tofree most, if not all, of the politi-cal detainees. These are AlanJazmines, Tirso Ka Bart Al-cantara, Randy Malayao, Edgar-do Friginal, Eduardo Sarmiento,

Leopoldo Caloza, Eduardo Serra-no, Emeterio Antalan, Ramon Pa-triarca, Danilo Badayos, AlfredoMapano, Pedro Codaste and Ed-win Brigano.

In the fourth priority is hors

de combat Vanessa de losReyes, an NPA fighter paralyzedfrom the waist down after sus-taining a gunshot wound to herspine.

In the fifth priority are 35women political detainees whoremain vulnerable to sexualabuse while imprisoned, asidefrom the other hardships they

have to bear while in detention.Ericson Acosta and MariconMontajes, two cultural workersfrom the University of thePhilippines-Diliman who wereinvestigating the conditions of farmers and exposed theirpoverty through creative artshould also be released. Theywere slapped with trumped-upcharges of illegal possession of explosives and firearms. ~

T irso Ka Bart Alcantara has been detained for more than a yearnow despite promises made by the US-Aquino regime to re-lease the consultants of the National Democratic Front of thePhilippines (NDFP). Ka Bart was arrested on January 3, 2011

in violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and ImmunityGuarantees (JASIG).In the course of negotiations, the GPH made this

promise three times, twice in signed agreements inJanuary and February 2011, and once in a consulta-tion in September 2011 with the Norwegian gov-ernmen which serves as the third party facilitatorin the peace talks.

The GPH should first release Ka Bart and all NDFPconsultants in order for the peace talks to advance.

The US-Aquino regime's failure to make good on itspromise to release Ka Bart and other NDFP consultantsproves that the regime is not interested in pursuing thepeace negotiations. It is only interested in using the peacetalks as an instrument to effect the surrender and pacificationof the revolutionary forces within the framework of the OplanBayanihan war of suppression. ~

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Media man killedin GenSan

C hristopher Guarin, 41, edi-tor and publisher of Tatak News , a newspaper based in Gen-eral Santos City, was shot deadby two gunmen on January 6while he was on his way home inBarangay Lagao of the same city.

The wounded Guarin managedto get out of his car in a bid tospare his wife and child. He sus-tained five gunshot wound to thebody and one in the head. His wife

was also wounded in the attack.Guarin is the first media per-sonality killed in 2012 and thetenth since Benigno Aquino IIIcame to power. One-hundredand fifty (150) Filipino mediapractitioners have been killedsince 1986 and have not beengiven justice.

The victim was a former ra-dio commentator and reporterof Bombo Radyo. He also servedas station manger of DXBB Su-per Radyo GenSan. He had beenreceiving many death threatsbefore he was killed. ~

PNP arrests 7 peasants in Pangasinan

S even peasants were arrested in Pangasinan on January 12 af-ter they prevented police from fencing off their farm lands inBayambang, Pangasinan.

The farmers were identified as Rodolfo Natividad, Emeterio

Paningbatan, Felipe Caro, Bernardito Dizon, Rudy Peralta, Rodri-go Asuncion and Ludivico Mejia all members of Ulopan Na Umba-ley Ed Camp Gregg Military Reservation.

According to the Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Lu-zon (AMGL), the seven peasants were arrestd after they stoppedauthorities from fencing off close to 300 hectares of farm landsthat they had long been tilling in Barangay Bical Sur in Bayam-bang. Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino ordered the farm landsfenced off to give way to the construction of a private resort in thearea. The AMGL added that since the Department of Environment

and Natural Resources had declared this part of the Camp GreggMilitary Reservation public land, no one had the right to claim it.The Cojuangco-Aquino family has reportedly shown interest in theland.

Four of the farmers were released the same day but the re-maining three were held at the police station and charged with at-tempted murder.

Meanwhile, the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation has de-manded the arrest of 22 peasant leaders and farm workers of Ha-cienda Luisita for allegedly occupying illegally a lot owned byRCBC. The Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa HaciendaLuisita (AMBALA) said that the occupation was legitimate sincethe more than 500-hectare lot owned by RCBC had been idle for along time. AMBALA added that it had also filed a petition with theDepartment of Agrarian Reform to revoke the land-use conversionand distribute the land instead to AMBALA members. ~

ilies are now affected. The at-tackers used water cannons andtear gas against the barricadersto forcibly evict them. Throughsheer police brutality, the demo-lition team was able to force itsway into the community andtear down the houses. Most of the residents are now temporar-ily housed in makeshift shelterswithin Corazon de Jesus throughthe help of church workers. Theyhave remained in the area andare ready to fight the local gov-ernment's next move. In theface of intensified oppression,they are asserting their dignitythrough allout and militant re-sistance.

