‘Stronger’ communists mark 50th year with vow to resist Duterte’s tyranny

On its 50th anniversary, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Wednesday has vowed to soldier on in resisting President Rodrigo Duterte's policy of fascist terror, saying that their troops can't be defeated by the military.

In a statement, the CPP's Central Committee said it is determined to fight the Duterte administration's bid to “overpower all forms of resistance; manipulate, if not control the mid-term elections and steamroll charter change for bogus federalism to impose a full-blown fascist dictatorship.”

The CPP said the administration is doing this by giving the military absolute power through declaration of national emergency, continued implementation of martial law in Mindanao despite the military defeating members of terror unit Maute group way back in October 2017, mulling a death squad to kill communist rebels, militarization of lumad schools, institutionalizing localized peace talks or peace talks between the national and local government instead of sticking with the peace process between the government and the communists, and deploying additional security forces in the Bicol Region and the provinces of Samar, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental to address lawless violence, among others.

"Let us celebrate the CPP's 50th anniversary as we wage all-out resistance against Duterte's fascist tyranny, corruption and puppetry. The broad masses of workers and peasants suffer from ever-worsening forms of oppression and exploitation, increasingly intolerable poverty and deprivation of the basic needs and services and ruthless fascist attacks and abuses by state armed forces...they are driven to rise up in mass struggles and wage armed resistance,” the CPP said.

“With absolute powers, the military is set on meddling in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections, if these are held, in order to manipulate the results to favor pro-Duterte and pro-military politicians. This is in line with his plan of perpetuating himself in power by installing himself as a dictator through charter change which would allow for reelections and a bogus kind of federal system in which powers are centralized in his hand,” the CPP added.

Likewise, the CPP argued that the military is nowhere near defeating them for good, saying that the deadline for eradicating the communist rebels has been constantly moving.

“Their claim last year that the NPA (New People's Army) will be defeated before the end of 2018 has been frustrated and proven a big lie. This year, they proclaim that the NPA will be completely finished by mid-2019. As in all previous regimes, they keep on moving their impossible deadline. The military will be roundly frustrated as it faces a stronger nationwide force of the NPA that is ever more capable and determined to mount annihilation level of attacks on its weak and vulnerable points,” the CPP added.

The CPP then said that together with the NPA, its armed group, it has fortified its position to further strengthen the revolutionary mass movement because they have a solid grasp the requisites of widespread and intensive character of guerrilla warfare on top of building and deployment of its horizontal and vertical formations, forming guerrilla theaters composed of two to three guerrilla fronts, employing some elements of regular mobile warfare, mobilizing the masses for armed struggle, waging agrarian revolution and other mass campaigns in the countryside.

“By condemning Duterte's tyranny and fascist terrorism, calling on the people to resist the regime's campaign of mass murder, exposing its fake "drug war," crimes and corruption, denouncing the wanton destruction of Marawi, assailing its subservience to the US, and protesting its neoliberal policies, excessive loans and sellout of country's patrimony, the CPP has succeeded in setting the correct line of uniting the Filipino people under a broad united front to overthrow the US-Duterte fascist regime through all forms of resistance,” the CPP added.

'Failed rebellion'

Malacañang, however, on Wednesday dismissed the communist insurgency in the country as a failure.

“The 50 years of Joma Sison's rebellion speaks for itself. It's a failed rebellion,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said, countering CPP founding chairman Jose Maria "Joma" Sison's claim that the party has remained "strong" and "vibrant."

The Philippine Army on the other hand said the CPP's actions run counter to the supposed peace agenda it is selling to the government.

“The CPP marks and highlighted their anniversary with atrocious violence,” said Army Spokesman Colonel Louie Villanueva in a statement.

“Their actions are entirely in contrast to the peace agenda that they are trying to sell to the government and promise to the people,” he added. 

The Philippine Army said the NPA violated its self-imposed holiday ceasefire after the rebel group's encounter in Rodriguez, Rizal with government forces on Christmas Day.

According to Brigadier General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the Army's 202nd Infantry Brigade, a nine-man squad of the government forces was conducting security patrol in Rodriguez, Rizal on Tuesday when civilians informed them about NPA members supposedly planning to attack the Macaingalan Patrol Base in Barangay Puray.

The clash left a member of the CAFGU Active Auxiliary (CAA) wounded on the leg, although he is now in a stable condition. —KG, GMA News