ANGPahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas

Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

Vol . L N o. 1 6

August 2 1 , 2 01 9

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EDITORIAL

Resist the threat ofmartial law in campuses

NPA-MisOr seizes

4 AK47 riflesWITHIN JUST FIVE minutes andwithout firing a shot, a unit of theNew People's Army was able toraid a plunderous energy plant inMisamis Oriental on August 19 inthe morning.

Confiscated from the guardsof the AY 76 Security Agency de-ployed at the Minergy Power Cor-poration (MPC) in Barangay Que-zon Heights, Balingasag town,were four AK 47 rifles, 200 bulletsand several handheld radios.

The MPC is a 165-MW coalpower plant located along theMacajalar Bay. The plant dumps itstoxic chemical wastes in the saidbay. Consequently, residents re-ported to the NPA that they haveacquired several complicationssuch as asthma, dizziness and soreeyes since the plant operationswent full blast in September 2017.

The city council of MisamisOriental also conducted an inves-

"AK47...," continued on page 3

The Duterte fascist regime has evil plans. Rodrigo Duterte andhis minions wish to impose tyrannical rule on universities be-cause of their deep resentment against students and teachers

openly opposing the fascist regime.

Over the past weeks, Bato delaRosa, Duterte's loyal attack dog,has been using his senate positionto bark at youth activists andteachers. Dela Rosa mounted rub-bish shows to clamp down on youthand teachers organizations. TheAFP resorted to fear-mongeringwhen it claimed school shootingsmight not be prevented if they arebarred from entering campuses.

Fascist agents insist on revok-ing the 1982 Soto-Enrile agree-ment. This agreement is one of theimportant legacy of the students intheir fight against the FerdinandMarcos dictatorship to uphold

democracy and make campus aca-demic freedom flourish. Stemmingfrom it is the 1989 University of thePhilippines-Department of NationalDefense agreement which sets sim-ilar prohibitions against entry intocampus of AFP and PNP personnel.

The ultimate aim of dela Rosaand officers of the AFP and PNP isto remove all hindrances againstbeefing-up campus presence of po-lice and soldiers who they claim alsohave the "right" to "indoctrinate"the students. In hundreds ofschools, the AFP and PNP are al-ready conducting indoctrinationcampaigns in the form of "youth

"Resist...," continued on page 2

August 21 , 2019 ANG BAYAN2

Vol . L N o. 16 | August 2 1 , 2 01 9

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Editorial: Resist the threat of campusmartial law 1NPA-MisOr seizes 4 AK47 rifles 1Offensives in Bicol 3Scheme to suppress the youth 4Bukidnon FMOs 5Protests vs. campus militarization 7HRVs in Bukidnon 8200 families from Caramoan evacuate 9Gina Lopez passes away 9Pepmaco dispesal 10FFM in Isabela 11Undistributed DepEd books 11Drug war ops in Baseco 11Day of Mourning for Negros 11Dengvaxia mass vaccination 12New US military facility 12Hongkong protests vs. extradition 12Amazon forest fire 13

leadership fora," "informationdrives," "trainings," or "immuniza-tion" against the "communist dis-ease" and fight "communist infiltra-tion" in schools.

They label activist organizationsas "fronts" of the Communist Party.The AFP and PNP teach that all crit-icism against the ruling regime andsystem is a result of "communistagitation." Their fascist ideology in-sists on obscuring the reality of op-pression and exploitation and ab-sence of national freedom which arethe root of the people's armed andunarmed resistance.

The AFP now wants universitiesto be put under military rule andserve as platform for propagatingits fascist ideology. At the most ba-sic, the presence of armed stateagents is incongruent with univer-sity academic freedom. It is a pur-veyor of threat and intimidationagainst students, teachers, scien-tists and researchers. Intellectualthinking cannot flourish if theacademe is under the armed threat

of the state. Duterte aspires tobring back the time of Marcos whenthe academe served as the officialbroadcaster of the "new society"line. He wants these to be guardedby his armed agents and be ruledover by mercenary intellectuals.

Fascism goes against the liberaltradition of academic freedom. Tofascists, there should be no room forthoughts or views that do not mirroror uphold the dogma or doctrine ofthe ruling regime. Expressing orsupporting the patriotic or demo-cratic interests of the people orcriticizing the current system andadministration is equated with sub-version or supporting armed revo-lution.

If the AFP and PNP will be al-lowed to freely enter campuses,surveillance and restrictions againststudents and teachers will beheightened by the Duterte regime'sfascist agents. Their presence willintimidate the youth from joiningorganizations, assembling orspeaking up against Duterte. Thiswill result in the suppression of

students' and teachers' democraticrights. In other words, it will ulti-mately redound to imposing martiallaw on campuses.

All these measures by the AFPand PNP are being carried out inline with the counterinsurgencydoctrine now dominating theDuterte regime's policies. It is theimplementation of the "whole ofnation approach" which has noother aim but to put the whole na-tion under military control. Themilitary now wants to control evenideological, cultural, economic andservice agencies and make theseserve counterinsurgency aims tothe detriment of the interests andneeds of the people. Those whorefuse to support the AFP are underpain of being accused of "sympa-thizing with the communists." Be-yond "national defense" and "peaceand order," the AFP and PNP arenow intervening in all other aspectsof civil society.

Everyone must clearly under-stand that the threat of campusmartial law is tightly bound withmartial law in Mindanao and unde-clared martial law in Negros,Samar, Bicol and the entire coun-try. This is being pushed by thefascists behind widespread militaryabuses and violations of humanrights, repression of oppositionforces, suppression of strikes, sup-pression of peasant struggles andother forms of repression. This isalso in line with the proposal tobring back the Anti-Subversion Law(which criminalizes membership inthe Party) and amend the HumanSecurity Act to make it a sharperweapon for the suppression ofdemocratic expression and action.