The residents had twice beenawarded the land under the past

Violent demolition

in San Juan T he homes of several families living in an urban poor communityin Corazon de Jesus (CDJ) in San Juan City were violently de-molished on January 12. Up to 20 residents were illegally ar-

rested and 31 wounded (two seriously) after a composite group of more than 600 elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) andmembers of a demolition team forced their way into Narciso Streetwhere the urban poor had put up a barricade.

The residents were unarmedand used whatever items wereavailable in their communities toactively defend their homes.Even before the demolition,state forces had long been as-saulting and intimidating theresidents. Military forces weredeployed within the community.

Members of progressive youthorganizations were placed un-der surveillance. Communityleaders were slapped withtrumped-up charges and arbi-trarily arrested.

Up to 400 families had al-ready been evicted in 2010 andmore than a hundred other fam-

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regime. When the local government of San Juanrefused to acknowledge this, the residents askednot to be brought to farflung relocation sites andbe transferred within the city and their living con-ditions improved. But the San Juan government ledby Mayor Guia Gomez and the Estrada clan like-wise refused this compromise.

The Estradas plan to put up a posh City Hall onthe more than one-hectare lot that once hostedthe demolished houses. Other construction proj-ects include a condominium, commercial shoppingareas and a parking lot. The Estradas have part-nered with a big bureaucrat involved in the mallconstruction business. The entire plan falls underthe Aquino regime's Public-Private PartnershipProgram. Like others of its kind in Metro Manila,this project also serves as payment for Aquino'sdebt of gratitude to big bureaucrat capitalists andpolitical allies who put him in power. The same sto-ry is behind other pending demolitions in communi-ties in North Triangle, Pangarap Village, Welfare-ville and Freedom Island, to name a few.

In just over a year, the Aquino regime has be-come notorious for its violent and inhumane demo-litions that have caused suffering to the urbanpoor. They are no different from the Aquino fami-ly's brutal treatment of peasants struggling forgenuine agrarian reform in the countryside.

Progressive organizations, patriotic sectors andthe church have assailed the violent demolition andhave asked Congress to investigate.The KabataangMakabayan and the National Democratic Front inthe National Capital Region hailed the residents, es-pecially the youth who stood up and defended theirhomes and their rights in Corazon de Jesus. TheCommunist Party of the Philippines praised the CDJresidents' resistance and their courage and deter-mination in collectively confronting the Aquinoregime's schemes to drive them away from theirhomes. Said the CPP, there will be many other at-tacks by the regime on the urban poor because of continuing projects under the PPP. Nonetheless, thepeople will not relent in organizing and mobilizing toresist the regime. ~

Since the 1950s, big logging

and mining companies have beenfeasting on the bounties of Com-postela Valley's mountains.Maintaining one of the biggestoperations is Aguinaldo Devel-opment Corporation (ADECOR)which exports logs and plywoodto Japan. Since 1969, mining ex-ploration has been conducted inPantukan municipality by the

Nationwide Development Corp.(NADECOR) and the MitsubishiMetals Mining Corporation of Japan. In the 1990s, BenguetCorporation and its Americanpartner entered the picture.More foreign mining companiespoured in with the passage of the

Mining Act of 1995. In 1995-97

came Kingking Mines Inc., apartner of EchoBay Mines Inc.and Toronto Ventures Inc., bothCanadian-owned companies.

The widespread denudationof the forests and excavationsby foreign companies in the areahave resulted in many tragedies,the most striking of which wasthe landslide that occurred at

the Apex Mining Corporationmining site in Barangay Masara,Maco town in 2008 that killed 27residents.

Even before the January 5tragedy, the US-Aquino regimeand the mining companies hadalready wanted the workers and

small miners out of the area.Russell Mining and Minerals Inc.(RMMI) posted an armed securi-

ty force to ensure its control.The Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) also deployed the71st IB in Barangay Tibagon,Pantukan. These armed forcessow terror in the mining commu-nities and have committed manyhuman rights violations.

