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This issueshighlights...

Prepare for SONAPAGE 4

4Ps and OplanBayanihan PAGE 5

Landgrabbingin Isabela PAGE 9

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

English EditionVol. XLII No. 13

July 7, 2011www.philippinerevolution.org

T he Filipino people must thoroughly expose andresist US schemes to foment conflict in theSouth China Sea among the Philippines, Chinaand other countries claiming the Spratly Islands inpart or in whole. The US' interference has no otherobjective than to justify the deployment of militaryforces in the region in the name of defendingPhilippine sovereignty.

The people must also thoroughly expose and con-demn the Aquino regime for allowing itself to be usedby its imperialist overlord to exacerbate discord overthe Spratlys. With US prodding, the Aquino regimehas been whipping up disputes over the SpratlyIslands by issuing aggressive statements and makingprovocative moves against China. The aim is to justi-

fy requests for assistance from the US invoking theRP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and thus pave theway for the US' forward deployment of military per-sonnel and war materiel in the region.

The US has been modernizing the Armed Forcesof the Philippines (AFP) under the MDT framework byselling and leasing out military equipment to thePhilippines. Arming the AFP forms part of US effortsto strengthen its military presence in the South ChinaSea. In fact, the AFP serves as a pawn in the US' chessgame in its pursuit of its military strategy. Still invok-ing the MDT, the US has been directly deploying itsmilitary forces in the region through so-called jointexercises, the latest of which was a joint naval exercise by US and Philippine forces in Junealong the Palawan coastline facing theSouth China Sea.

Such US imperialist moves are inaccordance with its objective of projecting its power in the SouthChina Sea. Its ultimate aim is toensure its control over this crucial international trade route, the same

way it controls other sea routes inother parts of the globe by main-taining its military presence in

Resist US imperialist interventionin the South China Sea

strategic regions. In the US government's imperialistrationale, it has arrogated unto itseldf the sole rightand power to control the international seas.

The US has therefore long been concerned aboutChina's rise as an economic and military power. USimperialism views the Chinese government's consis-tent assertions of economic, military and foreign pol-icy independence as a threat to its power.

In the past four decades, US imperialism connivedwith revisionists within China to undermine thesocialist system and veer the country towards thecapitalist road. But it is capitalist restoration inChina that has spurred its ambitions to expand itspower beyond its borders. US imperialism considersChina a strategic threat to its status as the world's

sole superpower.The US wants its military tentacles to entanglethe entire South China Sea to counter Chinese effortsto develop and deploy huge numbers of advanced mil-itary equipment such as ballistic and cruise missiles

Editorial

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US strategicinterests arebehind the hoopla

over the SpratlyIslands issue

E ven before Aquino and his security anddiplomatic officials began hyping theSpratly Islands issue, the US had long beenplanning to incite tensions in the area inorder to create conditions that would jus-tify its entry into the fray.

The US asserted in the Pentagon'sQuadrennial Defense Review issued inFebruary 2010 that it must deter anddefeat aggression posed by countriesthat are potential US enemies. The face of US imperialism was starkly evident when itdeclared in the QDR 2010 that withoutdominant US capabilities to project power,the integrity of US alliances and securitypartnerships could be called into question,reducing US security and influence andincreasing the possibility of conflict.

Thus the US' zeal in resisting China's

emergence as a power. The US fears what itcalls strategic anti-access that aims todeprive it of the ability to project itspower in key regions in various parts of the globe.

In an article published in theWashington Times on August 13, 2010,Adm. James A. Lyons, one the the US' lead-ing military representatives to the UnitedNations and former commander of the USPacific Fleet expressed US suspicions overChina's expanding relations with Vietnam,

Malaysia and Indonesia and coun-tries belonging to the Associationof Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN). He also expressed graveconcern over the 65 agreementsforged between China and thePhilippines under the Arroyoregime, saying these were part of efforts to reduce US power andinfluence.

Lyons said it is clear that China

wants to become the dominantpower in the Western Pacific andforce a break between the US andits allies. To counter China, the UShas expanded relations withVietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.He added that the US is now instrategic competition with Chinaover forming strategic military

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

Ang Bayan is published in Pilipino,Bisaya, Iloko, Hiligaynon, Waray andEnglish editions.

It is available for downloading atthe Philippine Revolution Web Central located at:

www.philippinerevolution.org . Ang Bayan welcomes contributions

in the form of articles and news.Readers are likewise enjoined to sendin their comments and suggestions forthe betterment of our publication. Youcan reach us by email at:

angbayan@yahoo.com

Vol. XLII No. 13 July 7, 2011

Contents

Editorial : Resist US intervention inthe South China Sea 1US interests in Spratlys 3Prepare for SONA 4Decision on Hacienda Luisita 4Saudization and migrants 44Ps and Oplan Bayanihan 5Encounters in Cotabato 6Cult leader killed 761st IB, fascist to the core 8AFP, bane on children 8Landgrabbing in Isabela 9News 10

ANG

2 July 7, 2011 ANG BAYAN

and warplanes and submarines fully armed with modernweapons. It fears China's developing capability for long-rangeair defense and electronic warfare and its ability to attackspace-based computer systems and programs. It wants toneutralize China's naval base on Hainan Island which isbelieved to host submarines capable of launching strategicand tactical attacks.