The Duterte regime aims to si-lence the students and teacherswho are among the most active inexpressing criticism and oppositionto fascism. The Duterte regimewants to silence and beat down ac-tivists to do away with hindrancesin imposing more oppressive poli-cies such as additional taxes, porkbarrel, and foreign loans, Duterte's

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national treacheryand kowtowing toChina and the US,the "charterchange" schemeand other anti-people measures.

However,Duterte, the AFPand the PNP arebound to fail intheir attempt tosuppress academicfreedom and im-pose martial law incampuses. Thisplan has been metwith stiff resis-tance and wide-spread protests ofstudents andteachers in biguniversities overthe past days. IfDuterte pusheswith this plan, itwill surely be metby students andteachers with big-ger and wider op-position, academicdiscourse and de-bate, and protestson streets acrossthe country.

Above all,these acts of sup-pression will fail tostop the studentsand teachers fromsupporting andjoining the armedstruggle. Becauseof Duterte's fascistsuppression, evenmore are beingroused to supportor become mem-bers of the NewPeople's Armywhich truly repre-sents the patrioticand democraticinterests of thepeople.

tigation into the infraction but has not actedon it, said Nicolas Marino, spokesperson ofthe NPA-Misamis Oriental. The MPC is ownedPampanga-based bureaucrat capitalists Ne-pomucenos. The company was awarded apermit to consruct and operate its plant dur-ing the Ramos regime. It isthe sole power supplier inCagayan de Oro City and atthe Phividec Industrial Es-tate in Tagoloan, MisamisOriental.

Meanwhile, Ka MalemMabini, spokesperson of theNPA-North Central Min-danao Region (NCMR), belied the baselessarrogant claim of the fascist president Ro-drigo Duterte that it has already paralyzedthe operations of the NPA in the region.

In reality, 13 tactical offensives weremounted by the NPA-NCMR against troopersof the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)from July 28 to August 9, he added. Morethan 30 AFP troopers were killed while about20 others were wounded.

On August 9, the NPA-NCMR attacked65th IB troopers operating at Sitio Kibulag,Barangay Bagoaingod, Tagoloan 2, in theboundary of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur. Asoldier was killed while four others werewounded. Earlier, 8th IB troopers were am-bushed at Sitio Mahan-ao, Barangay Bu-lonay, Impasugong, Bukidnon. The soldieswere killed in action.

Another soldier of the 26th IB was killedwhile another was wounded when the NPA-Agusan del Sur ambushed at Kilometer 30,Barangay Mahayahay, San Luis, Agusan delSur on August 5.

In Cagayan de Oro City, four soldiers ofthe 65th IB were killed while eight

others were wounded in a tacticaloffensive mounted by the NPA-Mis-amis Oriental on July 30 in BarangayPigsag-an.

On July 28, the NPA-Agusan delNorte harassed 23rd IB troopers atSitio Hinandayan, Barangay Cam-agong in Nasipit. Five soldiers were

killed and five others were wounded.On the other hand, the revolutionary

movement paid its highest tributes to JenosBade (Ka Bebs) and Edmar Laruya (Ka Lenon),Red fighters who offered their lives for thesuccess of the said armed action.

In Northern Samar, several NPA unitswere able to successfully mount successive of-fensives against the military troopers respon-sible for the killing of civilians, strafing theirresidences and harassing a barangay captain.

The NPA-Northern Samar reported thatno less than four soldiers of the 20th IB werekilled in action.

On August 11, Red fighters harassed 20thIB troopers in Gook, Catubig. On the same day,a CAFGU was wounded in a harassment oper-ation conducted by the NPA against their de-tachment in Barangay Poponton, Las Navas.

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Armed actions against all-out war in Bicol

MORE THAN 20 coordinated military actions were mounted by the New People's Army (NPA)-Bicol across the region on August 19-21. These include the ambush against Philippine NationalPolice operatives in Barangay Alegria, Pio V. Corpuz, Masbate, wherein seven were wounded.Enemy camps in Sorsogon and Legazpi City were also harassed.

Earlier, 33 soldiers were killed while 21 others were wounded in offensives by the NPA-Bi-col from March-June this year. Fifteen of those killed and 12 of those wounded are troopers ofthe 2nd IB who were hit in during a demolition operation conducted by the NPA-Masbate onApril 29, June 2 and June 9 in barangays Progreso and Cawayan, San Fernando, and BarangayMalinta, Masbate City.

In the same province, two harassment operations were mounted on May 22 in BarangayBanahao, Dimasalang and in Barangay Casabangan, Pio V. Corpuz. The headquarters of the2nd IB in Barangay Bacolod, Milagros, and Barangay Armenia, Uson were also harassed onJune 10 and 12, respectively. On June 12, NPA also burned down a detachment being con-structed by the PNP Special Action Force in Barangay Daraga, Placer, Masbate.

In Camarines Sur, nine troops of the 22nd IB were wounded in an ambush and harassmentoperation simultaneously conducted by the NPA-West Camarines Sur (Norben Gruta Com-mand) against a military detachment at Sitio Dinumpilan, Barangay Malinao, Libmanan. A sol-dier and three CAFGU elements were wounded in action. Wounded soldiers who surrenderedwere given first aid by NPA medics.

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August 21 , 2019 ANG BAYAN4

Desperate scheme to suppress the youth

The Duterte regime, through its jester, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, isagain desperately attempting to silence the youth by conducting a Senate

hearing regarding minor activists who allegedly went missing.

Sen. dela Rosa rode on familial is-sues between parents and their ac-tivist daughters to vilify the progres-sive and critical stand of the youthand their organizations.

He became a laughing stock whenAlicia Lucena of Anakbayan and LoryCaalaman of Kabataan Partylist, ac-tivists whom he alleged to be missing,appeared on a press conference andbelied his claims. They stated thatthey are neither missing nor are theyminors. They urged the police and mil-itary to stop using their parents to vil-ify their organizations and implementanti-youth policies.

As expected, the regime's mili-tarist henchmen used the issue as apretext to justify the rammingthrough of amendments to the HumanSecurity Act, and the revival of theanti-subversion law.

