The reported threats against Prof. Jose Ma. ‘Joma’ Sison, who is the NDFP chief political consultant threaten any possible resumption of the peace talks.

That the Dutch police went to visit ‘Joma’ last week and warn him to take precautionary measures indicates that the Dutch authorities have become aware of and are taking seriously the threats against ‘Joma’. They presumably know who are behind the threats.

Any threat against Professor Sison or any member of the NDFP peace panel is certain to derail any resumption of the peace talks.

The Duterte regime is engaging in its vintage ‘doble-kara’ (double faced) tactic in dealing with the revolutionary movement – on the one hand reaching out to talk peace, while the other hand is viciously attacking the people and the revolutionary movement.

Those in the GRP who are for resuming the peace talks should set the record straight with the other minions of the Duterte regime that the NDFP is determined to negotiate and forge agreements on basic social, economic and political reforms in order to address the roots of the armed conflict and pave the way for a just and lasting peace in the country.

#Philippines #PeoplesStruggles #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #Asia

New York, NY – 50 activists gathered for an emergency rally for Philippine activist for Rafael Baylosis in front of the Philippine consulate here, Feb. 5. Baylosis is the labor leader and consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, who was arrested on Jan. 31 on trumped-up charges. The arrest is in violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHR-IHL), which the Philippine government is bound to by being a signatory of both.

The rally was organized by BAYAN USA, and included speeches from New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Committee to Stop FBI Repression NYC, Gabriela NY, Anakbayan NY, International Action Center, and Labor Against Racist Terror.

“The crackdown on BAYAN leaders is a sign of desperation, is a sign that Duterte’s popularity is falling,” said Bernadette Ellorin of BAYAN USA. “His supporters are small in numbers, and therefore, he must unleash attacks on the people. He must intimidate the opposition, in order to keep the appearance of still being popular.”

Toward the end of the protest, protesters from NYC Shut It Down joined the rally from Grand Central, leading to a march to Times Square. The demonstartion ended with a chant made famous by Assata Shakur, to make the connection between repression of Philippine activists and African-Americans, in honor of Black History Month.

#NewYorkNY #Philippines #ANAKBAYAN #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #PoliticalRepression #RafaelBaylosis #Asia

Fight Back! interviewed Fidel V. Agcaoili, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Peace Panel chairperson, August 19, in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The interview was conducted by Fight Back! editor Mick Kelly, who is also responsible for the international work of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Fight Back!: What is the National Democratic Front for the Philippines (NDFP) and what do you want? Fidel V. Agcaoili: The National Democratic Front for the Philippines is the formal alliance of underground organizations that is carrying out the struggle for national and social liberation of the Filipino people.

It includes the Communist Party, the New People’s Army, and other organizations, such as MAKIBAKA, which is the organization of women and Christians for National Liberation, which is the organization of Christians believing in the liberation theology. Then we have the organizations of the Moro, the Cordilleras, the Lumad, government employees, migrants, teachers, students, youth, Kabataaang Makabayan, and then health professionals, etcetera – 17 organizations in all.

What do we want? As I told you we are fighting for national and social liberation of the Filipino people. In the current period, we say that we would like to liberate the Filipino people from its semi-feudal and semi-colonial situation, so that we will be able to break the chains of feudalism that has enslaved the peasantry which constitutes about 75% of our people, and also to be able to bring about national industrialization in the country.

The Philippines is a rich country; we have about 20 of the basic metals in the world and we have a lot of them. We can transform these natural resources into finished products in our own country, and use our own capital and human resources to develop them, so we can move forward – establish a society that is more just, equitable and independent.

Fight Back!: You have been engaged with peace talks with the government. Why? Agcaoili: You see, we view peace negotiations as a form of struggle also, where we can be able to amplify and explain the objectives of the liberation struggle. We engage the government formally, but we always say that the objective – we are guided by the program for a people’s democratic revolution, the program of the National Democratic Front of Philippines – in carrying out peace negotiations, in dealing with the government. That means we will not be engaging in the surrender of the arms, but for a political settlement.