In the face of US imperialism's military and diplomaticsaber-rattling and China's emerging power, the Filipino peo-ple are advancing an independent and peace-loving foreignpolicy. They desire a peaceful resolution to the multi-countryclaims to the Spratly Islands free from US interference. Theydemand a stop to US intervention in the South China Sea andthe withdrawal of all US forces in the area, including thosebased at the AFP Western Command headquarters in PuertoPrincesa City and the AFP Southern Command headquarters inZamboanga City.

The Filipino people condemn the Aquino regime for itssubservience to its imperialist master and the latter's policy

of worldwide hegemony. Aquino has been playing to the hiltthe role assigned to him by the US when it summoned himaboard the USS Carl Vinson in May. He claims to favor a diplo-matic resolution to the Spratly Islands issue, but continuesto attack China and pave the way for the US to deploy its mil-itary machinery in the region under the cloak of assisting inthe defense of the Philippines.

The Filipino people are one with those who condemnChina for its arrogance and refusal to recognize the multi-country claims to the Spratly Islands and engage in multilat-eral negotiations to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner.

The Filipino people call on the peoples of other countries

with claims over the Spratly Islands to unite and build analliance of Southeast Asian peoples that will resist theirrespective governments' obsequiousness to foreign powers,whether it be in the form of kowtowing to US intervention orbowing to China's exclusive claims over the region. They mustuse their solidarity to advance the equal rights of countriesand peoples involved in the conflict.

They must push for multilateral negotiations that are freefrom US meddling and demand the participation of people'srepresentatives. Such negotiations must result in agreementsthat support the political and economic interests of theregion's peoples and their aspirations for peace. ~

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3ANG BAYAN July 7, 2011

relations with Indonesia.The US is seriously con-

cerned with China's estab-lishment of fortresses inthe South China Sea. Asidefrom its naval base onHainan Island, Lyons citedChina's construction of amilitary base on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islandswhich he termed as a threatto the Philippines, Japanand South Korea, all of them US allies.

Almost a year has passedsince Lyons declared thataside from strengthening itsrelations with ASEAN, the USmust use the RP-US Mutual

Defense Treaty to strengthenits position on the issue of the South China Sea. Lyonsasserted that in addition toselling surplus militaryequipment to the Philip-pines, the US should likewiseconsider leasing out asquadron of F-16 airplanesalong with T-28 jet trainers,helicopters, a C-12 twin-engine aircraft that could be

used for counterinsurgencyand ocean patrols and twoFFG-7 warships.

Lyons also pushed forcommercial agreements thatwould enable the US mili-tary to utilize the facilitiesand logistics in Subic Bay.In this regard, US Sens.Daniel Inouye and ThadCochran came to the Phil-ippines in April to inspectthe facilities available atSubic that could be of useto the US military.

Meantime, US warshipshave already docked several times in Philippine portssince Aquino came topower. The USS Washingtondocked in September 2010and March 2011 in Manila.In May, the docking of the

USS Carl Vinson in the sameport was described by theAFP as sending a messageto China. Joint exerciseshave also been conductedin Palawan and in the seasnear the Spratly Islands aspart of the annual Balikatanexercises. ~

Prepare for the SONA: Exposethe real state of the nation!

The reactionary congress' resumption in a few weeks will be an occa-sion for Benigno Aquino III to deliver his state of the nation

address (SONA). We can expect Aquino's SONA to be full of emptyboasts and to propagate nothing but lies and illusions.

Long before Aquino's SONA, theFilipino people must activelyexpose the real state of the nation.All the revolutionary forces,activists and masses must be mobi-lized to launch a massive propa-ganda campaign to bring to thefore the real state of the nation.We must make use of all opportuni-tiesgatherings in farms andstreets, classrooms and offices,radio programs and the liketovent our anger and our readiness toresist the antipeople, pro-imperial-ist and fascist policies of the US-Aquino regime.

Let us expose the US-Aquinoregime's connivance with the inter-national oil cartel and its feignedhelplessness in the face of relent-less hikes in the prices of petrole-

um products that bleed the peopledry and enable the foreign oil com-panies to amass superprofits. Wemust assail the US-Aquino regime'srefusal to raise workers' wages inthe face of skyrocketing prices of goods and services.

We must slam its refusal toimplement genuine land reform inHacienda Luisita and other vastestates nationwide. We mustexpose thereign of oppress ion ,e x p l o i t a t i o nand repressionin the country-side.

Let usa s s a i l Aquino's con-tinued failureto prosecute

and punishGloria Arroyoand her co-horts for theircrimes of cor-ruption andplunder andfor killingsand other hu-

man rights violations.Let us denounce the US-Aquino

regime's plans to raise MRT faresand expressway toll fees as well asits scheme to privatize the MRTand leave all infrastructure build-ing projects in the hands of foreigninvestors in the name of public-private partnership which onlyadds to the people's burdens.

