Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng PilipinasPinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-MaoismoANG

English EditionVol. XLV No. 15August 7, 2014

www.philippinerevolution.net

EditorialIntensify tactical offensives and mass struggles to oust Aquino

anomalous use of the nation'scoffers under the DAP. He fol-lowed this up with a call to thepeople to wear yellow or hangand display any yellow item inthe belief that he enjoys wide-spread public support.

Contrary to Aquino's objec-tives, this gambit only succeed-ed in fuelling the people's angeragainst the regime. Thus,Aquino used other tactics tocourt pity and sympathy. Heonce again employed the emptyslogans of the "righteous road"and "inclusive growth." He in-voked his mother and father

whom he practically por-trayed as saints. The dayafter, the Aquinos' "Yel-low Army" went on the

offensive and floatedthe idea of "one more

term" for Aquino to cre-ate the illusion of wide-spread support by the"silent majority."

No one, however, hasbought these tactics de-signed to manipulate pub-

lic opinion. Aquino failedto hoodwink the peo-

ple and derail themfrom the path ofstruggle. In a des-perate attempt toconjure illusions of

The mass actions reflectedthe Filipino people's growinganger at the Aquino regime'scorruption and mendacity, itspuppetry, treason and fascistbrutality. More and more sec-tors are ready to take actionagainst the increasingly isolat-ed Aquino regime. The Filipinopeople's rumbling angerthreatens to erupt in the faceof their worsening situationand Aquino's enforcement ofincreasingly deleterious an-tipeople and pro-imperialistpolicies.

Benigno Aquino III was met with one of the biggest rallies inhis four-year rule during his State of the Nation Address(SONA) on July 28. The nationwide demonstrations attend-

ed by more than 60,000 people manifested a new and higher levelin the struggle against the US-Aquino regime. Throughout thecountry, the cry in the streets was Oust Aquino!

The ruling Aquino clique isnow deathly anxious in theface of its worsening politicalcrisis. Days before the SONA,Aquino came out on nationaltelevision to spew the most bit-ing remarks against the

Supreme Court andall other sectors

that assailedh i s

military support it provides theAquino regime. The hands ofAquino, the AFP, the PNP andother coercive forces of thestate are stained with blood intheir suppression of the peopleand defense of the interests offoreign mining companies andplantations. Killings, mas-sacres, abductions and illegalarrests, threats and abuse con-tinue unabated. For Aquino, thepeace talks are nothing but abig show.

It has become self-evidentto the people that the Aquinoregime is no different from pre-vious regimes in its basic eco-nomic policies, its subservienceto US imperialism and its re-pression of the people. Thepeople are determined to putan end to the US-Aquinoregime's rule and advance theirnational and democratic strug-gle.

A broad protest movementto oust the Aquino regime isspreading in campuses, facto-ries, communities, markets, of-fices, churches and otherplaces. The growing call forAquino's impeachment threat-ens to explode in a giganticmass movement of hundreds ofthousands marching in thestreets.

The Communist Party of thePhilippines (CPP) fully supportsthe intensification of people'sstruggles to oust the US-Aquinoregime. Along with strengthen-ing the mass movement in thecountryside, the CPP directsthe New People's Army (NPA)to intensify armed struggle na-tionwide. The NPA must contin-ue seizing and maintaining theinitiative in launching evermore tactical offensives againstthe state's armed forces in or-der to weaken it and inspireand provide greater momentumto the mass movement to oustAquino. ~

2 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

change and progress, Aquinocame out with one lie after an-other in rapid-fire fashion: thathis government acted with dis-patch to rescue the victims oftyphoon Yolanda, that thereare measures in place to pro-vide jobs to the people, that theeconomy has developed andpoverty reduced, that govern-ment has been cleaned up, thatpeace has been achieved andthat criminality rates have sub-sided, among other prevarica-tions.

But the illusions of changeand progress being conjured byAquino are exceedingly unten-able, as it has become obviousto the Filipino people thatAquino sits on a throne atopthe bureaucrat capitalist dungheap in order to use the na-tion's coffers and his privilegesas president for the politicalgain of his clique, his friends,relatives and the ruling classes.Despite widespread condemna-tion of the pork barrel system,Aquino has fouled up the 2015budget, designing it as a meansof extending his clique's hold on

power.It is the concrete conditions

of the Filipino people that teachthem the need to trod the diffi-cult path of struggle in order todefend and advance their na-tional and democratic aspira-tions. Unemployment and un-deremployment levels are un-precedentedly high. The major-ity of the people are mired inpoverty. Landlessness andlandgrabbing continue withoutletup. It is clear to the peoplethat Aquino's claims of "devel-opment" are a big lie, pleasingonly the big foreign banks andcapitalists and their local bigcapitalist cohorts.

The freedom-loving peopleare enraged at Aquino's defile-ment of Philippine national sov-ereignty. His signing of the En-hanced Defense CooperationAgreement or EDCA whichpaves the way for the construc-tion of US military bases in var-ious parts of the country com-prises the height of Aquino'spuppetry.