We would be able to engage the government in peace negotiations that would come up with agreements on social and economic reforms, on political and constitutional reforms – then we can bring about a situation where we will be able to achieve the objectives of the front.

Fight Back!: So where are the talks at right now? And where do you see them going? Agcaoili: Right now, the talks are in a situation of suspended animation. Suspended animation because the government of Duterte, and Duterte himself declared that he is no longer interested in the peace negotiations, and would continue to fight for 50 more years if necessary.

But then they have not yet, they have come out with this officially, even Duterte, they have not yet sent us a formal letter terminating the peace negotiations in accordance with the joint agreement on safety and immunity guarantees, where it is stated that if one side wants to break negotiations then all he has to do is send a formal letter to the other side. The other side, upon receipt of the letter, has 30 days to withdraw all of its forces from in the open by disengaging in peace negotiations, so that they would be safe, and then the fighting can continue.

So, they have not yet sent us the formal letter of termination. For us the implication is that they would like to, while there is fighting, they would like to perhaps ‘cool off’ for a while across the table, while in the field the situation remains the same.

Under the current regime, we were able to at least come out with certain points of agreement, especially with respect to land reform, carrying out general land reform. And we had both agreed, in principle anyway, that the land should be distributed freely to the tillers. The government is the one that has the resources, would be the ones to set aside the amount necessary to acquire this land from the landlords, through various means. It could mean that the landlords would be given bonds which they could retrieve over a period of time, with interest of course. Or they could put these bonds, what monies they would get, into the industries set up in connection with the carrying out of national industrialization. So, encourage them to become bourgeois [laughs], from being landlords.

So that’s I think, a major breakthrough, to the credit also of current regime, but also of course because of the demand that has been put forward by the National Democratic Front to give concrete expression to the aspirations of the Filipino peasantry for the destruction of landlordism and feudalism of the country.

Fight Back!: Anything else the you would like to say? Agcaoili: Oh, well! We would like to ask our friends abroad if they could continue to support the Filipino people’s struggle for national and social liberation. And, as part of this struggle, to support the continuation of the peace negotiations, towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the Philippines.

#UtrechtNetherlands #Utrecht #Philippines #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #Asia

When Iliganons are told that the U.S. mainstream media portrays Duterte as a Filipino version of Donald Trump, they roll their eyes. “He is not like Trump. Trump is a bully,” said a woman named Dorie, a history teacher.

But it isn’t just the corporate-owned media, and the corporate compliant National Public Radio, that have the impression of Duterte as a Trump-style, right-wing populist. Many progressive activists in the U.S. got that idea, reinforced by the fact that in his first weeks in office, there were 60 deaths of crimi-nals in the Philippines. This came after he had pledged to kill thousands of members of drug gangs dur-ing his campaign. In the U.S., this kind of tough-on-crime talk is characteristic of racist politicians who use it to crack down on the human rights of oppressed people.

According to supporters of Duterte in the Philippines, the situation here – and this politician – is differ-ent. The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) issued a statement welcoming “President Duterte’s call for cooperation with the revolutionary forces against widespread drug trafficking.” The revolutionary movement has a long history of dealing firmly with drug dealing in areas where the movement has popular support, including the use of revolutionary justice to deal with the biggest drug dealers.

In the view of the NDFP, the worst drug criminals are the top officers in the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This view syncs with the new president’s statement last week identifying three active and two retired generals in the Philippine National Police as protectors of drug gangs. Another Iliganon clarified, “Duterte has to talk tough because he has to discipline the generals and local officials.” In distinction from Trump the bully, Duterte talks tough because he is addressing himself to bullies.

There is a drug crisis in the Philippines, which has received little to no attention in U.S. media. Several people I interviewed talked about shabu, the local name for methamphetamine. “Shabu was sold in the market like rice,” said Dorie. In some cities, this has already stopped since the new president was inaugurated.