Let us expose and assail Aqui-nos connivance with US imperial-ism in allowing the entry of thou-sands of American troops into thePhilippines through a series of visits by US warships inSeptember 2010, March and May2011. Let us assail the stoking of military and diplomatic tensionsover the Spratly Islands in accor-dance with US dictates in order to

justify US interference and deploy-ment of military equipment and astronger military presence in theAsia-Pacific as part of the US' strat-egy to deter China's growing influ-ence and power.

Let us expose and assail attempts to stop the advance of peace negotiations between theNDFP and the GPH through the

arrest and continueddetention of

N D F Pc o n -

sultantsin violation of

the JASIG. Let us exposethe relentless violations of

human rights, both in the formof brutal military attacksagainst the people such askillings, beatings, arrests,detention and the like and

more refined but equallybrutal violations such asthe militarization of com-munities and government

services which sow a climate of fear and suppress the people'scivil rights.

All forces must act to presentthe true state of the various sec-

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The Supreme Court decisionon Hacienda Luisita is unacceptable

M ass layoffs of contractual Filipino workers inSaudi Arabia: this is what the Saudization pol-icy means. The policy, which began implementationon July 2 involves the prioritization by the Saudi gov-ernment of its own workers, to the detriment of con-tractual migrant workers in the Middle Eastern king-dom. It brings to the fore the bankruptcy of the laborexport policy which systematically pushes manyFilipinos to work abroad.

Up to 350,000 Filipino domestic helpers current-ly working in Saudi Arabia will be affected bySaudization. Recruitment agencies estimate that upto 300,000 domestics will not be able to work next

year.Filipino domestic workers in Saudi Arabia havebeen suffering from a wage freeze in addition tooppressive working conditions. Many of them aremade to work for long hours, given little food andtreated like slaves. Some become their employers' sexslaves. Not a few come home with mental illnesses orend up dead.

The Saudi government has ignored calls to protect

the welfare and interests of Filipinos in the kingdom.It has refused to implement a $400 minimum wage forFilipino domestics and ensure their rights. In spite of this, some 30,000 to 40,000 Filipinos keep on return-ing to Saudi Arabia annually to work.

The Aquino regime has not lifted a finger to pre-pare for the influx of jobless migrant workers. Instead,it has stepped up efforts to look for positions in othercountries in hopes of retaining millions of dollars of remittances by migrant workers.

Saudization is but one of the policies that will lead to the mass layoffs of contractual Filipino work-ers. These policies are an offshoot of the economic

crisis and political turmoil currently engulfing theentire Middle East. As the crisis in their respectiveeconomies deepens and as workers in the Middle Eastactively fight for their right to employment and justwages, more and more countries will be closing theirdoors to migrant Filipinos.

In the face of all this, the reactionary governmentmust do away with the labor export policy and focuson the mass creation of jobs locally. ~

Saudization and the contractual migrant Filipino

4 July 7, 2011 ANG BAYAN

tors, communities, schools, offices and the like. Wemust avail of all methods of mass propaganda such asposting streamers in public, painting slogans on walls,displaying posters and statements and distributingleaflets. Launch mass meetings in schools, communi-ties, factories and offices that will serve as fora forthe masses to air their grievances, unite in theiranalyses against the US-Aquino regime and be encour-aged to tread the path of mass struggle.

Let us encourage the mass media to help in expos-ing the real state of the nation. Let our statements becarried by the print, broadcast and television media.

Call, text, tweet and use facebook to propagate themessage of resistance.

Let us rouse the students into transforming theirschools into centers for exposing the real state of the nation. Let us call on them to study the state of society by paving the way for campus tours of spokespersons of unions, peasant associations,urban poor groups and other organizations of thetoiling masses. Let us stir their interest to joinexposure tours in communities or factories neartheir campuses in order for them to grasp the real state of the Filipino people. ~

F armers and farm workers bitter-ly assailed the Supreme Courtdecision ordering another referen-dum on Hacienda Luisita. In adecision issued July 5, the courtordered a new round of voting byhacienda workers to determinewhether they prefer being givenland to till or shares of stock inHacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI).

If we choose land, we will have to pay for it and our amorti-zations will end up with theCojuangco family. This is a win-winsolution for the Cojuangcos and itleaves us at the losing end, saidRodel Mesa, spokesperson of theAlyansa ng mga Magbubukid saHacienda Luisita (AMBALA) on the

Supreme Court-mandated referen-dum.

Members of AMBALA havedecided to boycott the referendum.The court's decision derives from asham referendum in 1989 that hadthe assent of the then-prevailingyellow union. Through this referen-dum, the Cojuangco family wasable to make the farmers choosethe stock option plan instead of land through a combination of bribery and intimidation.

Thus, the planned referendumwill be no different from theCojuangco family's 1989 maneuverand another anomaly-ridden refer-endum in August 2010 that againsecured the farmers' and farm

workers' assent through deceit. Itis all part of the Cojuangco-Aquinoclan's grand plan to prevent thedistribution of the hacienda landsto the farmers.