The Philippine National Police alsoproposed to revoke an agreementsigned by the Department of NationalDefense which prohibits military pres-ence in campuses. In a relentless at-tempt to intimidate activists, the De-partment of Justice is summoningleades of progressive youth organiza-tions by issuing them subpoenas.

This is the regime's second at-tempt to silence the youth. On Octo-ber 2018, it concocted a "Red Octo-ber" fairytale which maliciouslylinked the progressive youth move-ment to the armed movement of theNew People's Army. This targetedto threaten the youth and illegalizetheir legitimate and critical stance.This violates the youth's right tofree expression and to organize.

The youth as a force for changeActivism and the radical

mindset of the youth is a forcefor change, progress, social jus-tice and democracy. The Duterteregime is afraid of the united

ranks of youth who are critical of hisregime.

In history, youth activists werethe most audicious in the struggleagainst the Marcos dictatorship andmartial law. They were at the fore-front of the historic First QuarterStorm (1970), Diliman Commune(1971), student uprisings in the late1970s until the early 1980s againsttuition fee increases, protests forthe revival of students rights incamps, and the massive demonstra-tions in 1983-1986 which led to theouster of the US-Marcos dictator-ship.

University students were also atthe forefront of the campaign todismantle US military bases and re-voke the Military Bases Agreementin 1991; and against the member-ship of the Philippines in the GeneralAgreement on Tariffs (GATT) andTrade in 1994 and policies for all-out privatization and liberalizationof the economy under the Ramosregime. They stood in firm solidaritywith the toiling masses in opposingthe GATT-WTO when world leadersconverged in the country on the oc-casion of the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation summit in the Philip-pines in 1996.

Their participation in broad up-risings that led tothe ouster of the

Estrada regime is also notable.Similarly, scores of youth also par-ticipated and led the protestsagainst pork barrel which culmi-nated to the Million People's Marchduring the Aquino regime in 2013.The protest movement of the stu-dent-youth against education bud-get cuts are also memorable.

In 2017, the youth was able topush for the enactment of free ed-ucation in state universities andcolleges. They continued to push foracademic freedom, including theright to oganize and join organiza-tions, and the right to free pressand expression.

They stand in solidarity withworkers and farmers in strikes,pickets and communities. Theycontinue to fight for the interest ofthe Filipino people despite threatsand intimidation by the Duterteregime. Some are being threatenedand harassed, while other youthleaders were slapped with trumpedup charges.

The participation of studentsand youth in the armed revolutioncannot be denied. From theKatipunan to the New People'sarmy, majority of revolutionarytroops of the people are from theyouth. Many revolutionary martyrsoffered their lives during the primeof their youth. They are exemplarsof a life led in selfless service forthe people. The revolutionarymovement and the people pay theirhighest tribute to them.

ANG BAYAN August 21 , 2019 5

Groups oppose campus militarization

The youth can never be silenced. They will continue to advocate freedomand the right to free expression and to organize. In the face of the

Duterte regime's systematic and relentless attacks against the sector, theyonce again showed their unity and firm stand last August 20.

Nature and objectives of theAFP’s FMOs in Bukidnon

The Armed Forces of the Philippines launched no less than 13 campaignsof focused military operations, or one every month, in the province of

Bukidnon from March 2018 to January 2019.

This was the principal shape ofthe AFP’s attempt to encircle and“decimate” units of the New Peo-ple’s Army (NPA) in the provincebefore the end of 2018. Midyear2018, on August 7, the AFP de-clared it as “conflict manageable”and “ready for projects.”

Battalions of the 403rd IBdeunder the 4th ID scour the moun-tains of Bukidnon. Five battalions(8th IB, 88th IB, 1st Special ForcesBattalion, 65th IB and 58th IB) op-erate in the central and westernparts of the province, its boundarieswith Misamis Oriental and Agusandel Sur, and its boundary withLanao del Sur. The 43rd Division

Reconnaissance Companysupports its operations. Inearly 2019, the 1003rdIBde of the 10th ID an-nounced that it will onceagain operate in barrios andcommunities in Bukidnon’s borderswith Davao, although combat oper-ations of the 89th IB and 16th IBhave been recorded in the areasince 2017.

In addition, Scout Ranger, Spe-cial Forces and CAFGU graduates usethe province as training ground,particularly the Pantaron Rangewhich cuts through six provinces(Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Agusandel Sur, Agusan del Norte, Davao del

Norte and Davao del Sur) and serveas the backbone of Mindanao.

Nature of FMOsAn FMO is conducted for six

days to two weeks, and launchedafter long periods of intelligence,psywar and Community Operationsfor Peace and Development (COPD)operations in barrios. Actual combatoperations involve 150-400 troops

Thousands of students andtheir teachers protested in and out-side universities to oppose thescheme to militarize campuses. Thiscame after the Philippine NationalPolice's proposal to revoke theagreement prohibiting military andpolice presence in campuses. Aca-demic communities are aware thatthe presence of security forces willresult in widespread surveillanceand suppression of students, teach-ers and employees especially thosewho are critical of the regime.

In reality, police and militaryelements have maintained theirpresence in campuses across thecountry. They are using so-calledtrainings and student conferencesto freely conduct psywar operations(now dubbed "information opera-

tions") in campuses. This is on topof the Reserve Officers' TrainingCorps (ROTC) that they are des-perately lobbying for, and is beingused by state security forcess toconduct fora and trainings inschools. Even secondary schools arenot safe from military presence.

In condemnation, more than7,000 mobilized during the "UP Dayof Walkout and Action" in all unitsof the University of the Philippinesacross the country. Spearheaded bythe Office of the Student regent andUP Rise against Tyranny and Dicta-torship (UPRise), the student-youth, along with university offi-cials, teachers, employees and or-ganizations united to defendacademic freedom and the right toorganize.

Similar protests were mounted atthe Polytechnic University of thePhilippines. The Alliance of Con-cerned Teachers and professors ofthe Ateneo de Manila University,University of Santo Tomas, Far East-ern University, UP Diliman and UPManila conducted a press conferencein solidarity with the day of action.