The people hold the US gov-ernment accountable for the

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

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Vol. XLV No. 15 August 7, 2014

Contents Editorial: Intensify tactical offensives and mass struggles against Aquino 1Where did the DAP go? 3Fouling up the budget 4�Savings,� Aquino�s new term for graft 4People�s verdict: Oust Aquino 510 military actions in Mindanao 64 POW in Caraga released 611 soldiers killed in EV 8Farmgate price of peanuts raised in Panay 8People�s militia in SMR 9Peasant activist killed in ComVal 10Scientist posts bail 10Death squad in Rizal 11LRT1 privatization 11Protests vs Israel 12

ANG

3ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

Up to `17.3 billion was allo-cated to "projects requested bycongressmen, local officials andgovernment agencies" just likethose funded by the PDAF.There were questionable releas-es of "lump sums" (funds with-out detailed listings of how themonies would be used) such asthose allotted to "various infra-structure projects," "variouspriorities" and similar cate-gories.

The releases include `2 bil-lion for the first district of Tar-lac, the province of the Aquinosand Cojuangcos, to fund the"construction and repair ofroads," aside from `80 millionallocated to repairing the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway whichruns through Hacienda Luisita.The same pattern was seen dur-ing the Marcos dictatorshipwhen huge funds were pouredinto infrastructure projects inIlocos Norte, the Marcoses'province.

Aquino's use of DAP funds toexcessively compensate the Co-juangcos for Hacienda Luisitahas also been bared. Up to `5.4billion of DAP funds were pro-vided to the Department ofAgrarian Reform, `471.5 millionof which was used to pay the Co-juangcos for Hacienda LuisitaInc. (HLI). The amount is `167million more than what theSupreme Court stipulated, andwas given to the Cojuangco-Aquino family even if the titlesto the land had not yet been dis-

tributed.On top of the allocations for

Tarlac, Aquino released DAPfunds estimated to be in excessof `14 billion months before the2013 elections for roads, vari-ous other infrastructure proj-ects, "assistance" to local gov-ernments and "counterinsur-gency." The lion's share went toIloilo (`66.2 million), Cebu(`55.3 million), Northern Samar(`50 million), Batangas (`30million) and Davao City (`20million). Despite its very smallsize, Batanes (Florencio "Butch"Abad's province) was amongthose that received largershares (`11.2 million) of theDAP election funds.

A massive one-time releaseof DAP funds was also made be-tween the end of 2011 and 2012for senators who voted to con-vict former SupremeCourt chief justice Rena-to Corona. Aquino'sclose allies in the Sen-ate like Franklin Drilon,Antonio Trillanes, Fran-cis "Chiz" Escudero,Alan Peter Cayetano,Teofisto GuingonaIII, Sergio Os-meña III, Edgar-do Angara andFrancis Pangilinan re-ceived from `50 to `100million in DAP funds. An esti-mated `13 billion of DAP fundswere released by Aquino to en-sure Corona's ouster.

Foreign big businessmen and

compradors also profited im-mensely when Aquino releasedDAP funds for projects slated tocome under capitalist control.Among these are `450 million inDAP funds earmarked for theantipeople and destructiveJalaur River Multipurpose Pro-ject Phase II in Calinog, Iloiloreleased in Senator Drilon'sname.

Also through DAP, Aquinowas able to favor the foreign-owned Marubeni and TokyoElectic Company, the powers be-hind Team Energy which runs apower plant in Pagbilao, Que-zon. Aquino condoned Team En-ergy's tax liabilities to the Que-zon provincial governmentamounting to `6.1 billion andprovided a mere `1.5 billion toQuezon in exchange, `750 mil-lion of which was sourced fromDAP funds.

On the other hand, Aquinoallocated up to `30 billion inDAP funds to the Bangko Sentralng Pilipinas. The bulk of themonies is believed to have bene-fited big banks and companies.Less than 1% of this amount wasallotted to credit for small andmedium-scale enterprises. ~

Where did Aquino�s DAP go?

How did Benigno Aquino III allocate his `144-billion pork bar-rel fund known as the Disbursement Acceleration Program(DAP)? Who benefited from it? A study of a list released by

the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shows thatAquino used the DAP as a huge fund to strengthen his political pow-er as the patron of senators, congressmen and local officials.

4 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

�Savings,� Aquino�s new term for graft

Under the Aquino regime, the erstwhile virtue of "saving"has become a filthy system of stealing from the nation's

coffers. Under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP),Aquino has been pushing the notion of creating "savings" byarbitrarily slashing funds from a number of projects or pro-grams in order to allot these to projects of favored politiciansor businessmen.

Aquino�s system of diverting "savings" under DAP has beendeclared illegal by the Supreme Court. Such illegal fund diver-sions are among the bases for one of three impeachment com-plaints against Aquino.