The Supreme Court decisiononly favors the landlord regime of Benigno Aquino III, railed Rep.Rafael Mariano of Partido Anak-pawis. This decision clearly showsthat the Supreme Court is aninstrument of deception, oppres-sion and exploitation. He warnedthat the decision will not resolvethe more than 50-year agrarianproblem in Hacienda Luisita butwill instead add fuel to the fires of

agrarian struggle in the estate.A strike at Hacienda Luisita inNovember 2006 led to a bloodymassacre when police, military andarmed goons opened fire onprotesting farmers. ~

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ANG BAYAN July 7, 2011 5

been warned that the small cashtransfers they have been receivingwill be withdrawn if they joinBAYAN and other progressive or-ganizations.

In Northeastern Mindanao, 4Psis being implemented by soldiers.The AFP has been using the pro-gram as a pretext to call villagemeetings. One of 4Ps' provisions isthat at least 85% of the targetbeneficiaries should be presentin such meetings. Residents whowant to enroll in the program arelikewise subjected to backgroundinvestigations, thus making 4Ps away for soldiers to collect intelli-gence information.

In Palawan and other parts of

Mindoro, the DSWD has been using4Ps assemblies to counter theactivities of progressive organiza-tions. There have been instanceswhen the DSWD purposely sched-uled community assemblies andother family sessions to preventresidents from attending activitiesof progressive organizations.

The use of 4Ps and other shamsocial programs as instruments of pacification is not original to the

Aquino regime. In 2003, theArroyo regime formed Salaam(Special Advocacy on Literacy/ Livelihood Advancement for Mus-lims) Soldiers in tandem withKALAHI-CIDSS. KALAHI-CIDSS isan organization affiliated with4Ps. Many members of SalaamSoldiers are either soldiers or for-mer members of the MILF or MNLF who have already become activein the AFP.

On paper, part of the SalaamSoldiers' duties are to deliversocial and medical services and to

maintain peace and orderin their respective com-munities. But accordingto no less than the AFP,the operations of Salaam Soldiers are no

different fromthat of the

Special Opera-tions Teams. A

local DSWD adminis-trator has particu-larly mentionedthat among their

beneficiariesare relatives of MILF and NPA. ~

4Ps is one of the Aquino gov-ernment's major programs. Aquinowill be allotting ` 53.6 billion tothe program in 2012, up from its` 34.3 billion budget for 2011. Itsavowed objective is to uplift threemillion families from poverty.

Through a package of doleoutsand a few health and educationprograms, 4Ps aims to create theillusion that the government is

delivering services to the people,thereby regaining the people'strust. In fact, such showcaseprograms obscure the real roots of the people's poverty in order toassuage their anger and distancethem from looking for revolution-ary solutions to their oppression.

The Aquino government isimplementing 4Ps in tandem withOplan Bayanihan (OPB). Many of the 4Ps priority areas coincide with

OPB priority areas.In Negros, for instance, the

local government recently un-veiled the Negros First Develop-ment Agenda (NFDA), which isnone other than the local versionof 4Ps and other doleout pro-grams of the Aquino regime. Itsimplementor is Gov. AlfredoMaraon, a despotic comprador-landlord and bureaucrat who wasalso the implementor of thebloody Oplan Bantay Laya underthe Arroyo regime, and currentlyone of the main proponents of Oplan Bayanihan under theAquino regime. Maraon hasbeen using his office to mobi-lize the various agencies of government and use theirfunds for military andpolice operationsagainst the

revolution-ary forcesand thelegal demo-cratic move-ment. Maraon organizedthe Negros Island Peace andOrder Council or NIPOC toserve as the center for

civil-military operations through-out the island. The council, whosemembers include high-rankingmilitary and police officers iswell-funded. It implementsrepressive and militarist programsin the name of development andpoverty-alleviation.

In Leyte, the scope of 4Ps wasrecently expanded from ten to 22municipalities. 4Ps and other

development and poverty-allevi-ation projects in Eastern Visayasare being implemented in tandemwith the Samar Island Partnershipfor Peace and Development (SIP-PAD) which is run by the 8thInfantry Division's top brass.Among SIPPAD's projects is theconstruction of what has beendubbed as the road to war whichwill connect the eastern and west-ern halves of the island. The AFP

has long considered Samar a prior-ity area.

In Panay island, 4Ps is beingused as an even more brazeninstrument to suppress and pacifythe people. PAMALAKAYA, a pro-gressive fisherfolk organizationreports that 4Ps beneficiaries arestrictly prohibited from joininggroups that criticize and resist the

Aquino regime. In aglaring violation

of their civil rights, resi-

dents have

4Ps and Oplan Bayanihan

T he Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a pacification pro-gram of the US-Aquino regime. It is the operationalized version of the World Bank's so-called conditional cash transfer program thatis being implemented in various part of the world.

