Philippines: New People's Army, to mark the 50th Anniversary of its founding.

Translated by Google and សតិវ ​អតុ 

 

From RIGOBERTO F. SÁNCHEZ 

Spokesman, 

Command of Regional Operations of the New People's Army,  

South Mindanao Region

& From LUMINOSO FUTURO

"We are the New People's Army:” 

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the true Filipino army, the New People's Army (NEP), the Red Fighters and the commanders in South Mindanao, together with our tens of thousands of popular militiamen, we reiterate our commitment to serve to the people and to the armed revolutionary, carrying out the people's war until victory and for the construction of socialism. Given that the United States -(Rodrigo)Duterte regime is deteriorating and becoming more and more a puppet regime more fascist, corrupt and anti-popular since (Ferdinand) Marcos, the path of revolutionary armed resistance is clearer than ever. 

 

Last year the clear contrast between the red fighters of the NEP and the brutal beasts of the self-styled Armed Forces of the Philippines (FAF) was again demonstrated. While the NEP systematically serves the interests and welfare of workers, peasants, indigenous people and all other sectors of society, the fascist enemy in South Mindanao has clearly been reduced to a group of organized hooligans, rabid and savage mercenaries, as a violent arm of the ruling class, of the landowners, comprador bourgeoisie and capitalist bureaucrats, like Rodrigo Duterte and his imperialist masters. 

 

FAF fascism in the region, under Duterte's martial law, has rivaled and in many cases surpassed the dark days of Marcos' martial law. The extrajudicial armies have not only become a form of extra money for the brutal troops of the FAF, enjoying the clear support of Duterte, which offers them impunity. Since February of this year, FAF troops have managed to kidnap and detain two girls under age for almost two days in Kitaotao, Bukidnon; murdering an indigenous student in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, and killing 2 civilians in Mabini, Valle de Compostela. 

 

However, by failing to make significant progress against the NEP, the FAFs in the region have resorted to all sorts of false news and goings-on, which show their total failure in the counterinsurgency campaign, which they call Oplan Kapayapaan (*). They made a goose that lays the golden eggs of the Livelihoods and Integration Improvement Program (E-CLIP), from which its officials pocketed millions of dollars, while helping those who had previously surrendered. But they corralled peasants and indigenous and forced them to surrender as if they were members of the NEP. The troops used FAF practices of pressure or to force the tribal councils to invent the so-called "declarations", forcing them to name the CPP, the NEP as enemies. In a short time, however, the FAF experts will have to explain why the Red Guerrillas are still capable of launching tactical offensives against their troops or rejecting their attacks in areas previously and allegedly "cleansed" of "Communist influence."

  

The East Mindanao Command of the FAF has already spoken of the need for peace talks, insisting on the "crucial role" of the local government units and other agencies of the reactionary government. With nice words and false intentions of peace, FAFs really want to subvert civil authority and ensure that paramilitary groups give a greater impetus to the fascist line in their counterinsurgency campaign. The enemy desperately wants to ensure that these local peace talks are carried out in conjunction with their campaign of intimidation and psychological harassment, the manipulation of mass deliveries of civilians, along with disappearances, bombings, forced evacuations and extrajudicial killings.

 

Meanwhile, the New People's Army of the region continues to be the center of gravity of hope and the fervent struggle of the masses to firmly resist the current tyrannical regime of the United States and Duterte. Fifty years after the beginning of the revolutionary armed struggle, the NEP continues to be, as it has amply demonstrated, the main instrument of the Filipino people for the proclamation of a genuine national democracy, to defeat imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism imposed for the United States.

 

Temperate by the facts and difficulties of the People's War, the NEP units in South Mindanao can quickly adjust their way and conduct of political and military work taking into account the favorable military situation. During the implementation of Plan Oplan Bantay Laya 1 and 2, when the region became the priority target of the brutal counterinsurgency campaign, the NEP in Mindanao del Sur strengthened in number and skills in guerrilla warfare. All indications, including above all the recrudescence of fascism as a result of greater militarization of the FAF, point to the NEP overcoming the current challenges to become a much stronger Popular Army, resisting the enemy's aggression campaigns and more creative to advance the revolution. 

 

The NEP units in the region can also help the peasant and indigenous masses to undertake the agrarian revolution to preserve their right to cultivate and campaign for a fairer distribution, better wages, higher prices for their products and better working conditions. They have also helped mass organizations and popular power bodies in their campaign against the intrusion of multinational companies, mining corporations and large plantations, which threaten to expel indigenous people and peasants from their ancestral farms and lands.

 

With the unwavering support of the masses and the leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the NEP forces in South Mindanao are encouraged to continue their efforts in the fight, also in carrying out our urgent tasks marked by the five-year plan of the CPP, which includes the overthrow of the current US fascist regime-Duterte, fighting the antifascist, anti-feudal and anti-imperialist struggle, and advancing the People's War to the advanced stage of the strategic defensive stage.

 

By serving the people and promoting their interests above all, the NEP in Southern Mindanao clearly defines its class character and ensures that the coming years will see increasing achievements in the revolutionary armed struggle. For communist fighters and commanders in the region there is no better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than to resolutely continue the People's War until our final victory.

 

NEP Press Release: RIGOBERTO F. SÁNCHEZ 

Spokesman, 

Command of Regional Operations of the New People's Army,  

South Mindanao Region

* Operation Oplan Kapayapaan: Operation of the Duterte government to end the influence of the CPP(Communist Party of the Philippines) among workers, indigenous people and peasants, which includes propaganda actions together with paramilitary activities and the invention of false positives among the civilian population.