To oppose the scheme, the Mak-abayan bloc filed House Resolution223 at the Lower House on August 12to demand the reactionary state torecognize and uphold the SafeSchools Declaration. This declaration,which was drafted by governmentsacross the world in May 2015 in Oslo,Norway, designates schools as safezones in times of armed encounters.

This also upholds the continuingrelevance of education in times ofwar and the implementation of con-crete measures to oppose the mili-tary-use of schools. As of August2019, 95 countries declared supportfor this declaration.

"FMOs...," continued on page 6

August 21 , 2019 ANG BAYAN6

and are directed at the brigade upto the division level.

In combat maneuvers, columnsconverge from different areas to as-sist each other. In an FMO last De-cember 2018, no less than 20 enemycolumns were mobilized. The mainforce came from an unlikely stagingpoint (a few-day trek through a diffi-cult terrain). The troops hikedthrough trails believed as sites fa-vorable to the NPA. They concealthemselves for up to two weeks whileencircling the target area.

The AFP employed this style inits encirclement campaign in theboundary of Bukidnon, Misamis Ori-ental and Agusan del Sur. Up to 400troopers scoured the jungles be-tween two barangays (Barangay Mi-nalwang of Claveria, Misamis Orien-tal and Barangay Hagpa ofImpasug-ong, Bukidnon) for twoweeks. A few weeks prior, the mainforce had started trekking fromBarangay Salog in Esperanza, Agu-san del Sur.

In brigade-level operations, theAFP dumps three to four columns(150 troopers) in the target area. Indivision-level operations, wheresome of the columns start outsidethe province, five columns with 2-3sections are mobilized. Each columnis headed by a lieutenant.

Prior to the actual encirclement,the AFP mobilize spies who pene-trate targeted barrios. They areusually disguised as ambulant ven-dors who sell various products. TheAFP also deploys its paramilitariesto look for traces and other marksin forests. The AFP uses informationfrom captured Red fighters to pin-point the location of tactical basesor encampments of NPA units.

Surveillance aircrafts and dronesare flown overhead few weeks priorand during the height of combat op-erations. It has been reported that asmall manned-plane (Cessna), twotypes of white medium-altitudedrones (similar to the US Reaper orPredator) and smaller drones (simi-lar to ScanEagles) were employed.

The Reaper-type drone is believed tobe owned and directly operated bythe US military that is stationed inthe country.

In areas where ground troopscannot easily maneuver, they aresupported from the air using twokinds of attack helicopters (MG-520and AugustaWestland 109E) fromthe Tactical Operations Wing(Group 10) of the Eastern MindanaoCommand based in Cagayan de Oro.A UH-1H (Huey) helicopter is alsoutilized to drop food supplies,medicine and troop reinforcements.During encounters, enemy troopsare supported by artillery fire and105mm howitzers.

Military troops use Harris radiofor encrypted communications. Co-ordination between troopers istight, from platoons to sections.Their tactical operations bases areset-up in plains (but are sometimespositioned in higher terrains toserve as observer posts) and serveas medical stations where theirwounded are provided first aid. In acampaign last December, for exam-ple, a helicopter landing zone wascleared next to the operationalcenter perched at the highest pointof target area.

Expenses reach millionsIf calculated, the AFP spends up

to more than P10 million every twoweeks for its troops, bullets, andmortar shells in its FMOs in theprovince. This excludes expenses forother items such as rifles, machineguns, telescopes, radios, backpacks,uniforms and boots; operationalequipment such as base radios,generators, tool kits and others;medical supplies and equipmentsuch as medicines and ambulances;transportations costs using six-by-six trucks (a minimum of 20 areused per FMO).

At the minimum, the AFP spendsP3-million worth of bullets per op-eration. An M16 and M14 bulletcosts P25 each, while a Squad Au-tomatic Weapon bullet costs P35each. In one of its encirclement

campaigns in 2018, 13 encountersensued between its soldiers andNPA units (both defensives and of-fensives). Meanwhile, each mortarcosts P10,000.

Millions are also spent for aerialcombat support, bombings andstrafing operations, which usuallyhit small farms and surroundingforests. US Air Force calculations in2013 indicate that the costs perflight hour of a Huey and a medium-altitude drone are $13,634(P681,700 at the exchange ofP50=$1) and $3,624-$4,762 (orP181,200 to P238,100), respec-tively. At least 82 personnel areneeded to operate and analyze datagenerated by these drones. Mean-while, an attack helicopter rocketcan cost P1,500 (Warhead M151)to P3,500 (Warhead M282) each.(Note: An MG-520 can launch up toseven rockets per sortie.)

In addition to these are ex-penses for the delivery of food sup-ply, medical support, evacuation ofdead and wounded soldiers, andsetting up command centers, amongothers.

Encirclement operations"for development”

Encirclement campaigns arelaunched in the mountains of andother areas in Bukidnon to paveway for the construction of infra-structure projects such as big damsand energy plants and commercialplantations. These aim to “clear”such areas of NPA presence so thatcompanies can enter and evict res-idents. These areas are agriculturallands and ancestral lands Lumadcommunities are situated.

In March 2019, the AFP, to-gether with Cabinet Officer for Re-gional Development and Securityfor Region 10 Martin Andanar, in-augurated the Convergence Areasfor Peace and Development(CAPDev) in Iba, Cabanglasan. Thisprogram is in line with the “whole-of-nation approach” bandiedaround by the National Task Foce to

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"FMOs...," continued on page 7

August 21 , 2019 ANG BAYAN7

Offensives against FMOs in BukidnonANG BAYAN REPORTS indicate that the New People's Army-NorthCentral Mindanao Region (NPA-NCMR) was able to launch 30 armedactions amid the AFP's focused military operations (FMOs) in Bukidnon(March 2018-January 2019). Twenty of these are direct blows againstFMO troops.