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Problems and anomaliesof 4Ps in Palawan

4 Ps is riddled with anomalies at every level, reported aPalawan local who has joined the program. In one of the island's towns, residents have also complained aboutthe chaotic procedures involved in identifying the pro-gram's beneficiaries.

According to one of 4Ps' designated community lead-

ers, it is not the poor who are on the list of beneficiariesbut persons close to local officials. Some of them haveregular jobs or are even employees of the municipal gov-ernment. With the patronage system so rampant, only ahandful of those who are truly poor are able to avail of the program's benefits.

The surveys do not cover people in the town's farflungareas, where most of the poorest residents live. When abeneficiary is unable to comply with the requirements,his benefits are transferred to somene from a ready list of fillers. Many of these fillers are supplied by the local government and openly endorsed by politicians.

In one sitio, not all of the listed beneficiariesreceived doleouts. Some of them received the subsidiesonly once. Others did not receive the full amount, withsome receiving only half of what they should have got-ten. Many residents feel that it is not worth their whileto join the program, especially since some of them haveto spend for transport fare just to get to the municipal hall. ~

VICTORIOUS TACTICAL OFFENSIVES

Encounters in North Cotabato

Contrary to reports by drumbeaters of the Armed Forces of thePhilippines (AFP), the military suffered 16 casualties while not a

single Red fighter of the New People's Army (NPA) was killed orwounded in a series of encounters in Barangays Malasila and Luayon inMakilala, North Cotabato on June 15, 16 and 17.

In a statement, Ka MacarioDilaab, spokesperson of theNPA Mt. Alip OperationsCommand in Far SouthMindanao Regionsaid that at leastseven bodieswere immediately

loaded onto a helicopter after theencounters. The information camefrom eyewitness accounts of NPAsnipers who were at a higherposition. Reliable reports alsosaid that the Philippine Armyactually suffered 16 casualties,most of them regular soldiers of the 57th, 40th and 39th IB, dueto a misencounter among theoperating troops.

The fascist troops were soconfused and

disorganized that they ended upshooting at each other as the NPAsnipers observed them from afar.

After the military casualtieswere loaded onto a helicopter, 6th

ID spokesperson Lt. Col. GaudencioAsto announced that they hadkilled four NPA members. He iden-tified three of them as AlexanderSelano, Miguel Ocsio and aCommander Sammy. In fact, themen whose names he mentionedare ordinary villagers and not NPAmembers. They just happened tobe living near the site of the

encounter and misencounter.None of them was killed or

even wounded.To cover

up the AFP'se m b a r r a s s -ment, Tora-Tora planes

bombed and strafedseveral villages of Makilala.

The military also forced vil-lagers to serve as guides in

their operations. ~

All talk, no action

A fter a year in power, the Aquino regimehas done nothing to prosecute, try andpunish Gloria Arroyo and her minions.Aquino has been all talk in condemning thecorruption cases involving the previousregime.

The latest case involves Arroyo's anom-

alous use of PCSO funds, treating them as if they were private monies. After a series of investigations, not a single criminal case hasbeen filed by the government against Arroyo.

As time passes, it becomes increasinglyclear that Aquino is merely using the formerpresident as a scapegoat in order to cover uphis own regime's incompetence and bank-ruptcy. He calls for investigations but showsno interest in bringing to court the casesthat have been unearthed. He steps up histirades against Arroyo whenever people

become more discontented with the way heruns his government.

Aquino's non-action has been reflected inthe results of the latest Pulse Asia surveyconducted May 21 to June 4, showing that39% of Filipinos do not approve of Aquino'sperformance and 40% do not believe that hecan reduce the poverty incidence and ram-pant government corruption. ~

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VICTORIOUS TACTICAL OFFENSIVES

Lingig, Surigao del Sur and Trento,Agusan del Sur.

To protect these interests, thePPPHSI has been trying to evictmore than 60 peasant families in

San Jose and Pamaypayan. Thearmed cult has also been stealingthe peasants' farm animals andbeating up local residents to forcethem to leave their productivelands. Barangay officials who draft-ed a petition against the cult'slandgrabbing and intimidationhave been harassed and their livesthreatened.

Benigno Aquino III is usingarmed fanatical sects like thePPPHSI to implement OplanBayanihan in the same way thathis mother, former Pres. CorazonAquino used them under the US-designed low intensity conflictcounterinsurgency, said the NPA-CHC.

Meanwhile, members of theNPA Wilfredo Zapanta Commandseized an M16 in a raid on thepolice outpost at the Mati Bus

Terminal in Mati, Davao Oriental on June 7. PO3 Alfredo Salva waskilled when he fought it out withthe guerrillas. A Red fighter alsosacrificed his life in this opera-tion. ~

Accosted withLangbid at the check-point was his righthand man RomeoCasas, also a memberof PPPHSI and a noto-rious element of theBarangay IntelligenceNetwork. Instead of surrendering theirfirearms, Casas firedat the NPA check-point, prompting theguerrillas to return

fire. Langbid andCasas were killed in the process.The NPA seized a baby M16 and

four pistols, said Ka Roel AgustinIII, NPA-CHC spokesperson.