On April 12, 2011, elementsof the 71st IB killed Santos

Ricky Manrique, 49, presidentof the Federation of Miners' As-sociations in Pantukan (FED-MAP). Manrique, who was killedin his house in Napnapan, Pan-tukan was active in the struggleagainst the entry of foreign bigmining companies in the area.The entire area is now underOplan Bayanihan.

Kingking Gold-Copper Pro -ject. The small miners, their fam-ilies, church people and antimin-ing activists are mainly opposedto the Kingking Gold-Copper Pro- ject (KG-CP) which aims to ex-tract gold and copper from thevillages of Kingking and Napna-

US-Aquino regime favors

big mining companies T he Communist Party of the Philippines strongly condemned theUS-Aquino regime for exploiting the January 5 tragedy in Pan-tukan, Compostela Valley to forcibly evict poor and small min-

ers and mining workers from their community. The regime is blamingsmall miners for the series of landslides in the area. In fact, the land-slides are due to exploration activities by big mining companies andpast logging operations.

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pan in Pantukan. The KG-CP islikewise linked to the biggestgold and copper deposits in Mt.Diwalwal which is in Monkayotown, Compostela Valley.

The mountains of Pantukan

are rich in gold and copper de-posits. Based on the latest stud-ies, it is estimated that 13 out of the town's 15 barangays pos-sess such mineral deposits. Butthe most concentrated depositsare in the mountainous areas of Kingking and Napnapan thatcover 1,650 hectares.

The KG-CP will be able to ex-tract an esimated 791.5 milliontons of gold and copper worth$70 billion or more than P3 tril-lion. Its target area is thereforeknown to have one of thebiggest untapped gold and cop-per reserves worldwide. It will

reportedly take 23 years beforethese deposits are depleted.This explains why several bigforeign mining companies havebeen coveting the area's miner-al wealth so much.

With its potential revenues,the KG-CP has been cited as oneof the lead projects of the US-Aquino regime and forms part of the Mindanao 2020 Program.

Thirteen companies appliedwith and vied for a place underthe KG-CP in 2009, but RMMI,an American company in jointventure with NADECOR was fa-vored above the rest and grant-ed a 1,650-hectare concession.It began operations in 2011.RMMI simultaneously expandedits concession to 4,000 hecta-res.

In June 2010, the Aquino

regime also granted NapnapanMineral Resources Inc. (NMRI)a 4,500-hectare concessionthrough a Mineral ProductionSharing Agreement (MPSA).

The KG-CP utilizes open-pit

mining, thus making the de-struction of the environmentand the people's livelihoods aforegone conclusion.

More than 8,000 families or40,000 residents are set to beevicted from their farms oncethe RMMI begins its opera-tions. Among the areas to becovered by the foreign-ownedcompanies' operations are theMansaka tribe's more than8,000-hectare ancestral lands.

In 2011, the residents of Pantukan began their struggleagainst the giant foreign min-ing companies. ~

6 soldiers killed, 16 wounded in Bukidnon

S ix soldiers of the ArmedForces of the Philippines(AFP) were killed and 16 werewounded in two separate am-bushes launched by Red fightersof the New People's Army (NPA)on January 18 in Barangays Si-nuda and Palakapan in Kitaotao,Bukidnon.

In a statement, Ka Rigober-to Sanchez, spokesperson of theMerardo Arce Command (NPA-Southern Mindanao) said the in-ter-front operation was aimedat raising the fighting spirit of the peasantry against the bru-tality of the 23rd IB.

It was 6 a.m. when a platoonof Red fighters from Front Guer-rilla Units 55 and 56 ambushed23rd IB troops aboard a privatevehicle, killing two soldiers andwounding four others.

After three hours, a com-mando unit from Front 53 am-bushed a convoy composed of asix-by-six truck and an amphib-ian vehicle bearing 10th ID

troops in Barangay Palakapan,Kitaotao, killing four soldiersand wounding 12 others. TheNPA used a command-detonat-ed explosive.

These two successful tacticaloffensives belied previous claimsby Maj. Jacob Thaddeus Obliga-do, chief of the 10th ID Civil Mil-itary Operations Battalion thatthe NPA had been sufferingmounting setbacks. The CMOchief had bragged that in 2011,an estimated 315 rebels had beenneutralized by the AFP, even if the military's scheme of forcingcivilians and former NPA mem-bers to surrender had alreadybeen exposed to the public.