Most notable of these were the 14 armed actions (13 offensivesand a defensive) mounted by the NPA on December 2018 against FMOsin the triboundary of Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur and Misamis Oriental.NPA units reported that 17 soldiers were killed while two others werewounded during these operations.

Meanwhile, four armed actions were mounted by the NPA against300 soldiers operating in neighboring areas of Malaybalay City, Impa-sug-ong and Manolo Fortich on August 2018. A soldier was killed whileanother was wounded. The 1st Special Forces Battalion, 8th IB and43rd Division Reconnaissance Company conducted its operation fromAugust 8-20 in an attempt to decimate an NPA unit.

On the first day of the encirclement operation of the 8th IB on July19, 2018, they were ambushed Red fighters in Barangay Busdi, Malay-balay City. Meanwhile, on the last day of the 12th Scout Ranger Com-pany's FMO in Barangay Lumintao, Quezon on July 2018, seven of itstroops were killed and six others were wounded after being ambushedby the NPA.

In sum, the NPA has dealt two platoons of casualties on the AFPduring the said period. At least 40 were killed while 16 others werewounded. The NPA was also able to mount a punitive action againstDole Philippines on January 2019.

FMOs are not a hindrance to limit NPA armed actions. Intelligenceoperations and planning have to be efficiently conducted to deal blowsagainst the enemy at a particular time.

End Local Communist Armed Con-flict. The Mindanao PeaceDev Co-ordinating Group administers theCAPDev, a group dominated by of-ficials of the 1st, 4th and 10th ID,and the 403rd IBde and 2nd Mech-anized IBde, together with regionaloffices of the Philippine NationalPolice, Department of Interior andLocal Government, and NationalEconomic and Development Au-thority.

CAPDev covers the followingranges in the province: Mt. Saldaband Kalabugao plains in Impasug-ong, Pantaron Range and UmayamComplex in Cabanglasan and SanFernando, Kitanglad in Sumilao andBaungon, Kalatungan between Ta-lakag and Pangantucan and theWest Bukidnon plains. These areashave long been targeted for energyprojects and commercial planta-tions of big bourgeois compradorsand their foreign cohorts.

In 2018, no less than 41 energyplants, mostly in large rivers (hy-dro), were reportedly beingplanned, under development or al-ready operating in the province.Biggest of these is the planned Pu-langi Dam V (250MW) in Kitaotao.The dam is estimated to submerge40,000 hectares of ancestral andagricultural lands, as well asforests in the borders of Bukidnonand North Cotabato. These projectsalso include two hydropower plantsin the Tagoloan River in Santiago,Manolo Fortich which are operatedby Hedcor Bukidnon of the bour-geois-comprador Aboitiz family.

The Kalabugao plains, particu-larly, have long been auctioned bythe reactionary state to foreigndevelopers as an area for the ex-pansion of their commercial plan-tation. Bukidnon hosts largepineapple and banana plantationsowned by Del Monte, DavCo andDole. These plantations coverwhole communities in Manolo For-tich, Sumilao, Impasug-ong, Libona,Lantapan, Maramag and Quezon.Del Monte plans to expand its op-

erations in Talakag.Also, the Pantaron, Kitanglad

and Kalatungan ranges are cov-ered by the bogus National Green-ing Program. The reactionary statehas long opened the forests thereinto plunder by mining and loggingcorporations.

The province is also expectedto receive of millions of funds forinfrastructure projects. These in-clude the airport project in DonCarlos which has destroyed hun-dreds of hectares of ricefields. TheMindanao Road Sector Project willalso cuts across the province andhit farms and displace hundreds ofpeasants. The latter project costsP25.3 billion, most of which will beloaned from the Asian Develop-ment Bank.

Planned road and bridgeprojects will be constructed not tobenefit ordinary people but only to

ease transportation of productsfrom the province to ports andfactories. For instance, a road wasconstructed in Alae, Manolo For-tich to cut short transport time ofproducts from commercial planta-tions in Bukidnon to the MindanaoContainer Terminal in Tagoloan,Misamis Oriental. Meanwhile, twoother road projects, the Laak-SanFernando and Mactan-Miaray, arebeing actively opposed by Lumadsas these will cut across their com-munities.

The mountains of Bukidnon arenot merely the ancestral lands oftribes in the province but are alsothe source of their livelihood. Twolarge rivers (Pulangi and Tagoloan)originate here and supply waterand irrigation to the entire prov-ince. These also serve as Min-danao’s watershed and supplies25% of the island’s energy needs.

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ANG BAYAN August 21 , 2019 8

Human rights violations in Bukidnon

The list of the AFP's crimes against the people further expanded as itplaced Bukidnon under focused military operations. In 2018, more than

five were killed while many other civilians were arrested. This year, 13 werereported killed while hundreds of villages are scoured by soldiers.

Among the most recent cases isthe killing of Jeffrey Bayot, a Lumadpeasant, last August 11 in BarangayBongbungon, Quezon who was onhis way home.

Two days before the incident,two 88th IB troopers in plainclothesfired upon Alex Lacay and RenardBurgos at Sitio Pag-asa, BarangaySalawagan, Quezon. Alex Lacay diedon the spot while Burgos was able toescape. Both farmers were membersof Kaugalingaong Sistema Igpasin-dog to Lumadnong Ogpaan (Kasilo),a Lumad group defending their rightto their ancestral lands.

Also killed this year wereGuillermo Casas, Liovogildo Palmaand Joel Anino in San Fernando.Meanwhile, Datu Kaylo Bontulanwas slain during a military airstrikein Kitaotao.

Last July, Datu Mario Agsabwas shot inside his home at SitioMainaga, Barangay Iba, Caban-glasan. The suspects were identifiedas Sammy Diwangan, member ofAlamara and Emboy Gayao, aCAFGU member under the 8th IB.Agsab was a member of Pigyayun-gaan, a Lumad organization.

Threat and harassmentHarassment and the spreading

of malicious propaganda by theDuterte regime against humanrights defenders and the people alsocontinue unabated.

