LETTERS

Game of the generals

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon boasted that 13 guerrilla fronts have been dismantled nationwide as a result of Oplan Bantay Laya. Nolcom chief Lt. Gen. Rodrigo Maclang quickly claimed credit for dismantling six of these fronts in his backyard Northern Luzon, followed immediately by 503rd Brigade chief Brig. Gen. Loreto Rirao claiming credit for two of these in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions.

But of course, ambitious and self-serving generals would never admit defeat! Being masters of the one-upmanship game of the generals, it is natural for them to lie and cheat so as to advance their lucrative and money-raking careers. In the AFP's mercenary tradition, advancement comes from simply making bootlicking reports to the commander-in-chief.

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal hit the bull's-eye when he said, "AFP Chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon has been feeding media with claims of supposed victories against the New People's Army in order to shore up his bid for the extension of his term as AFP Chief of Staff." In their rush to score "pogi" points, the generals could not even get their lies straight. For instance, Maclang did not even deign to specify the exact location of the supposed guerrilla fronts except to say that these were somewhere "in the boundaries of Ilocos Norte and Abra, and in Ilocos Sur and Mountain Province." Rirao desperately tried to back up his claims by saying that the AFP had seized 15 NPA camps and cleared three barangays in these areas.

Well, sorry to disappoint Rirao, but 15 camps and three barangays do not make two guerrilla fronts. Unlike AFP camps, NPA camps are temporary shelters, as a matter of guerrilla tactics. The loss of a camp is no big deal, given the NPA's wide area of maneuver in the countryside whose mountain fastnesses, forest strongholds, and organized masses shelter the NPA guerrillas.

To further enlighten Rirao, a guerrilla front is equivalent to a congressional district or at least five municipalities. Such fronts are fluid and flexible politico-military areas rather than fixed territories, at times contracting or expanding, dividing or merging. The military has concentrated its ruthless attacks on the Ilocos the past year. By paying too much attention on the narrow Ilocos coast, however, the enemy has left the much wider area in the east for the emergence of guerilla base areas and guerilla zones.

Maclang claimed that 22 NPA rebels were killed in Northern Luzon last year. But Rirao, in his eagerness to please his superiors, audaciously claimed an even higher body count for his smaller area of operation – 25! Rirao must have learned arithmetic from the Comelec. In truth, 60 enemy troopers (equivalent to a company) were killed in action, 38 were wounded, and four were captured, and 12 firearms seized in 25 battles last year. In 22 of these battles, the NPA held the initiative.

By employing guerrilla tactics, flexibility, mastery of terrain, and unbreakable links with the masses, we have managed to preserve ourselves and we have repeatedly dealt heavy blows on the enemy despite Oplan Bantay Laya's constant heavy pressure. And if the AFP is winning the war, why did Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano announce recently that the Philippine Army had to enlist 3,000 more soldiers and 20 more CAFGU companies? Well, a number of CAFGU militiamen are secretly cooperating with us.

Our policy towards the CAFGU is to exert every effort to frustrate its establishment and, if the enemy still succeeds in establishing it through coercion, to maintain secret contact with the CAFGU militiamen, get information from them about AFP operations, and instruct them to join the NPA with their arms at an appropriate time. What truly exposes the AFP's glaring lie is the open admission made by the head of the AFP's military operations, Maj. Gen. Jogy Leo Fojas, that only three guerrilla fronts have been dismantled nationwide as of October last year. He openly expressed doubt that the AFP could defeat the CPP-NPA by 2010.

Even Yano has admitted that the AFP might not achieve victory over the NPA by 2010 due to its other military campaigns, especially in Mindanao. For once, Yano is right! The revolutionary movement is even far stronger in Mindanao than in Northern Luzon. This concerted but lame effort by AFP generals to conjure up the illusion of military victory is just another part of the Arroyo regime's pretensions to a strong republic. Like Arroyo's unbelievable lies of economic growth, the AFP's boastful claims serve to cover up a stinking military bureaucracy wracked by internal squabbling and rivalry, graft and corruption at the highest levels.

Military operations are not just a huge waste of public funds, but a plague to the people who are victimized by military abuses, extrajudicial killings, abductions, forced evacuation, looting, disruption of livelihood, harassment and intimidation. The AFP's fascist forces are parasites that feed on the blood of the masses. The AFP's so-called victories are empty as clanging cymbals – "pagtataas ng sariling bangko."

Oplan Bantay Laya may have disrupted the NPA's revolutionary work, seized a number of camps, killed some of our precious comrades and Red fighters, and trampled on the rights of the people. But it is the corrupt system, stupid, that makes the revolution live and spread like a prairie fire.

Martin Montana
Spokesperson Chadli Molintas Command
New People's Army Ilocos-Cordillera Region



In defense of our kailyan and fellow journalist Dana Batnag

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines’ Baguio-Benguet Chapter (NUJP-BB) condemns the authorities’ statement implicating Dana Batnag, a reporter of the Jiji Press, in the escape of Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon after the November 29, 2007 Makati standoff at the Manila Peninsula. We view the move as a part of a systematic witch-hunting campaign to intimidate media and disallow them to perform their task to bring relevant information to the public.

The accusation of the Philippine National Police (PNP) that Batnag aided Faeldon in his escape is devoid of merit. The video showing her allegedly aiding Faeldon obviously recorded a normal interview witnessed by several others who were in the hotel. Despite the accusations against her, we are even proud of Dana, our kailyan from Besao, Mountain Province, who bravely covered the conflict.

It is proof enough that she unquestionably performed her task of bringing information to the public. We are proud of Dana here in the Cordillera region, not only as a kailyan but more as a committed press freedom worker. Earlier, the PNP floated the names of journalists Ces Drillon and Ellen Tordesillas as the ones who allegedly aided in the escape of Faeldon. These PNP acts reveal an insidious campaign to intimidate media which is either aimed to threaten their performance or simply silence them.

We challenge the PNP and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file a case against any media person believed to have aided Faeldon in the same way weurge them to stop the witch-hunting. We urge members of the press to stand firm against this campaign of intimidation and to remain true to our calling to advance the people’s right to know.

References:
Arthur L. Allad-iw
Secretary-General
NUJP-Baguio-Benguet

Kathleen Okubo
Vice-chairperson
NUJP-BB