#IliganCityMindanaoPhilippines #Philippines #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #RodrigoDuterte #Asia

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) vigorously condemns the illegal arrest of NDFP Consultant Adelberto Silva on 1 June 2015, in Molina, Bacoor, Cavite. His wife, Rosanna Cabusao, and another companion, Isidro de Lima were also arrested.

Adelberto Silva is a holder of NDFP Document of Identification ND978229 with the assumed name Percival Rojo, which contains his photo. Under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), he is guaranteed immunity from arrest, detention, surveillance, harassment, search and other punitive actions.

Following the illegal arrest of NDFP Consultant Ruben Saluta last March and earlier arrests of other NDFP consultants, there is a clear pattern of gross violations of the JASIG and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL). Trumped-up charges of common crimes are filed by the police and military in violation of JASIG and CARHRIHL. These are proof of the Aquino government's utter lack of respect for peace agreements signed with the NDFP and its continuing lack of sincerity in peace negotiations with the NDFP.

The NDFP likewise condemns the arrest and filing of fabricated charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives not only against Adelberto Silva but also against his wife, Rosanna Cabusao, and Isidro de Lima. Cabusao is a research consultant of the Crispin Beltran Resource Center and a founding member of GABRIELA.

In accordance with the JASIG and CARHRIHL, Adelberto Silva and the other 16 detained NDFP consultants and political prisoners must be released.

#Philippines #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #Asia

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) condemns in the strongest terms possible the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed by the Aquino regime and the United States of America as flagrant trampling on Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Negotiated in secrecy, preventing the Filipino people from knowing its contents until after it was signed during the visit of US imperialist chieftain Barack Obama on April 28, 2014, the EDCA allows US military and civilian personnel and contractors and all kinds of materiel unimpeded entry and use of so-called Agreed Locations rent-free anywhere in the country.

This is a shameless surrender of national sovereignty by the Aquino regime . The EDCA allows an unlimited number of US troops to be stationed, together with their unlimited number of prepositioned war vessels and armaments, in numerous unspecified locations anywhere in the country..

To cite a few provisions of the EDCA to show the indecent extent of privilege given to the US. According to Article IV of EDCA, Equipment, Supplies and Materiel, No. 3: “The prepositioned materiel shall be for the exclusive use of United States forces. United States forces shall have control over the access to and disposition of such prepositioned materiel and shall have the unencumbered right to remove such prepositioned materiel at any time from the territory of the Philippines.”

Furthermore, No. 4 of the same Article 4 stipulates: “United States forces and United States contractors [companies and firms, and their employees, under contract or subcontract to or on behalf of the United States Department of Defense] shall have unimpeded access to Agreed Locations for all matters relating to the prepositioning and storage of defense equipment, supplies, and materiel, including delivery, management, inspection, use, maintenance, and removal of such equipment, supplies and materiel.”

From such provisions in EDCA, it is clear that the US forces can undertake numerous activities which can amount to using the Philippines as a launching pad for US wars of aggression, which the US had carried out in the past against the peoples of Vietnam, Indonesia and other countries.

The NDFP in its program firmly upholds the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines. It is resolutely against the US bases and calls for the abrogation of unequal agreements such as US-RP Military Assistance Agreement, the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty, the Visiting Forces Agreement and Mutual Logistics Support Agreement. The NDFP program declares that no foreign power shall be allowed to set up military bases on Philippine soil or use Philippine territory as a launching pad for military operations abroad.

The NDFP therefore calls on the Filipino people to launch a powerful campaign to abrogate the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and related military agreements with the US. The NDFP likewise calls on the peoples in the United States of America to stand up in solidarity with the Filipino people and take effective collective action to stop the escalating US military intervention in the Philippines as they acted in solidarity with the Vietnamese people against the US war of aggression against Vietnam. We also call for effective solidarity from other peoples of the world in our common struggle against US bases and US military intervention in numerous parts of the world.