Last August 8 and 9, membersof PNP went to a school in ManoloFortich where Kristin Lim's childrenare studying. They asked the par-ents who were waiting outside theschool about Lim's whereabouts.Before this, elements of the 1stSpecial Forces Battalion went to

Lim's residence in Barangay Dami-lag, Manolo Fortich. She was a for-mer station manager of RadyoLumad.

Elements of 1st SFB also con-ducted an anti-communist forum inthe barangay hall of Damilag lastAugust 7. Before the forum, soldiersroamed around the community andalleged that the community has al-ready been "infiltrated by commu-nism."

Last August 2-4, the AFP gath-ered youth leaders in Quezon, underthe guise of a Youth LeadershipSummit, to propagate lies againstthe revolutionary movement. Asimilar event was also held at theBukidnon State University in itsopening of classes.

Persona-non-grata and milita-rization

Various barangays in Quezonwere coerced by the military to is-sue persona-non-grata declarationsagainst the NPA. Simultaneously,300 civilians, alleged as members ofrevolutionary organizations, wereforced to surrender as NPA sup-porters.

Residents of BarangayMerangeran in Quezon, barangaysLumbayao, Banlag and Dagat Ki-davao in Valencia City were made topledge their loyalty to the reac-

tionary government last July 28.Meanwhile, 30 families from

Barangay Tugaya, Valencia Cityevacuated in their barangay hallafter troops of the 403rd Brigadestrafed their houses last June 22.Last March, 1,600 troopers of the60th IB, 56th IB, 57th IB, 58th IB,Scout Rangers and 43rd DivisionReconnaissance Company besiegedcommunities in the towns of Ca-banglasan and San Fernando. Be-fore the siege, the communitieswere aerially bombed, mortaredand strafed.

On February 2019, the AFPboasted that about 27 barangayshave already issued their respective"persona-non-grata" declarationsagainst the NPA. From 2017 to2018, about 295 civilians have beencoerced to surrender either as NPAsupporters or members.

Military troops continue to oc-cupy civilian infrastructures insidetheir communities. Since March,elements of the 8th IB are occupy-ing Barangay Bontongon in Impa-sug-ong and barangays Manalogand Kibalabag in Malaybalay City.

This August, 8th IB forces at-tacked Sitio Bendum, BarangayBusdi in the same town.

Aside from these, human rightsgroups were able to documentseven cases of illegal arrests thisyear. One of the starkest cases wasthe arrest of 2 minors in SitioSanggiapo, Barangay Sinuda, Ki-taotao by elements of the 8th IBlast February 18.

August 21 , 2019 ANG BAYAN9

200 Caramoan residents evacuate

The Philippine Air Force's aerialbombardment and strafing of

communities in Barangay Lidong,Caramoan, Camarines Sur last Au-gust 13 resulted in the evacuationof more than 200 individuals.

To justify the attack, the fascistsmade it appear that there had beenan encounter between the 83rd IBand Red fighters in the area. Thisclaim was, however, belied by Na-tional Democratic Front-Bicolspokesperson Ka Ma. Roja Banua.

Last August 14, 18 familieswere reported to have evacuatedfrom the towns of Lopez, Macalelon,Catanauan and Agdangan in QuezonProvince. The farmers were de-manding an increase in the farm-gate prices of copra and whole co-conut. They were summoned to amilitary camp and coerced to sur-render as NPA members.

More than 100 soldiers of the26th IB encamped in residents'houses, clinic, and corn mills in aLumad community at Sityo Simowao,Diatagon, Lianga, Surigao del Surlast August 16. The residents op-posed the occupation as this engen-ders fear and disrupts the harvestseason. Lumads from Tubod, Bol-hoon, San Miguel also reported thattheir community has been occupiedby the military since August 17.

Elements of the 20th IB reen-tered Barangay Capotoan in LasNavas town, Northern Samar on Au-gust 12. They segregated 143 menand women from their children. They

were then interrogated and threat-ened to be killed. Seven other resi-dents were isolated, detained for afew hours, and were separately in-terrogated and threatened. Soldierscontinue to occupy civilian infra-structures in the community.

Abduction in Samar. Elementsof the 43rd IB abducted Nario La-grimas, a farmer and resident of E.Duran, Bobon, Northern Samar,along with his companion last Au-gust 8. His companion was releasedfew hours later, but Lagrimas is stillmissing up to the present.

Harassment in Mindanao. Menarmed with high-powered rifleslooked for Pedro Arnado, nationalofficer of the Kilusang Magbubukidng Pilipinas, in his residence inDavao City on August 20.

Lopez served as secretary of theDepartment of Environment andNatural Resources (DENR) from 2016to 2017. During her short stint, shedid her very best to defend the envi-

ronment and the people whose livesdepend on it. She joined the people inopposing big mining and logging op-erations which plunder mountains,poison rivers and destroy the land.

She audaciously banned open-pitmining and suspended the operationpermits of scores of companies.

When Lopez was relieved of herposition, Duterte immediately al-lowed the suspended mining andlogging companies to resume theiroperations, and revoked policiesthat defend the people and envi-ronment.

Gina Lopez passes away

THE COMMUNIST PARTY of the Philippines (CPP) considers Regina "Gina"Lopez “a true friend of the Filipino people.” This was stated by CPP in itsmessage of condolence to her family and friends. Lopez passed away at theage of 65 on August 19 due to cancer.

In Cagayan de Oro City, two el-ements of the 1st SFB in plainclotheswent to the residence of Kadamay-Northern Mindanao ChairpersonFrancisco "Iko" Pagayaman, 63, inBarangay Carmen, Cagayan de OroCity and asked for his whereabouts.

Illegal detention. Despite thedismissal on July 30 of the illegalpossesion of firearms and explo-sives charge against Alexanderand Winona Birondo, staff of theNDFP negotiating panel, the cou-ple are yet to be released by thepolice. They were arrested withouta warrant by the police last July23 in Barangay Maribio, San Fran-cisco del Monte, Quezon City andwere subsequently detained atCamp Caringal. Both are sufferingfrom diabetes.