A broad coalition has roundly assailed Aquino's proposedredefinition of "savings" in the new budget for 2015. The olddefinition of "savings" referred to leftover monies at the endof the year or upon the completion of projects funded by suchmonies. Aquino wants to redefine "savings" to include fundsfrom projects or programs that have not yet been implement-ed and to declare their existence even in the middle of theyear.

The People's Initiative Against Pork Barrel charged thatAquino's new definition of "savings" is a way of circumventingthe Supreme Court order against the DAP. Should this mangledredefinition be approved, it would disregard Congress' "powerover the purse" and pave the way for the creation of a gigan-tic pork barrel under the president's control. ~

Aquino raids, fouls upthe nation�s coffers

The pork barrel system is alive and well in Aquino's budget for2015. A big portion of the budget has been earmarked tostrengthening the political machinery of the Aquino clique for

the 2016 elections. A very huge chunk of the budget comprises"lump sums" bereft of details, which could be used for various ex-penditures without prior Congressional approval. The fundscould also be easily rechanneled to bogus projects andend up being part of the election kitty.

The Aquino regime's budgetfor 2015 comes to `2.606 tril-lion, which is more than 15%bigger (`341 billion) than the2014 budget. But only 67% (or`1.739 trillion) of the proposedGeneral Appropriations Act of2015 contains details that areup for scrutiny and approval byCongress.

More than `800 billion willnot be passing through theCongressional wringer, includ-ing `372.683 billion automati-cally allotted to service inter-ests on government debts. Alsoexempted from Congressionaloversight are funds directly un-der Aquino's control, includingthe `378-billion PresidentialSpecial Purpose Fund and the`123-billion UnprogrammedExpenditures. A total of `389billion has also been allocatedfor Internal Revenue Allotment(IRA).

Up to `21 billion of the en-tire `25 billion formerly allot-ted to the PDAF in 2014 hasbeen incorporated in Aquino'sbudget for 2015. The previousallocations had been cancelledafter the Supreme Court de-clared the PDAF illegal. Amongthe PDAF funds included inAquino's new budget are `7.26billion under the DPWH, `4.1billion for the DSWD and `1.03billion for TESDA.

Up to `20.9 billion allottedto projects for local govern-ments identified via the Bot-

tom-Up Bud-geting (BUB)scheme alsofall underthe cate-gory of porkbarrel fundsdesigned byAquino toensure the political loy-

alty of local officials. On top ofthis, Aquino will also be incharge of the `2.9-billion LGUSupport Fund, which is alsobereft of details.

The DSWD budget will beswelling by 30% due to theadded funds for the PantawidPamilyang Pilipino (PPP), a hu-

mongousa n da n o m -a l o u s

c a s h -t r a n s f e r

p r o g r a mwhich Aquino

touts as the so-lution to poverty.

This fund is general-ly used by local politi-

cians to corner the votesof PPP beneficiaries. ~

5ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

This year's protest actionwas marked by new heights ofrage�reflecting the people'sanger at exposés of how Aquinoraided the nation's coffers forbribery and corruption. Theiranger at Aquino was fuelledanew with his relentless de-fense of the Disbursement Ac-celeration Program (DAP) afterthe latter was declared illegalby the Supreme Court. Thedemonstrators' solid cries of"Oust Aquino" reverberatedacross the country.

In Metro Manila, up to30,000 marched through Com-monwealth Ave. towards theBatasang Pambansa in QuezonCity, according to the BagongAlyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)which led the mass action.Among the demonstrators werethousands of peasants fromCentral Luzon and SouthernTagalog who marched to Manilafor days.

The march was blockedclose to two kilometers fromthe Batasang Pambansa. Up to10,000 policemen and 400 sol-diers were posi-tioned behind lay-ers of cement andmetal barricades en-closed in barbed wireand huge containervans. The middle of thehighway was like-wise blocked withbarbed wire to pre-vent the rallyistsfrom crossing to theother side. As Aquinodelivered his speech, the

rallyists were bombarded withwater from fire hoses, whichangered an observer from theCommission on Human Rights(CHR) who was likewise victim-ized.

Inside the Batasang Pam-bansa, legislators from theMakabayan bloc likewiseprotested by wearing peachsymbolizing Aquino's impeach-ment. Before Aquino's speech,they left the Batasan to expressopposition to his lies and stub-born defense of the DAP.

In Davao City, 6,000 rally-ists simultaneously protestedat various government officesbefore converging at FreedomPark and marching towardsRizal Park for the "SONA saKatawhan." They called on thepeople to struggle againstpoverty, corruption, fascismand US imperialist plunder.Similar march-rallies were alsoheld in the cities of Cagayan deOro, Malaybalay, Iligan and

Zamboanga.In the Visayas, an estimat-

ed 19,000 or so joined protestactions against the Aquinoregime. In Roxas City, Capiz,10,000 marched, including ty-phoon Yolanda survivors, tocondemn the Aquino regime'sneglect of calamity victims. Upto 7,500 marched in Iloilo Citytowards the Freedom Grand-stand where they held theirprogram. Some 2,000 rallyistsmarched from Banga to Kalibo,Aklan. In Bacolod City, morethan a thousand joined a rally,including 300 employees of theBacolod Hall of Justice who allwore black. Protest actionswere also held in Cebu City andTacloban City.

