Fight Back News Service is circulating the following Dec. 10 statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Ka Joaquin Jacinto (Alvin Luque), spokesperson of the National Democratic Front in Mindanao, was murdered this morning by armed agents of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in a resort in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur. A companion of Ka Joaquin was also killed in the military operation carried out by forces under the 4th Infantry Division.

The CPP and all revolutionary forces are outraged over the extrajudicial killing of Ka Joaquin. We demand: Justice for Ka Joaquin!

His assassination was carried out by the military troops at 1 a.m. We dispute the claims of the military that Ka Joaquin and his companion fought against the military troops while he was being served a warrant of arrest.

Ka Joaquin was unarmed and was convalescing. He was detached a few months ago from the main office of the NDF-Mindanao to undergo medical checkups and to recuperate from partial paralysis. A few months ago, he was physically debilitated and could not walk after he underwent intense physical struggles amid heavy enemy operations and counter-guerrilla maneuvers.

This dastardly crime must not go unpunished. We seek the entire truth behind Ka Joaquin's murder and seek an impartial investigation by an independent body. We urge the military troops involved in the operation to come out and reveal what they know.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the entire family, colleagues, friends and comrades-in-arms of Ka Joaquin. He was 51.

Alvin Luque hails from Davao City. He once headed the student government of the Ateneo de Davao University. In the late 1990s and 2000s, he became a prominent leader of the democratic forces in the city, serving as an officer of the local chapter of Bayan. He endeared himself to the public and the local media and gained a reputation for his fluency in the English language which he spoke vivaciously with a British-Bisaya flair.

He earned the ire of the reactionaries for leading mass demonstrations against the Arroyo regime. He was persistently red-tagged, harassed and charged with trumped up criminal cases. From Davao City, he moved to Cagayan de Oro, but was hounded no end by the fascists. To escape political persecution of the Arroyo regime, Alvin sought refuge in the guerrilla zones of the NPA in 2007-2008.

For a period, he was assigned to a local unit of the NPA where he deepened his understanding of the situation of the peasant masses and the necessity of waging armed revolution. He would be remembered by the masses and the Red fighters for his almost constant jolly mood. He would serve as host of small meetings and big gatherings and lead in educational sessions.

Coming from an upper-middle class family, Ka Joaquin had difficulties adjusting physically to the guerrilla movements of the NPA—night trekking, carrying one's own load and scaling steep mountains. He would shed weight and eventually find his “fighting form.” For several years, he would join Ka Oris and help in strengthening the work of NDF-Mindanao. He worked closely with the CPP Information Bureau and served as one of the faces of the Philippine revolution.

Recognizing Ka Joaquin's keen political sense, he was assigned as NDF-Mindanao spokesperson in 2016. He granted interviews with the media to clarify the position of the revolutionary movement on pressing issues in Mindanao and the whole country. For his steadfast defense of the revolutionary cause, Ka Joaquin became the subject of intensified liquidation operations of the AFP.

The CPP and all revolutionary forces pay the highest tribute to Ka Joaquin. Together, let us raise our fists and celebrate his innumerable contributions in serving the oppressed and exploited Filipino masses and their revolutionary cause.

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