National Executive Committee National Democratic Front of the Philippines

#Philippines #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #EnhancedDefenseCooperationAgreement #EDCA #Asia

“Direct US military intervention in the Philippines is escalating. We call on international friends to condemn this and demand the immediate withdrawal of US troops!” thus declared Luis G. Jalandoni, Chief International Representative of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Jalandoni issued the statement yesterday, citing reports on the US Operation Pacific Angel 12-1 which starts today in the Bicol region, south of Manila in Luzon.

An undisclosed number of American soldiers belonging to the 13th US Air Force are reported to be flown to Albay province and carry out military and civil-military operations with the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 5-10 March 2012.

The US 13th Air Force is equipped with advanced aerial surveillance capabilities. It is able to launch unmanned surveillance vehicles. This US Air Force unit had been tasked last year to deploy an unmanned spy plane in North Korea to provide the US with a detailed view of North Korea's military.

“The escalating US military intervention in areas of the liberation struggles of the Filipino people and the Moro people is fraught with great danger. It can ignite an armed conflict between the resistance fighters and the interventionist US troops,” Jalandoni warned.

He issued a strong call to international friends to oppose this violation of the national sovereignty of the Filipino people. “This unjust intervention must be stopped!” he declared. Jalandoni cited the militant international support of the Kent State students in the US in May 1970 and other international acts of solidarity which helped stop the US war of aggression against Vietnam in the 1970s. “The anguished cry of Mary Ann Vecchio kneeling over the bullet-ridden body of Jeffrey Miller is a stark reminder of US aggression,” said Jalandoni.

#Philippines #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #Asia

NDFP calls on incoming administration to hold Mrs. Arroyo accountable for human rights violations and plunder

NDFP Negotiating Panel

26 May 2010

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel calls on the incoming administration of apparent President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to hold Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the military and civilian officials of her regime accountable for numerous gross human rights violations and blatant cases of massive corruption and plunder.

The broad masses of the people expect Aquino to fulfill his promise to carry out the investigation and prosecution of the Arroyo regime within the legal and political framework of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). The failure of Aquino to fulfill his promise within the first 100 days of his rule will outrage the people and will once more expose the rottenness not only of the new administration but also the entire ruling system.

Aquino vigorously sought votes by pledging to investigate and prosecute Arroyo and her cohorts for the crimes that they have committed for so long. The people therefore expect Aquino to go beyond mere rhetoric in the electoral campaign and to go after Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts. The people are determined to obtain justice and will condemn and take action against the obnoxious practice of the oligarchs of condoning each other's crimes at the expense of the people.

Holding Mrs. Arroyo accountable in response to the demands of Filipino people and the victims and their families will significantly help to improve the atmosphere for the resumption of formal peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

We issue this call in line with our firm commitment to uphold, defend and advance the fundamental interests of the Filipino people and in response to their deep aspirations for social justice, democracy and a just and lasting peace.

The NDFP stands ready to resume formal peace talks with the incoming administration on the basis of The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) of 1995 and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), among others. We are committed to address the roots of the armed conflict through fundamental economic, social and political reforms.

The Arroyo regime must be held responsible for more than a thousand extrajudicial killings, more than 200 enforced disappearances, hundreds more of frustrated killings, thousands of cases of torture, the displacement of millions of civilians in the rural and urban areas. This will be an important signal of the new administration's commitment to implement the CARHRIHL.

Firmly taking up the crimes of plunder and corruption of Mrs. Arroyo and her cohorts will entail the exposure of the basic causes of social injustice and maldevelopment, and will thus be of great benefit to the negotiations on social and economic reforms, which is the second substantive topic in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations as defined by The Hague Joint Declaration.

To recognize and honor the victims' and their families' unceasing efforts to obtain justice, and to respond effectively to the people's aspiration for a just and lasting peace, the NDFP demands that Ms. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo be held accountable for gross violations of the human rights of the Filipino people and for massive plunder and corruption.

LUIS G. JALANDONI

Chairperson, Negotiating Panel

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

#Philippines #GloriaMacapagalArroyo #NationalDemocraticFrontOfPhilippines #Asia