There were similar protestsin Baguio, Vigan, Laoag and LaUnion.

Overseas, Filipinos launchedsimultaneous protests inHongkong, South Korea, SaudiArabia, Australia, Canada, NewZealand, Italy and New YorkCity, USA. The most strikingprotest was that of 1,000 mi-grant workers in Hongkong.

On the other hand, 400 po-litical detainees nationwidelaunched a hunger strike fromJuly 25 to 28 to demand theirimmediate release. KARAPA-

The people�s verdict: Oust Aquino

Up to 60,000 people joined protest actions nationwide duringBenigno Aquino III's State of the Nation Address (SONA)on July 28. They came up with their own versions of the

SONA to expose the real state of affairs in the Philippines.

6 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

TAN and the Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Deten-syon at Aresto (SELDA) ral-lied in front of Camp Cramein Quezon City on the morn-ing of July 28 to assail theunjust treatment of politicaldetainees and demand theimprisonment of everyoneimplicated in the pork barrelscam.

On July 26, the#ScrapThePork Alliance,Anakbayan-Manila and GA-BRIELA-NCR hung peachcloths outside of Mala-cañang. On July 24, the KA-PEDERASYON group launched"Rampaglilitis," a protestfashion show by lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgenders(LGBT) to assail the Aquinoregime for treason, stealing,slashing the education budg-et and inaction on measuresto protect LGBT.

Minutes before the SONA,policemen arrested Dr. Ma.Luisa Garcia, 46, and RositaLabarez, 57, officers of theControlled Economic ZoneFederation, Inc. who led aprotest by residents ofBarangay Holy Spirit in frontof the Sandiganbayan alongCommonwealth Ave. wherethe presidential convoypassed through. They wereopposing the scheduled saleof a 13-hectare residentialarea where their housesstand.

Meanwhile, a policemanused a taser gun on RodelTorotol and his 12-year oldchild while they were insidetheir jeep which was parkednear the Batasang Pam-bansa. When Torotol refusedto give his driver's license,the police immediately usedforce. A taser gun shoots upto 50,000 volts of electricityto temporarily stun and im-mobilize a person. ~

10 military actions launched in Mindanao

Ten military actions were successfully launched by Red fight-ers of the New People's Army (NPA) in four provinces of Min-danao amid intensified military offensives by the Armed

Forces of the Philippines (AFP) this July.

The AFP suffered 38 casual-ties, including a lieutenant anda corporal, in the hands of theNPA. Meanwhile, the Red fight-ers were able to retreat safelyin all of these gunbattles. TheNPA was likewise able to seizehigh-powered firearms, includ-ing an M60 machine gun and anM79 grenade launcher.

In DDavao ddel NNorte. NPARed fighters under the Comval-North Davao-South AgusanSubregional Command seizedan M60 machine gun, a CobraM16, four military packs, fourcellphones, 500 M60 roundsand 300 K3 machine gun roundsin an ambush on patrolling 60thIB troops in Sitio Kapatagan,Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong onJuly 25. Two soldiers werekilled and six others werewounded.

In BBukidnon. Red guerrillasseized three firearms, killed tensoldiers and wounded four oth-ers in harassment operationsfrom July 22-24.

Nine ele-ments of the68th IBwere killeda n dt h r e eotherswound-ed inan am-bush byR e dfightersu n d e rt h eSouth-Central

Bukidnon Subregional Com-mand (SCBSC) in BarangayCawayan, Quezon on July 24, atexactly 2:10 p.m. Seized werean M16 rifle and an M79grenade launcher, two militarypacks and other military equip-ment.

The exhausted fascists hadjust returned from combat op-erations in San Fernando townand were on the way back totheir camp when they werewaylaid by the Red guerrillas.The NPA platoon first used acommand-detonated explosive(CDX) on the 26 AFP troops be-fore opening fire. The battlelasted 40 minutes.

The day before, a corporalunder the 8th IB was killed andanother soldier wounded in aharassment operation by a unitunder the NPA Eastern MisamisOriental-Northeastern Bukid-non Subregional Command

while the AFPtroops were on foot

patrol along Km. 30,Barangay Ca-

l a b u g a o ,I m p a -s u g -o n g .L a t e r ,t w oN P At e a m slaunched

separateh a r a s s -

ment opera-tions on the8th IB detach-

ments in Barangays

7ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

Hagpa and Calabugao in thesame town on July 24 and 25.

On July 22, Red guerrillasdestroyed a boom spray truckowned by Sumifru PineapplePlantation in Barangay Mayna-ga, Cabanglasan at exactly11:40 a.m. They also seized aKG9 machine pistol. This wasthe third punitive operation bythe revolutionary movementagainst Sumifru in the provincethis year.