Meanwhile, the NPA NuevaVizcaya Provincial OperationalCommand reported an ambushby one of its partisan units onSPO4 Isabelo Carpio, a retiredofficer of th Philippine NationalPolice (PNP). Carpio, who wasambushed in Bambang town inthe afternoon of January 17 has

been nicknamed butcher forhis involvement in several extra- judicial kilings and other humanrights violations and for his long-time active service as an enemyintelligence agent against therevolutionary movement.

In fact, Carpio was one of three persons charged in the re-actionary court for the killing of Marlon Ka Pepsi Fernandez.Ka Pepsi was slain in BarangayBelance, Dupax del Norte townin 1997. Carpio and his co-ac-cused were detained for ninemonths but were released onbail, and their case relegated tothe sidelines.

After his release, Carpiopersisted in being a paid agentof the ruling classes. He becamean active recruiter for theCAFGU and commander of thedemolition team sent to teardown the barricades set up bypeasants against the entry of foreign mining companies inNueva Vizcaya in 2007. ~

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Gen. Mario Chan is a liar!

T he Efren Martirez Command (NPA-Eastern Visayas) beliedclaims by 8th ID chief Gen. Mario Chan that the revolutionarymovement has been wiped out in Leyte. In fact, said Ka KarlosManuel, the NPA command's spokesperson, 500 peasant, women and youth activists were added to the ranks of NPA supporters in Leytelast December. The NPA has also been able to operate in more vil-lages despite the intensification of Oplan Bayanihan in the island.

Leyte residents have beenable to see through the mili-tary's pretense and attempts atbribery. They generally ignoremeetings or sports events spon-sored by the military, even if the

soldiers serve lechon (roastedpig) to entice them.The NPA also belied accusa-

tions by General Chan that Redguerrillas were sowing terror inMatuguinao town in Samarprovince. The NPA was alleged-ly responsible for the suspen-sion of classes in five elemen-tary schools in the area and

bullying the town's local offi-cials. In fact, classes were sus-pended in the schools becauseof the terror wrought by the14th IB's intense military oper-ations. The military deployedthe entire 14th IB in Matugui-nao, a town of only 5,000 resi-dents.

Meanwhile, the Efren Mar-tirez Command also condemnedthe military's violations of itsown ceasefire called from De-cember 15, 2011 to January 2,2012. On December 20, the 34thIB continued its operations,thus providing the NPA the op-portunity to ambush it in LasNavas, Northern Samar. Theambush was a punitive measurefor the 34th IBs many humanrights violaions and failure tocomply with its own ceasefire.

On the other hand, the 14thIB launched repeated opera-tions in the villages of Lincoro,Cabugao, Buenavista, Mataludand Gaondato, all in San Jorge,

Samar from December 16, 2011to the month of January. Thetroopers mingled with the bar-riofolk, slept in the masses'houses and positioned them-selves in the barangay halls,terrorizing civilians. They alsoused the civilians as humanshields against NPA attacksmuch-dreaded by the soldiers.

General strike rages in Nigeria

P olitical and economic activities have been paralyzed forclose to two weeks in Nigeria due to the Nigerian people'sstrong opposition to the hike in oil prices. The people's generalstrike erupted when Pres. Goodluck Jonathans governmentwithdrew oil subsidies on January 1. The government had pro-vided up to $8 billion in subsidies to keep the prices of petrole-um products stable. The move has already caused two oil pricehikes followed by increases in transport fares and food prices.

The strike was launched by the two biggest unions of work-ers in the oil industry. Tens of thousands of people supportedthe strike and launched general protests. They called for the im-mediate reduction of oil prices and the resignation of PresidentJonathan.

The Nigerian government justified its acts, saying it neededfunds for other government uses such as maintaining infrastruc-ture. In fact, the move formed part of a scheme to fully deregu-late the country's oil industry. Imperialist institutions, neoliber-alists and the oil giants have long been pushing for deregulation.

Nigeria is a country in western Africa. As a mark of crisis, oilprices rose 130% in the country, which is among the world'sleading producers of petroleum products. Nigeria is Africa'sbiggest and the world's 12th largest oil producer. ~


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