Langbid was also a close aide

of Josefina PinaP a l m a - P a u l o ,known as PPP-HSI's supremeleader based inBislig City, Su-rigao del Sur.Langbid led the60-strong armedcult, half of whose membersare regular sol-diers of the 75thIB. The cult oper-

ates a 3,000-hectare coal mine in BarangaysSan Jose and Pamaypayan inBislig City. The group is alsoinvolved in large-scale loggingand extortion in Bislig City,

Leader of armed cult killedat NPA checkpoint

R ed fighters of the NPA Conrado Heredia Command (NPA-CHC) killedSPO3 Benjamin Langbid, an element of the CARAGA Regional Intelligence Division of the Philippine National Police who was alsoone of the notorious leaders of a private army called the PhilippinePrayer for Peace of the Holy Spirit Incorporated (PPPHSI). The incidenttook place on June 23, at around 7 a.m. at an NPA checkpoint along thenational highway in Purok 7, Barangay Pasian, Monkayo, CompostelaValley.

NPA launches harassment operations in Negros

N ew People's Army (NPA) units under the Leonardo Panaligan Command (NPA-LPC) launched coordinat-ed harassment operations against the 11th IB, the so-called Killer Battalion.NPA units harassed three detachments in Negros Oriental and another one in Negros Occidental at

around 12 midnight of June 13. Other units simultaneously set up checkpoints along the national high-way in Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental that day. Their objective was to block soldiers and crimi-nal elements who owe blood debts to the people and those with standing warrants of arrest issued bythe people's court.

Soldiers from nearby AFP and PNP camps did not even come out or send reinforcements, for fear of being involved in the fighting, said Ka JB Regalado, NPA-LPC spokesperson.

Before these military actions, members of the Pambansang Katipunan ng Magbubukid (PKM) launcheda noise barrage and built bonfires on June 12 in several villages, towns and cities in Central Negros.Members of the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) joined the coordinated action by putting up posters and

painting revolutionary slogans in the towns and cities.By mobilizing hundreds of regular members of the people's army, the people's militia and self-defense

units under the NPA-LPC, the Red fighters demonstrated their ability to conduct systematic and plannedmaneuvers supported by a several thousand strong mass base. The AFP and PNP were stunned by thesecoordinated actions and failed to mobilize despite the fantastic claims by Col. Jonas Sumagaysay, 3rd IDassistant commanding officer that the revolutionary movement in Negros island is on the verge of col-lapse. ~

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age. To evade responsibility fortheir crimes and abuses, they brandvillage children as NPA child sol-diers, vent their ire on them and inthe process slander the NPA.

It is against the NPA's rules torecruit minors. On the other hand,the NPA obtained proof of the AFP'suse of minors in its counterrevolu-tionary war when a 16-year oldCAFGU element was killed in a fire-fight in Lianga, Surigao del Sur onJune 7.

Meanwhile, a 15-year old girl was raped by three elements of thePresidential Security Guard on June21. Rose (not her real name) waspimped by Barangay ChairmanAngelo Murillo to the PSG soldiersafter she was caught violating cur-

few.In a sworn statement, Rosesaid that a S/Sgt. Walter Cande-laria and two of his companionsraped her right inside the PSG bar-racks. Progressive organizationsstrongly condemned the crime andcalled on Aquino to investigate hismen and punish those who arefound guilty. ~

61st IB: Fascist to the core

The Philippine Army 3rd Infantry Division was compelled to transferits butcher unit, the 61st IB due to intense protests from

Negrenses, especially farmers, farm workers, the religious and otherdemocratic sectors. Because of its bloody record of violating humanrights, the battalion supposedly underwent retraining and reorienta-tion to teach it to value human rights.

After just a few months of being stationed in Panay, however,the 61st IB has bared its true char-acter as an enemy of the people. Anumber of incidents in Central Panay illustrate that the 61st IB isfascist to the core.

For one, residents have longbeen complaining about the 61stIB's prolonged stay in the centersof intermediate and uplandbarangays of Tapaz, Capiz, wherethey have been using the people ashuman shields.

In May, drunken soldiers indis-criminately fired their guns inBarangay Roosevelt, Tapaz. Theycontinue to sow terror and engagein psywar tactics against the peo-

ple to destroy their unity and their

struggle for their rights.The soldiers have been propa-

gating decadentculture in the vil-lages. In May, 61stIB troops broughtprostitutes to Ba-rangay Rooseveltand pimped themoff to the locals.This was just a con-tinuation of whattheir predecessors,the 47th IB, did. They also persistin showing pornographic movies tochildren despite the parents'demands for the soldiers to stop.

Crimes have proliferated in thevillages. When the 61st IB replaced

the 47th IB in 2011, the soldiers

based themselves in BarangayRoosevelt. Since then, carabaorustling has become rampant.