On the same day, a columnof more than 50 troops underthe 104th Division Reconnais-sance Company suffered an un-determined number of casual-ties after an NPA unit used aCDX and opened fire at them ataround 11:30 a.m. in BarangaySta. Filomena in the adjacenttown of Quezon.

Meanwhile, a unit under theSCBSC punished a CAFGU ele-ment in Barangay Canangahan,Cabanglasan on July 18, seizinga .38 cal pistol from him. In2009, the paramilitary surren-dered two M16 rifles that hadbeen entrusted to him for safe-keeping by the NPA before join-ing the CAFGU. He has sincebeen active in pursuit opera-tions against the NPA and inthreatening local residents tostop supporting the revolution-ary movement and surrenderinstead.

In DDavao OOccidental. Threesoldiers under the 73rd IB werekilled, including Lt. Gary Mag-buran and two others seriouslywounded when an NPA sapperunit used a CDX was on theKM450 military truck they wereriding as it traversed Sitio Kito-lali, Barangay Kelalag, Malitaon July 16.

The soldiers were on theway to Barangay Demolok topursue Red guerrillas who hadarrested a military intelligenceagent from Barangay Pinal-palan, Malita on July 15.

In MMisamis OOriental. Five58th IB troopers were killedand five others wounded in foursuccessive military actionslaunched by Red fighters underthe NPA Eastern Misamis Ori-ental-Northeastern BukidnonSubregional Command in thefirst week of July.

Two soldiers were killed andtwo others wounded after beingharassed by NPA Red fighterswho were on patrol in Sitio Ka-patagan, Barangay Umagos,Lagonglong on July 4, at around5 a.m.

Three hours later, another

element from the same battal-ion was killed and three otherswounded in another harass-ment operation by an NPA teamin Barangay Kibanban, Balinga-sag.

The day before, a soldierwas confirmed killed after acolumn under the 58th IB washarassed by an NPA unit in SitioKapatagan.

On July 1, a soldier had like-wise been killed when Redfighters harassed a 58th IB uniton patrol in Sitio Pugahan,Barangay Bunal in Salaytown. ~

4 POWs released in CARAGA

The New People's Army (NPA) released on July 29 four po-licemen taken prisoner during a raid on the Alegria, Suri-

gao del Norte PNP station on July 10. They were releasedamid a five-day ceasefire declared by the National Democra-tic Front-Northeastern Mindanao Region and the Govern-ment of the Philippines (GPH) from July 27 to August 1.

NDFP Negotiating Panel chair Ka Luis Jalandoni signedthe release papers of PO3 Vic Calubag Concon, PO1 ReyO'niel Morales, PO1 Joen B. Zabala and PO1 Edito Roquino.

The NPA Custodial Unit first entrusted the prisoners ofwar to former DAR Sec. Hernani Braganza in a mountainousbarangay of Kitcharao, Surigao del Norte. Braganza repre-sented the office of DILG Sec. Mar Roxas. Also present dur-ing the turnover were Regional Peace and Order CouncilChairman and Butuan City Mayor Jun Amante, Agusan delNorte Gov. Angel Amante, League of Philippine Board Mem-bers President Myrna Romarate, Bacuag Mayor Shiela MaeCebedo, Kitcharao Mayor Aristotle Montante and councilorsof Surigao City.

After the NPA Custodial Unit turned over the prisoners toThird Party Facilitators Rev. Bishop Rhee Timbang, Fr. Rama-da and other church groups, the policemen were presented toGPH officials Sec. Mar Roxas, DND Sec. Voltaire Gazmin,OPAPP Sec. Teresita Deles and PNP Chief Alan Purisima, whowere waiting at the Kitcharao town center.

In a statement dated August 1, NDF-Mindanaospokesperson Ka Oris thanked the Third Party Facilitatorswho worked hard and patiently linked up with various entitiesin order to forge a workable temporary ceasefire agreementbetween the NDF and the GPH. He also thanked Roxas, thePNP and AFP for abiding by the five-day ceasefire. ~

8 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

Peasants raise farmgate prices of peanuts in Panay

AFP suffers 11 casualties in EV

T he Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) suffered 11 casu-alties in military actions by the New People's Army (NPA) inEastern Visayas from June 17 to August 2.

On August 1, an NPA spe-cial operations group metedpunishment on Jojo "Jerson"Rafales in Calbiga town,Samar. Aside from being aCAFGU element, Rafales or-ganized intelligence networksin the towns of Calbiga, Pina-bacdao and Basey. He was in-volved in the killing of activistleader Rodolfo Dagumay Basa-da in Pinabacdao on June 29

and the attempted murder ofAriel Dacallos in Calbiga on Ju-ly 31. Seized from Rafales wasa cal .45 pistol.

Meanwhile, five soldierswere killed when Red fightersharassed 21 soldiers under the87th IB conducting combat op-erations in the guise of "peaceand development" in BarangayMagdawat, Pinabacdao on Au-gust 2. Earlier, on July 11, a

soldier from the 87th IB hadalso been killed after beingsniped by the NPA while thetroops were in the middle ofmilitary operations in the samebarangay.

