Philippines: No holiday ceasefire amid Marcos' relentless war of suppression and martial law in the countryside
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army cannot declare a holiday ceasefire in the face of the Marcos regime’s relentless war of suppression, offensive military operations and imposition of martial law in the countryside.
In its desperation to crush the people’s resistance, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is presently undertaking military operations across the country against the Party and NPA. To boost its public image, the AFP has intensified its war of disinformation by making the ludicrous claim that the New People’s Army has only “one weakened” guerrilla front. This is, however, belied by their own actions. Billions of pesos are currently being squandered in large-scale military deployments and offensives of the AFP across all regions in the country.
Behind the façade of its “insurgency-free” propaganda declarations, the Marcos regime, through the AFP has imposed virtual martial law in many interior villages in Ilocos Norte, Abra, Kalinga, Cagayan, Isabela, Bulacan, Aurora, Laguna, Quezon, Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Camarines Norte, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, Capiz, Aklan, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Surigao provinces, Agusan provinces, Bukidnon, Davao del Norte, Lanao provinces, and elsewhere.
This war of suppression being waged by Marcos and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is characterized by wanton violation of political and civil rights, as well as of international humanitarian law.
It is marked by:
military occupation of several hundred rural villages
brutal aerial bombings and shelling of communities
imposition checkpoints to restrict people’s movements
preventing peasants from tending to their farms resulting in economic losses
food blockades and restrictions on commerce
the active promotion of soldiers of drug use, pornography and other anti-social vices among the community youth
night-long drinking sessions of AFP soldiers and indiscriminate firing of weapons when drunk
involvement of AFP soldiers in increasing number of incidents of sexual molestation and rape of women
forced recruitment in the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU)
forcing people to render labor and service (such as fetching bath water) for soldiers in their detachments
incessant house-to-house harassment of the peasant masses on the pretext of the AFP’s “surrender drive”
rising number of cases of abductions and extrajudicial killings, massacres, unlawful arrests, torture of civilians; and
land grabbing and economic displacement of peasants and minority peoples in favor the destructive mining operations, plantations and infrastructure projects.
Millions of people suffer from all forms oppression under the Marcos regime’s war of suppression. In addition, they suffer from Marcos’ gross neglect of the welfare of millions of victims of recent calamities. They are to set to suffer even more next year with the budgetary cuts on health and education, and increased budget for fascism (with the further rise in the budget of the AFP and the NTF-Elcac) and corruption (with the bloated budget for the DPWH and Marcos’ anomalous infrastructure projects).
The situation compels the New People’s Army to firmly wage armed resistance and stage tactical offensives, especially against the most detested fascist troops responsible for the extrajudicial killings, massacres and all forms of terrorism. This is by way of defending the people and responding to their growing clamor for justice and an end to martial law in their areas.
In anticipation of the holidays and the upcoming 56th anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines, units of the NPA and local peasant mass organizations in the countryside are busy preparing meetings and small assemblies in order to celebrate past victories, take stock of weaknesses and strengths, and reaffirm their resolve to wage greater struggles in the coming year.
The successive “insurgency-free” declarations over the past weeks by Marcos officials and military officers are mere smokescreen for the virtual imposition of martial law in the countryside. These only strengthen the resolve of the Filipino people, the Party and the New People’s Army to spread the flames of the people’s war. With their indomitable spirit of resistance and determination to fight, the revolutionary armed struggle is invincible and will not be defeated, this year or ever.