The 61st IB is also an instru-ment for seizing the ancestral

lands of the Tumanduk. They arealso being used as security forcesin a dam project at the Jalaur Riverand in mining operations of TeresaMarble covering the uplandbarangays of Tapaz, Capiz and

Calinog.The fascist 61st IB is no

different from the abusive47th IB, said Ka JunieGuerrero, spokesperson of theNPA Jose Percival Estocada Jr.Command in Central Panay. Itis no wonder that the peoplehave been fighting it.

A number of angry civil-ians used a shotgun to shoot

at 61st IB troops staying at theBarangay Roosevelt covered gymon June 12 at around 9 p.m.,wounding a Corporal Pagurayon inthe calf. The soldiers retaliated byopening fire for 20 minutes at the

direction of the civilians' houses.

AFP, a bane on children

T he AFP has been wantonly violating the rights of children nation-wide. They cover up such crimes by maligning the New People'sArmy and the revolutionary movement.On June 26, three children were

illegally arrested and detained bythe 401st Bde in San Agustin,Surigao del Sur. The militarybranded them as NPA childsoldiers and ordered themto plant land mines alongthe road. This was afteran NPA team ambushed acomposite force of the29th, 36th and 75th IBthat day using a com-mand-detonated explo-

sive. Two soldiers werekilled and several werewounded in the ambush.The troops had beenlaunching a month-longoperation with the shamCommunity Organizing forPeace and Development (COPD)under Oplan Bayanihan as cover.Throughout their stay, they had

been hit seven times by the NPA.The truth is that the soldiers

arbitrarily picked upthe three childrenduring a militaryoperation in Hani-paan, San Agustin.

They were then withtheir father and anoth-er relative. Due to theextent of the soldiers'casualties in the

NPA's defense of

the area, and alsobecause of thelocal residents'firm and militantstance against

the AFP's deception,the soldiers view all locals as NPA. They

indiscriminately arrest, detain andeven kill the civilians, regardless of

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Landgrabbing in Isabela

V arious government agencies are in cahoots to systematically seizethe peasants' lands in several towns of Central Isabela. The syndi-cate is composed of officials from the Department of Environmentand Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR),the Registry of Deeds and the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP). A com-pany engaged in bio-ethanol production is now using this cabal to seizemore land that it could plant to sugar cane.

The first swindle foisted bygovernment is to have the DENRdeclare the alleged presence of several idle and abandoned lands,particularly in San Mariano, Isa-bela, the center of the bio-ethanol project.

In reality, practically every inchof arable land in San Mariano isalready productive and planted torice, corn, pineapple and vegeta-bles. The state's own statisticsshow that 33,262 hectares in thismunicipality was composed of agri-cultural land in 2003, with 14,927hectares or almost 45% of it plant-ed to corn. But the DENR has pur-posely classified the land erro-neously to justify their takeover byGreen Future Innovations, Inc.

(GFI), the bio-ethanol companywhich is owned by a Japanese-Taiwanese-Filipino consortium. GFIsigned a contract with the Isabela

provincial govern-ment in 2006 to

plant sugarcane on

1 1 , 0 0 0

hectares in 17 barangays in Central Isabela and set up a bio-ethanol plant in the area. The bio-ethanol product will be used to produceelectricity.

Based on a production volumeof 125,000 liters daily or 54 millionliter annually, the GFI will be thebiggest bio-ethanol producernationwide. It will be fully opera-tional in 2012. But this early, theresidents of Central Isabela arealready reeling from its destructiveeffects.

Isabela is the biggest cornproducer and the second biggestrice producer in the country. Thisdistinction is in danger of beinglost with GFI's entry into theprovince.

The DENR also tells the farmersof San Mariano that the lands theyhave long been tilling lie withinprotected areas. Unknown tothem, the DENR has been leasingout the land to big agri-businesseslike GFI.

GFI itself has been hoodwink-ing the farmers in order to seizetheir lands. Those who allow theirlands to be converted to sugarcane plantations are promised rentof ` 20,000 per year. They later find

out that GFI has reduced theamount to a mere ` 5,000annually. This has con-demned many formerly self-

sufficient farmers to a life of penury, with not even a plot wherethey could plant vegetables forpersonal consumption.

I nother cases,

farmers' appli-cations to have theirland titled are purposely

not acted upon so that fixerscould approach them and offerassistance.

The fixers are actually mem-bers of the landgrabbing syndi-

cate. They offer to survey the

land and process the papers forfree. The farmers then find out toolate that their land has been reg-istered in someone else's name.The syndicate then announcesthat the fake owner has agreed tovoluntarily sell his land.

Once the land is sold, thebogus owner who is usually con-nected to the DAR and theRegional Land Bank receives` 70,000 per hectare or ` 546,000per 7.6-hectare parcel of land.Farmers who complain are paid`2,000 to `5,000 to keep silent.

The Land Bank may also sudden-ly declare a piece of land to beunder a CLOA and tell the farmersthat they will have to pay amortiza-

tion of `35,000 per hectare or`273,000 per parcel of land, ex-cluding interest, for the next 30years. Since most farmers are unableto keep up with their payments,their lands are foreclosed and sold.