In Leyte province, five sol-diers were killed and six otherswounded when a platoon underthe Mt. Amandewin Commandthwarted an attempt by the19th IB to encircle it on June17. The NPA was then tem-porarily encamped at Baran-gay Hugpa, Ormoc City. TheRed fighters suffered zero ca-sualties during the 50-minutefirefight. ~

Farmers in southern Iloilo on Panay islandsuccessfully raised the farmgate price of

their peanut crop. According to the May-June is-sue of Daba-Daba, the revolutionary mass paperin Panay, the price was raised from `35 to `37per kilo, benefiting 200 peasant families.

Farmers in the villages of Igbaras, Tubunganand Leon towns in Iloilo had long been sufferingfrom low farmgate prices for their produce, in-cluding peanut, whose price had remained frozenat `35 per kilo especially during the harvest sea-son. The situation is worsened by the exploitativesystem of procuring seeds known as "piniluan."Under this system, a farmer borrows peanutseeds from a "financier" at`65 per kilo and pays himback `135 per kilo comeharvest time.

A farmer is usually ableto harvest five sacks ofpeanut for every sack ofunshelled peanut seeds.Five sacks of peanutsweigh around 200 kilos.Thus, a farmer earns`7,000 for every five sacksof peanuts sold at `35 perkilo. But after subtractingexpenses for seeds, plow-ing and other land prepa-ration, planting, harvest-

ing and food, among others, he turns in a deficit.In this regard, the farmers organized a coop-

erative in their area, which conducted several di-alogues with the local governments, representa-tives of the Department of Trade and Industryand the municipal agricultural committees. Theyalso circulated a petition signed by the farmersdemanding assistance and higher farmgate pricesfor their agricultural produce. As a result, a num-ber of local governments provided capital forseeds.

As a cooperative, the peasants were able toamass 15 tons of peanuts (15,000 kilos). They de-manded that local merchants buy their peanut

crop at a higher price. Be-cause they sold theirpeanut crop in bulk, theysucceeded in raising theprice per kilo by two pe-sos.

Meanwhile, Daba-Dabaalso reported that inCuartero town in Capiz,farmers were able to re-duce trucking expenses fortheir corn crop from 70centavos per kilo to 50centavos per kilo. The re-duction benefited 100peasant families from twobarangays. ~

9ANG BAYAN august 7, 2014

In a shaded area in the mid-dle of a meadow ensconced in amountainous area of SMR,farmers, mostly men, begantrickling in one morning. Theywere sweaty but greeted otherswith smiles, and they broughtwith them food packed in lunchboxes and banana leaves. Theywere villagers who had come toorganize the second people'smilitia platoon in their barrio.

They continue to build thepeople's militia even if theirarea is surrounded by sectionsand platoons of the butcherAFP conducting a Peace andDevelopment Outreach Pro-gram (PDOP) under OplanBayanihan (OPB). This prompt-ed an NPA member from anoth-er guerrilla front to ask the lo-cals whether the venue was se-cure. They answered "yes," andthe visitor did notice that thegathered villagers didn't mindthe presence of many enemysoldiers around them becausethey relied on the masses. Thearea's mass base is solid,even if the fascist enemywas encamped nearby be-cause the latter remainedblind and deaf to thepresence of the revolu-tionary mass move-ment.

The soldiers' ob-jective is to destroythe villagers' unity, sothe barriofolk contin-ually plan how to de-

fend and fight for their inter-ests. One way is to build thepeople's militia. This is the usu-al course in the NPA's areas ofoperation where it is commonto have a battalion-size militiain every municipality. Shouldthe military chance upon themwhile having a meeting, theywould be ready for any kind andmanner of fighting based ontheir capabilities and concreteconditions. This is how impor-tant the people's militia is na-tionwide.

In-depth discussions wereheld in the process of organiz-ing the militia. This is usuallythe time to rectify longstandingmisconceptions that the peo-ple's militia is not part of theNPA. The gathered villagerswere happy to learn that themilitia is part of the NPA. Theorganizers explained that therewere four basic types ofNPA: the regular mo-

bile forces, the armed propa-ganda units, the partisan unitsand the people's militia. Theonly difference between themilitia and the first three typesis that the militias are part-time fighters. Militia membersbecome even more enthusiasticwhen they are provided militarytraining and are able to joinmilitary actions.

The meeting was over be-fore dark and met no problemsdespite enemy movementsnearby. It was noticeable howthe militia members becameeven more trusting of each oth-er and developed tighter bondswith the full-time NPA membersafter the militia platoon was es-tablished and the variouspoints clarified. They wereproud to be called the center ofgravity among the masses andthe backbone of the revolution-ary mass movement. ~

Excerpted from the May 2014 issue of

Pasa Bilis, the revolutionary mass paper

in Southern Mindanao Region

People�s militia in SMR grows stronger and broader

In the first half of 2014, Red fighters of the New People's Army(NPA) in Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) were able to launchmany successful military actions in the face of the Armed Forces

of the Philippines' (AFP) intensified military campaigns. Behindeach victorious military action was mass support and most of all,the participation of their armed forces in the locality�the people'smilitia.

