MANILA, Philippines — The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) agrees on the importance of coronavirus vaccines reaching the intended communities without delay.

In response to the appeal of President Rodrigo Duterte, the group assured not to cause any delay in the transportation of COVID-19 vaccines to areas they consider as bulwarks of its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

“The Communist Party of the Philippines must guarantee that the vaccines in the course of their being transported to areas where no city health officers or medical persons, huwag ninyong galawin ang medisina. Allow the vaccines to be transported freely and safely,” Duterte said during Monday’s public address.

However, CPP chief information officer Marco Balbuena said they prefer humanitarian groups to facilitate the transportation, distribution and inoculation.

“We strongly suggest that the transportation, distribution and inoculation drive of Covid-19 vaccines especially in the interior areas be handled by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Philippine Red Cross and other civilian humanitarian agencies whose personnel are properly trained and who have the facilities to undertake such missions,” Balbuena said.

They want every non-Red Cross vehicle to have proper markings during delivery and as much as possible, no military vehicles among them as there might be miscommunication that could lead to encounters.

“Non-Red Cross vehicles that will be used as Covid-19 vaccine transporters must be clearly and properly marked with a Red Cross over white background,” Balbuena noted.

But according to Malacañang, the government’s vaccine rollout program will push through as planned.

“We have a rollout plan. Iyon po ang masusunod kahit ano pang sabihin ng CPP-NPA,” said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

“I guess they have freedom of expression but they are tagged as a terrorist group so parang they can express their opinion but hanggang dun lang po yun,” he added. MNP (with reports from Rosalie Coz)

MANILA, Philippines – The five suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) killed in a shootout in Baras, Rizal in December 2020 were part of the death squads allegedly deployed by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Tuesday.

Año said the slain group of rebels were deployed in Southern Luzon to assassinate top national and local government leaders, and police and military officers over “blood debts.”

“We can now confirm that the five NPA members killed in Barangay San Juan, Baras, Rizal were part of a death squad that was supposed to carry out the directive of Joma Sison to assassinate government and civilian leaders,” the DILG chief said in a statement.

“Isang tagumpay para sa atin na napigilan ang mga ganitong mga operasyon ng NPA lalo pa’t ito’y isang tuwirang pagbabanta sa buhay ng mga pinuno ng bansa at maging ng mga sibilyan,” he added.

The shootout allegedly occurred as government troops were about to serve a warrant of arrest against Antonio “Dads” Cule for frustrated murder charges issued by the Regional Trial Court branch 65 in Infanta, Quezon Province.

Cule was tagged as the finance officer of an NPA unit that collected revolutionary taxes in Southern Tagalog.

CPP Central Committee Information Officer Marcos Valduena earlier said that “there is a standing order for the NPA to form partisan teams to meet out punishment against enemy units and officers who have committed bloody crimes against the people.”

Año said Sison’s move to deploy communist death squads to urban areas “intends to bring the NPA’s reign of terror in the countryside to the cities. “The PNP and AFP will do its utmost to protect the people from these terrorists in sheep’s clothing. We will crush these urban terrorist cells before they can begin their reign of terror,” he said.

The DILG chief urged the Commission on Human Rights and even the so-called Makabayan Bloc to condemn the deployment of NPA death squads in urban areas to prove that they are truly not members or fronts of the Communist Party.

He said that assassinations perpetrated by the NPA Death Squads are clearly extra-judicial killing “which the CPP is now bringing to the urban areas after decades of perfecting armed terrorism in the mountains.”
Año said the supposed deployment of NPA partisan units is a “clear and convincing proof that the Anti-Terrorism Council did the right thing in designating CPP and NPA as ‘terrorist organizations.’”

“Ngayon ay hindi na nila maikakaila ang kanilang tunay na kulay at motibo. Sila ay mga terorista na kailanman ay hindi naghangad ng kapayapaan kundi ang maghasik ng kaguluhan, pumatay ng mga puwersa ng gobyerno, para pabagsakin ang gobyerno,” he said.

In the 1980s, the CPP-NPA first deployed its “sparrow units” in urban centers and murdered hundreds of policemen, military officers, and civilians in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, and other areas to speed up its protracted people’s war, sow chaos, and bring down the government, the DILG said.

The Philippine Army has arrested an alleged official of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Camarines Sur.

Marilou Pascual Tan or alias Tinay is now in the custody of the Tinambac Municipal Police Station.

Authorities said Tinay is among the high-value individuals arrested for frustrated murder.

Tinay is allegedly the secretary of Komiteng Probinsya 2 of the Bicol Regional Party Committee (BRPC) of the CPP-NPA.

Police authorities recovered anti-personnel mines, hand grenades, .38 caliber gun, and propaganda materials.

Brigade Commander of the 902nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, Col. Jaime Abawag Jr. said they managed to track Tinay down after receiving a tip from several residents.

“This development is a manifestation of the continuous collapse of the CTG (communist terrorist groups). Their very own people are now siding with the government and exposing their own top leaders who are supposedly well-insulated,” he said.

Abawag also encourages residents to immediately report suspicious individuals in their area. -AAC (with reports from Allan Manansala)