MANILA, Philippines – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison said on Monday, that the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte “looks ridiculous” by staging fake surrenders of New People’s Army (NPA) fighters and their supporters.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines had repeatedly released reports claiming thousands of NPA combatants and supporters had continuously surrendered to them in the wake of the foiled peace talks between the government and the NDFP.
In a statement, Sison reiterated that these reports are mere “propaganda.”
“Duterte and his military minions claim that they are getting surrenderers not only from the NPA but also from the people´s militia, the underground mass organizations, the self-defense units and the organs of political power,” he said.
“They continue to make the absurd claim that thousands of NPA fighters and their supporters are poised to surrender and disappear soon because they are bored with or tired of fighting oppression and exploitation and are eager to enjoy the new paradise that Duterte has brought about in the Philippines,” he added.
But the NDFP consultant, and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said this drive to produce fake surrenderers had perpetrated violations of civil and political rights by Duterte and the military.
“Barangay officials are being persuaded or coerced to call people to meetings. Those attending are made to sign attendance sheets, at the back of which is the text of surrender. They are photographed and videographed and misrepresented as taking the oath of surrender and renewing their allegiance to the neocolonial republic,” he said.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Information Bureau had already issued exposés of the increasing number of fake surrenders and murders of revolutionary suspects in various regions.
Sison said the revolutionary forces and people are strengthening their ranks and sharpening their methods for frustrating and defeating their enemy in his dastardly scheme to commit mass murders.
“They draw lessons from a long and rich history of revolutionary resistance. All previous campaign plans of the reactionary government have tried to terrorize the people with the abduction, torture and murder of revolutionary suspects and social activists,” he said.
Sison also said Duterte is “daydreaming” if he thinks he can entice the NPA commanders and fighters to go home and thus break up the NPA with his offer of money, housing and skills training.
“Revolutionaries do not join the revolution to get handouts from their enemy.. And they are perfectly well at home with the people in the guerrilla fronts to which they are assigned,” he said.
Sison likewise renewed his call for Duterte to reconsider his termination of the peace negotiations with the NDFP, “if he truly wants to have a just and lasting peace in the Philippines.”
“Through the peace negotiations, the necessary social, economic and political reforms can be negotiated and agreed upon by the GRP and the NDFP,” he said.
Late last year, Duterte signed a proclamation declaring the CPP and NPA as terrorist organizations following the foiled peace talks with the NDFP in November 2017. (davaotoday.com)