10 ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

Gerardo Larbo, a 38-year oldfarmer from Barangay Mayang,Tubungan on July 17. The vic-tim had a bullet wound to thehead.

According to ConsolacionLarbo, the victim's

mother, Gerardo lefttheir house on themorning of July 17to go to their farm

and harvest theircorn crop. At around 3:45p.m., Consolacion heard

over the radio that a gunbat-tle had taken place betweenthe 82nd IB and the NPA in thearea of their farm, and thatfive soldiers hadbeen wounded.

C o n s o l a c i o nwanted to go to theirfarm to check onGerardo, but the mil-itary refused to givepermission. On July18, she learned thatGerardo was dead.

Bukidnon. Three civilianswere illegally arrested on July22, with two of them still in de-tention. Melvin Anggumao, 20;Joeffrey Ganancia, 18; and anunidentified minor were arbi-trarily arrested and accused ofbeing involved in the success-ful NPA raid on the SumifruPineapple Plantation in the vil-lage that day. The victims, whoare all residents of Sitio May-naga, Barangay Iba, Caban-glasan, were also divested oftheir cellphones and motorcy-cles.

Their relatives, neighborsand barangay officials all wentto the police to testify that thevictims were innocent of thearson charges filed againstthem, but they have not beenreleased.

Meanwhile, two other civil-ians have been slapped withtrumped-up murder charges inrelation to the NPA ambush onImpasug-ong Mayor Mario

Okinlay on July 2. JovenYanggo, 31; Efren Yang-go, 29; and Ryan Daluni-ag were likewise arbitrar-

ily arrested just so the mil-itary and police could claim

that their investigation hadmade some headway. ~

Peasant activist killed in ComVal

Apeasant activist and a civilian were killed by military forcesin Compostela Valley and Iloilo, while three civilians wereillegally arrested in Bukidnon in the last two weeks of July.

Compostela VValley. Peasantactivist Gregorio Galacio, aresident of Barangay Kahayag,New Bataan was killed on July19. The victim wasgunned down in hishouse at around 3:45a.m. by men wearing skimasks, black T-shirts andfatigue shorts. One ofthem was a known militaryinformer. Galacio sus-tained eight bulletwounds, all of them fa-tal.

The victim had been sum-moned and interrogated sever-al times by the 66th IB at thebarangay hall, which has beenoccupied by the military since2013.

Galacio and other membersof his family became active inthe democratic movement af-ter elements of the 28th IBkilled his daughter Grecil in2007. To cover up their crime,the soldiers accused the nine-year old Grecil of being a childsoldier of the New People'sArmy (NPA). They even took apicture of her body posed be-side a planted M16 rifle. Themilitary later retracted itsstatement after investigationsproved the falsity of the accu-sations.

The Galacio family lefttheir village after the militaryhounded them. But they re-sumed their livelihood in thebarrio in 2010 and lived quiet-ly for a while. The military be-gan harassing the family anewlast year.

Iloilo. Military forces killed

Detained scientist posts bail

A SCIENTIST who was illegally arrested while conducting re-search in Davao Oriental has gained temporary liberty. Kim Gar-gar was released on August 1 after his family and friends helpedraise the `210,000 bail ordered by the court.

Gargar was detained for ten months after the military filedcharges of illegal possession of explosives, frustrated murderand violation of the gun ban against him.

He was illegally arrested by the military in Cateel, DavaoOriental on October 1, 2013 while the 67th IB was conductingoperations against the New People's Army in Barangay Aliwag-wag of the same town. Gargar was in the area conducting re-search for an organization assisting victims of typhoon Pablo.

He is a scientist and professor at the University of the Philip-pines-Diliman. ~

11ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014

Death squad stalksRodriguez, Rizal

T hree urban urban pooractivists were gunned

down at the Southville hous-ing resettlement site inBarangay San Isidro, Ro-driguez, Rizal on July 10. Thevictims who were identifiedas Nathaniel Bacolod, 19;Junmer Paraon, 22; and theiraunt Susan Mamaril, 50, werekilled by elements of a deathsquad run by the military andthe Rodriguez local govern-ment.

Two days before thekilling, suspected deathsquad elements likewise ab-ducted Mamaril's son Mi-chael. He was interrogatedfor hours and falsely accusedof 20 different crimes beforebeing released. Michael waspresent at the time of theshooting but he survived.

Bacolod and Paraon wereboth members of the porgres-sive urban poor organizationKalipunan ng DamayangMahihirap (KADAMAY) whileMamaril was a local leader ofthe GABRIELA women�sgroup. Bacolod was known asa youth leader in the commu-nity. Mamaril, on the otherhand, was active in the com-munity's struggle for socialservices, such as electricity.