In both cases, the GFI ends upwith most of the parcels of land forsale.

Hundreds of farmers, includingnational minorities have been vic-timized by this syndicate.

To suppress those who opposesuch abuse, the areas covered bythe bio-ethanol project are contin-ually being militarized, with moresoldiers coming in and more mili-tary camps built. Those who resistare threatened and beaten up, withsome being accused of membershipin the New People's Army. Theirnames are also dropped from thelist of beneficiaries of the PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).They are refused certificates of indigency to prevent them fromavailing of free social services.

The peasants have been losingtheir land, livelihoods and eventheir lives because of this project,said Diony Yadao, a farmer andleader of the Danggayan DagitiMannalon ti Isabela (DAGAMI)which is affiliated with theKilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

We cannot eat sugar cane, and wecannot sell it either. Agricultural lands that used to be planted torice, corn and vegetables havebecome sugar cane plantations,and the farmers do not benefitfrom them at all. From being farm-ers, we have become tenants andvulnerable to abuse. ~

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LFS slams AFP

THE League of Filipino Students (LFS) slammed theArmed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for stating thatthe LFS is one of the organizations that should be

avoided by students because it recruits members whowill eventually become rebels.LFS chair Terry Ridon said the statement by AFP

ILPS hails Greek uprising

Civil Relations Service chief Brig. Gen. Ernesto del Rosario is irresponsible and dangerous. Ridon saidthey will hold Del Rosario personally accountable if someone among the ranks of the youth and studentsis killed due to his statement.

The LFS also plans to file administrative and libel cases against the military officer.

Based on experiences under Oplan Bantay Laya(OBL), mass leaders and activists are either killed orabducted whenever the military issues such state-ments.

The LFS said it does not believe that the Aquinogovernment's much-vaunted Oplan Bayanihan is dif-ferent from the bloody OBL. In fact, said Ridon,attacks by warmongers like General Del Rosarioagainst the youth and students continue under theAquino regime.

THE International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS)hailed the Union of Working People, one of its mem-ber organizations, for leading a mass action joined bymore than 500,000 people at Syntagam Square inAthens on June 5. The Greek people demanded theouster of their government for implementing anti-worker and antipeople policies.

The ILPS expressed solidarity with the Greek peo-ple and called on its 300 member organizations theworld over to demonstrate their solidarity and supportfor the Greeks in their struggle against their govern-

ment's austerity measures and for genuine democracyand social liberation.Aside from the people that gathered at Syntagam

Square, thousands of others massed up in public parksin 30 other cities to show their anger over the auster-ity measures.

Greece is only one of the capitalist countries inEurope that has been hit hard by the financial andeconomic crisis that has been pummeling the interna-tional capitalist system since 2008. The main reasonbehind the crisis is the insistence of bourgeois gov-ernments to implement neoliberal policies.

Aside from Greece, other countries that have beenseverely hit by the crisis are Portugal, Italy, Irelandand Spain.

Cops disperse US Embassy protest

SEVERAL rallyists were injured when policemenviolently dispersed a protest action against Fil-American Friendship Day launched by the

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in frontof the US Embassy along Roxas Boulevard, PasayCity on July 4.

More than 200 rallyists marched towards theUS Embassy to assail the unequal relationsbetween the US and Philippine governments.They also demanded the junking of the VisitingForces Agreement (VFA) which they said wasbeing used as a pretext for the continued pres-ence of more than 700 American troops in thecountry.

The violent dispersal of the demonstrationshows that Benigno Aquino III is no differentfrom his predecessor Gloria Arroyo, said BAYANsecretary-general Renato Reyes. His securityforces do not have any qualms dispersing dem-ocratic assemblies just to be able to show hisregime's puppetry to US imperialism.

Bishops, governors tied to PCSOanomaly

THE names of Catholic bishops who receivedluxury vehicles from the Philippine CharitySweepstakes Office (PCSO) during the Arroyoregime were divulged in a hearing by the SenateBlue Ribbon Committee on June 29.

PCSO director Atty. Aleta Tolentino disclosedthat Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos received twoSports Utility Vehicles (SUV) while Rev. OrlandoQuevedo of Cotabato, Msgr. Augusto Laban of Sorsogon and Fr. Roger Lood of Iligan Cityreceived one SUV each. Also on the list of recip-

ients are the Zamboanga Archdiocesan Social Action Apostolate, the Diocese of Bangued(Abra), the Prelature of Isabela (Basilan), theApostolic Vicarate of Bontoc and Caritas of Nueva Segovia which covers Ilocos Sur.

The law only allows the PCSO to distributeambulances and not luxury vehicles.

When it comes to ambulances, Arroyo alliesreceived the biggest number. Seven governorstopped the list: Loreto Campos of MisamisOccidental and Sally Lee of Sorsogon (20),Joey Salceda of Albay (14), Bellaflor Angara-Castillo of Aurora (13), Enrico Aumentado of Bohol (12) and Oscar Moreno of MisamisOriental (11).

ANG BAYAN July 7, 2011