ANG BAYAN August 21 , 2019 10

Policemen kill 3,

detain hundreds in Baseco

UPON THE DIRECTIVE of ManilaMayor Isko Moreno to cleanBaseco Compound, which heclaims to be a haven of illegaldrugs, hundreds of police officersattacked the community last Au-gust 11.

Baseco is an urban poor com-munity along Manila Bay. Thou-sands of its residents were tar-geted to be displaced since Marchto pave way for the Manila Bayreclamation which covers 200hectares of Baseco.

Using its bogus anti-drugcampaign as pretext, PNP forcesround up 700-1000 residentsalong the shoreline of Baseco.Around 21 persons were arrestedwhile three others were killed af-ter allegedly attempting to "fightback."

The same operations werecarried out in the early morning ofAugust 11 in Antipolo City. Policeand soldiers of the 2nd IDrounded up 80 individuals at thecovered court of Sitio Tanglaw,Barangay San Isidro, whom theyclaimed to be included in theirwatchlist. At gunpoint, they weremade to lie facedown and coercedto undergo drug testing. Houseswere also searched and cellphoneswere confiscated without pre-senting any warrant.

The AFP and PNP's excessiveuse of force in these "anti-drug"operations was vehemently con-demned by various groups. Ac-cording to Karapatan, these op-erations eventually result in theindisciminate violation of humanrights under the regime's contin-uing bloody war on drugs.

From July 2016 to May 2019,more than 6,600 have been killedby the PNP based its official re-port on its so-called war on drugs.On the other hand, more than27,000 have fallen victim to ex-trajudicial killings perpetrated bydeath squads in the same period.

P113.7M-worth of undistributed DepEd books

THE ACT TEACHERS Partylist condemned the Department of Education(DepEd) over its failure to distribute textbooks worth P113.7 million. Thegroup also questioned the anomalous contracts it entered for the procure-ment of P254-million worth of error-filled textbooks.

"Teachers have been repeatedly told to learn financial literacy wheneverthey demand a substantial increase in their meager salaries only to find outthat the education agency itself has been inefficient and delinquent with theuse of its funds," said ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro. Teachers oftencomplain that they would have to shell out from their own pockets to providetheir students with handouts.

To make this worse, the Duterte regime continues to cut the budget forthe procurement of textbooks and other learning materials. From P3.04 billionin 2017, the allocation decreased to P2.99 billion in 2018 and P1.84 billionthis year.

Police disperses Pepmaco picketline anewFOR THE SECOND time, police officers violently dispersed the picketline ofstriking Pepmaco workers in Calamba, Laguna on August 19 at 11:30 a.m.Eighteen workers, including six women, were arbitrarily arrested and detained.

Police operatives perpetrated the dispersal while officials of the PepmacoWorkers' Union were negotiating at the office of the National Conciliationand Mediation Board for the regularization of workers.

The arrest violates the Department of Justice Memorandum Circular 016which prohibits the arbitary arrest of striking workers.

The first dispersal took place on June 28 wherein 12 workers werewounded. The strike was mountedon June 4 to demand workers' reg-ularization and the management'scompliance to safety standards.

The 18 workers were subse-quently released on August 20.Despite the harassment of thePepmaco management, workerscontinue to stand firm and pledgedto reestablish their picketline.

FFM in Isabela

KARAPATAN SPEARHEADED A fact-finding mission (FFM) on August 8-10 inSan Mariano, Isabela after a spate of human rights violations was reported inthe province.

The investigation disclosed that five companies of the 95th and 86th IBhave been deployed across 15 barangays in San Mariano, as well as fourbarangays in Benito Soliven and three in Ilagan City. The military intensifiedtheir operations and surveillance in the said areas under the pretext of con-ducting so-called development programs. Cases including sexual harassment,encampment in civilian infrastructures, indiscriminate firing, and illegal arrestand detention were documented during the investigation.

Starkest among these was the strafing of the house of peasant leader atSitio Disiguit, Gangalan, San Mariano by the 95th IB last July. His wife, twochildren and two-year old grandson were in the house when the incident hap-pened.

August 21 , 2019 ANG BAYAN11

Day of Mourning for Negros

THE DEFEND NEGROS #StopTheAttacks Network mounted the "National Day ofMourning and Protest" on August 20 to condemn the widespread killings andother attacks against civilians in Negros.

It spearheaded the protest ofhundreds of individuals in variousparts of the country including MetroManila, Albay, Camarines Sur, Ca-marines Norte, Sorsogon, Masbate,Laguna, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cebu,Bacolod and the Negros Island. Mi-grants conducted similar protestactions in the US, Australia andHongkong to stand in solidarity withthe call to stop the killings.

Since Duterte assumed office,226 farmers have been killed—90of whom were from Negros. Thelatest victim is Joshua Philip Par-tosa, 20, Grade 11 student ofBolocboloc High School who was

gunned down by four men on Au-gust 15.

Partosa and his two siblingswere on their way to school at Purok2, Barangay Bolocboloc, Sibulan,Negros Oriental when they werestrafed by the perpetrators. Partosawas then shot thrice at close-rangeand stabbed in the neck. The policeclaims that Partosa was involved ina recent string of stabbing incidentsin Dumaguete City. This was, how-ever, belied by his father. On thesame day, Fernando Toreno, formercouncilman of Barangay Kumaliskis,Don Salvador Benedicto was alsokilled.

Duterte proposes mass Dengvaxia vaccinationAFTER THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) declared a state of epidemic onAugust 6 due to increasing dengue cases in the country, Rodrigo Duterte im-mediately proposed to revive the anomalous Dengvaxia vaccination programfor Filipino children which is believed to have killed about 26 from April 2016-February 2018.

New US military facility

THE RECENT AGREEMENT toconstruct a new facility for the"war against terrorism" furtherstrengthens the US' hold of thePhilippine military and police.