Four years have passedsince they were forciblytransferred to Southville af-ter their homes in San JuanCity were demolished, butthey have yet to be providedtheir own electrical lines. In-stead, Baque DevelopmentCorp., the company that builtSouthville, supplies the com-munity with electricity,charging exorbitant rates.Baque is owned by wives ofmilitary officers. ~

The Aquino regime hasawarded the `65-billion LRT-1Extension contract to the solebidder�a group comprisingthe MPIC (which put in 55% ofthe capital), the Ayalas (35%)and Macquire InfrastructureHoldings Corp. of Australia(10%). The MPIC is led by bigcomprador Manny V. Pangili-nan and is bolstered by capitalfrom the Salim group of In-donesia. Pangilinan and theAyalas were the biggest con-tributors to Aquino's electionfund in 2010.

Under the concessionagreement (which has a dura-tion of 32 to 50 years), theMPIC-Ayala group will not on-ly take charge of constructingthe new line extension toCavite, but the privatization ofthe entire LRT 1 operationfrom Roosevelt, Quezon City toBaclaran, Pasay City as well.

MPIC-Ayala has also beengranted the power to auto-matically and regularly raise

train fares. Starting this Au-gust, the maximum fare will beraised from `20 to `32. Ontop of this, train fares willlikewise be automaticallyraised as soon as the con-struction of the line extensionto Cavite is completed. A 10%fare hike every two years is al-so in the offing, aside from aninflation-based fare increaseevery four years.

Under the contract, theAquino regime will grant theMPIC-Ayala group a `5-billionsubsidy and an estimated`64-billion tax exemption.The Aquino regime will also beassuming the `35-billion ex-penditures for right of way,additional coaches, improve-ments in the former coach de-pot and the construction of asatellite depot.

Meanwhile, LRT employeesare seriously worried aboutthe possibility that some ofthem may be terminated andlose their benefits. ~

LRT 1 privatizationfraught with anomalies

The privatization of the Light Rail Transit 1 (LRT Line 1) ex-tension to Cavite is highly disadvantageous to the people.On the other hand, Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

(MPIC) and Ayala Corporation have been guaranteed huge prof-its. LRT 1 is the biggest project under the Aquino regime's Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

12

Up to 1,800 Palestinianshave been killed in almost amonth of relentless bombingsby Israel that began July 8. Al-most 70% of those killed werecivilians, including more than400 children and almost 100elderly. Up to 10,000 have beeninjured, including more than3,000 children. More than250,000 have lost their homes,with the majority now seekingrefuge in schools run by theUnited Nations Relief andWorks Agency.

More than 136 schools and26 hospitals have sustaineddamage or been completely de-stroyed by the bombings. Israelhas bombed civilian structures,water systems, roads and otherinfrastructure, including theonly power plant in Gaza.

A flurry of demonstrationswas launched on July 25, Inter-national Quds Day, which wasdesignated as the internationalday of solidarity with the Pales-tinian struggle. Millions ralliedin Tehran and more than 770cities and towns of Iran to con-demn Israel.There wasalso a

100,000-strong rally in theUnited Kingdom and big demon-strations in Germany, Syria,Pakistan and India.

Earlier, more than 400protest actions had beenlaunched worldwide, most ofthem in countries whose gov-ernments support the Israeliwar�the US, Canada, the Unit-ed Kingdom, Ireland, Australia,France, Italy and Germany. Inthe US, protest actions werelaunched in 46 out of 50 states,with some of the biggest ralliesheld in the cities of Los Ange-les, San Francisco, Sacramento,New York and Washington DC.

More than 40 protest ac-tions were likewise held in vari-ous cities of the United King-dom, especially inIreland andS c o t l a n d .D e s p i t ep r o h i b i -tions byt h eF r e n c hg o v e r n -

ment, 52 protest actions werelaunched in Paris, Bordeaux,Lyons, Toulouse and Nice,among others. In Germany, 25protest actions were launchedin Berlin, Bonn and other areas.Twenty-two protest actionswere held in Toronto and otherCanadian cities.

There were protest actionsas well in Italy, Spain, Sweden,Belgium, Switzerland, TheNetherlands, Norway, Greece,Cyprus, Finland, Denmark, Ser-bia, Austria, Hungary, Turkey,Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pak-istan, India, Sri Lanka, SouthAfrica, Malta, Morocco, Tuni-sia, Australia, New Zealand,Hongkong, Chile, Brazil, Ar-gentina, Bolivia, Colombia andCosta Rica.

The majority, or 62 out ofthe 94 member-countries of theUnited Nations have con-demned and assailed Israel,whose only supporters are theUS, UK, Germany, Canada, Aus-tralia, France and a number ofUS client states like the Philip-pines, Colombia, Costa Rica andGeorgia.

In the Philippines, membersof progressive organizations

marched to Mendiola on July17 to demonstrate their

solidarity with the peo-ple of Palestine. ~

International protest against Israeli aggression in Palestine

M illions of people around the world launched protest ac-tions in the past two weeks calling for an end to Israel'swar of aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza

City.

ANG BAYAN August 7, 2014