CALL. A protester wearing the picture of slain New People’s Army Commander Leoncio “Ka Parago” Pitao carries a placard urging President Rodrigo Duterte to “lay the foundation of Socialism” on Wednesday morning (March 29) along Elpidio Qurino Avenue in Davao City. The protesters staged a lightning rally in celebration of the NPA’s 48th anniversary and urged Dabawenyos to join the armed group. (Paulo C. Rizal/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Like a thief in the night, members of revolutionary youth organizations staged a lightning rally along the intersection of Elpidio Quirino Avenue and Magallanes Street here to mark the 48th founding anniversary of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Clad in red shirts, NPA supporters occupied the street as their faces were covered by masks bearing the face of slain NPA commander Leoncio “Ka Parago” Pitao. The supporters appealed to the public to join the ranks of NPA as an unidentified spokesperson read the statement of the CPP-NDF-NPA.
The CPP-NPA-NDF touted the NPA as the “widest and strongest army of the people since the Katipunan,” despite continuous attacks from succeeding governments for over almost five decades.
“The NPA was able to achieve this through its unwavering loyalty to the leadership of the CPP and the practical application of the Marxism-Leninism-Maoism line in solving the contradictions of the semi-feudal and semi-colonial Filipino society,” the CPP-NDF-NPA said in a statement.
The groups also criticized the Duterte administration for its failure to deliver its own promises to the people.
According to them, President Rodrigo Duterte, who named himself as the “First Left President,” has consistently backtracked on his own pronouncements, notably on his promises to end the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, contractualization, and the declaration of an all -out war against the communists.
“Almost a year since his election, Duterte has effected no significant change in the lives of the Filipino people. Contrary to his promises, Duterte gave in to the right winged and militaristic elements in his government in his inability to abolish the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and other military deals with the imperialist US,” the groups said in a statement written in local Dabawenyo dialect.
“Duterte also continued the oppression of the farmers and workers under the neoliberal schemes such as contractualization. He refused to give basic social services such as housing despite the strong, militant movement of the masses in order to claim it. He allowed the continued destruction of the environment that the Lumad depend on for their lives and sustenance,” it said.
The groups also reminded Duterte that the CPP-NPA-NDF has exercised military, political, and judicial powers over territories that they claim. This, the groups said, is the reason why the government is negotiating with the NDF as the representative of the revolutionary government.
“It is a a great absurdity that the government, especially the armed forces would impose preconditions in the resumption of the peace negotiations through demanding that the revolutionary government and the NPA relinquish their authority,” they said.
Meanwhile, in a press briefing, Police Sr. Supt. Jed Clamor, police community relations chief of Davao City Police Office said they were unable to determine the identities and motives of the groups as the protesters had already began to leave the scene when their dispatched team arrived.
Clamor said they dispatched a group as a response to a report that at least 100 protesters had occupied the intersection. The rally, he added, caused a traffic which also brought some inconveniences to the riding public.
Army’s Lt. Col. Raymund Lachica, 3rd Infantry Battalion commander, said they are doing their best to monitor the activities of the NPA especially during their anniversaries. (davaotoday.com)