The agreement for the con-struction of a training center atthe Philippine National PoliceAcademy in Silang, Cavite wassigned on August 15 by US Em-bassy Deputy Chief of MissionJohn Law and Philippine Na-tional Police (PNP) DirectorGeneral Oscar Albayalde. TheUS allocated a P520-millionbudget for its construction andoperation.

The said facility will serveas an additional base of the USmilitary. This is in addition totheir base in Marawi City and inother camps of the ArmedForces of the Philippines (AFP)as stated in the Enhanced De-fense Cooperation Agreement.

The construction of the fa-cility serves the aim of the US todirect and control "counterter-rorism" operations in thePhilippines and other SoutheastAsian countries. PNP and AFPtroopers will be tranied in thesaid facility along with otherUS-allied forces from otherSoutheast Asian counties. Theywill be indoctrinated to identifyand fight "terrorists" as de-clared by the US. These forceswill operate as an extension ofthe US military.

The five newly formed bat-talions of the PNP Special ActionForce (SAF) will be the first toundergo training in this facilityas promised by Albayalde. In2004, it can be recalled that theUS military also secretly trainedtwo SAF companies in Zam-boanga City, that were subse-quently deployed to operate inMamasapano, Maguindanaowherein 44 operatives werekilled in action.

Doctors and health workersgroups opposed the recent pushfor vaccination. They said that theregime should prioritize preven-tive measure against dengue.Dengvaxia will not put a stop tothe dengue epidemic as it will takea couple or several years for it totake effect.

They added that the anti-dengue campaign will be effectiveonly if local government units willprioritize their implementation ofmeasures which have already beenset. A sufficient budget allocationfor health services is also vital, in-cluding wages for health workers atthe barangay level and communitydoctors who serve in rural poorcommunities in the hinterlands.

During the second week of Au-gust, the Philippines recorded thehighest cases of dengue in South-

easat Asia. Around 620 patientsdied due to the disease which couldhave been prevented as early asJanuary when the outbreak started.The announcement of the DOH of itsprevention plan already came toolate.

Early on, health workers anddoctors have opposed the massDengvaxia vaccination program asthe said vaccine was still in trialstage. No one has been held ac-countable for the said anomaly.More than 870,000 children havebeen experimented on by SanofiPasteur. The pharmaceutical com-pany is notorious for its criminalrecord of bribing doctors and gov-ernments, and violating ethicalstandards to facilitate their pro-curement of medicines that arebeing manufactured by the com-pany.

ANG BAYAN August 21 , 2019 12

Hongkong protests against extradition

Millions of Hongkong citizens are mounting successives demonstationsto show their stand against the Carrie Lam administration's scheme

to railroad amendments to the extradition law. This bill aims to allow sus-pects to be sent to China for trial. Massive protests have been mountedsince June.

Residents assert that bill vio-lates the autonomy of Hongkongwhich is considered a special ad-ministrative region of China. Theydemand to uphold the one country,two systems policy which givesHongkong autonomy and a separatelegal system to China.

The protests escalated on Au-gust 11 wherein more than two mil-lion participated. The protestsstarted out peacefully despite po-lice provocations. The protests es-calated again on August 18,wherein more than 1.7 millionmarched along the major roads of

Hongkong.The protest is already on its

11th week. During this period,scores of proteters were arrested,including those wounded and arebeing treated in hospitals. They wereslapped with criminal charges, andin order to extend their sentences,the protests were labelled as “riots.”

Hongkong residents are en-raged with the administration's ob-stinancy and refusal to dialogue orcompromise. Although the bill hasbeen declared "dead," there hasnot been any move to fully with-draw it from future legislation.

Alarming forest fire in AmazonTHE AMAZON FOREST has been on fire for two weeks already this August.This year, about 72,843 cases of forest fires have been recorded in thecountry, half of which were in the Amazon. Reports by the National Insti-tute for Space Research of Brazil indicate that incidents of forest fireshave increased by 84% compared to the previous year.

The International League ofPeoples' Struggle (ILPS) said thatthe movement against extraditionlaw is democratic and involves abroad alliance of organizations withdifferent levels of political aware-ness and readiness.

Although the protest actionsremain centered on opposing extra-dition, basic issues confronting thepeople such as the lack of decentjobs and housing, low wages, longworking hours, high costs of com-modities and others are also layeddown during demonstrations.

The ILPS urged Hongkong resi-dents to persist in their strugglewhile, at same time, standing guardagainst foreign powers such as theUS, that are riding on the issue toinstigate the separation of HongKong from China.

The Amazon forest covers a 550million-hectare land area, which is 20times larger than that of the entirePhilippines. It is the largest forest inthe world and covers nine countries.The biggest chunk of forests are lo-cated in Brazil. It serves as habitat to10% of flora and fauna species in theplanet and supplies 20% of earth'soxygen. Likewise, the Amazon aids inmitigating global warming and servesas ancestral lands to more than 400tribes.

Aside from the forest fires, the

Amazon is drastically deterioratingdue to the entry of mining, dam,road and other projects in the area.

Brazil Pres. Jair Bolsonaro hasrepeatedly emboldened loggers,ranchers and farmers to expandtheir operations and dominate theAmazon. Similarly, he cut the bud-get for environmental protection by$23 million. Conduct of forest in-spections in the Amazon has alsodecreased by 70%. He also issued anexecutive order which transferredthe authority of indigenous people's

to regulate the Amazon to the state.His son Flavio, a senator in

Brazil, has also pushed for a legis-lation that would relieve farmers ofthe obligation of maintaining 20-80% tree cover on their land.

The deterioration of forests ismainly due to the expansion of in-frastructure projects such as roadsand hydroelectric plants. Among themost affected areas include thestate of Para which was destroyedthrough the construction of the BR-163 highway which connects theAmazon and the Belo Monte dam. In2017, the Brazilian governmentproposed to construct more than 40hydroelectic dams by the end of2022. In general, the Amazon hasalready been deforested by 15%.