ANGPahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas

Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo

Vol XLVI I I No. 23

December 7, 2017

www.phi l ippinerevolution. info

Dictator-wannabe Rodrigo Duterte intensified steps for his abso-lute fascist dictatorship after his imperialist master DonaldTrump gave his all-out support.

After completely shutting downthe peace negotiations between itsregime and the National DemocraticFront of the Philippines, he declaredthe Communist Party of the Philippi-nes and the New People's Army as“terrorist organizations.” The de-claration was made on the basis ofthe US State Department listing ofboth the “CPP-NPA” as a foreignterrorist organization under its “waron terror.” Duterte once againdisplayed his utter subservience tohis imperialist master, especially asit also serves his fascist ambitions.

Through this declaration, Du-terte's main fascist machinery, theAFP, is sure to garner a windfall onmilitary aid and weaponry from theUS counterterrorism budget. As hedid in Marawi when he declared the

now defunct Maute group as“terrorist,” he opened the entirecountry to increased US militaryintervention in the name of its “waron terror.” In exchange, Duterte isset to receive new arms, bombs,aircraft and other military materielfor him to use against the defiantpopulation.

Furthermore, Duterte is sure touse this declaration to suppressnational-democratic organizationswhich he has red- and terror-tagged. Under his Proclamation 374,anyone accused of giving financialand material aid to the CPP and NPAcan be considered a terrorist. Du-terte can use this against his politi-cal rivals and even business rivals ofhis cronies. He can accuse at will anycapitalist for extortion.. . . continued on page 3

NPA seizes 8

firearmsTHE NEW PEOPLE'S Army's sei-zed eight firearms from succes-sful tactical offensives thesepast few weeks. Five of thesecame from Camarines Norte andthree from Cagayan. Reactionarytroops suffered at least 20 ca-sualties in these offensives.Meanwhile, NPA-SMR released apoliceman who was a prisoner-of-war.

Camarines Norte. Redfighters of the NPA-CamarinesNorte (Armando CatapiaCommand or ACC) ambushed atwo-vehicle and one motorcycleconvoy of the PNP-ProvincialPublic Safety Company last De-cember 2, past 1:00 p.m in SitioBinuang, Barangay Daguit, Labo.Four M16 rifles, one 9mm pistoland ammunition were seizedfrom the police. There were nocasualties among the ACCtroops.

Using command-detonatedexplosives, Red fighters hit thePNP-PPSC convoy on the wayback to their camp after carryingout operations. After a fifteenminute fire fight, two policemenwere killed and seven otherswere injured. According to ACCspokesperson Ka Carlito Cada,the offensive was in response tothe CPP's call to intensify tacti-cal offensives in the province aspart of the efforts to oust thefascist US-Duterte regime, andalso to punish the unit for itslong record of abuses andextrajudicial killings.

Misamis Oriental. NPA-North Central Mindanao forces

EDITORIAL

Resist and overthrowthe puppet and fascistDuterte regime

December 7 , 2017 ANG BAYAN2

aspects of suppression campaigns ofthe past regimes. These includedmilitary tactics and combat ope-rations which all target civiliancommunities. These are reinforcedby the use of modern weapons suchas drones, attack helicopters,bombers and cannons. Like in thepast, these military operations inthe countryside are carried outalongside attacks on the open de-mocratic movement in the cities andtown centers.

The revolutionary forces caneffectively counter all these throughincreased determination, initiative,preparation and appropriate ad-justments.

Intensive, massive and vigorouspropaganda among the peopleshould be carried out to unite andraise their consciousness and de-termination to struggle. Launchmass rallies, propagate the callsthrough radio and social media. Ex-pose and struggle against every ca-se of harassment and suppression.Strengthen and expand mass orga-nizations up to town centers, capi-tals and main urban centers.

Guerilla zones are open to allactivists and progressives persecu-ted by the regime. At the same time,covert operations in a widening anddeepening underground movementin the cities should be developed.

In the face of all of this, theNew People's Army should raise itsinitiative in launching more andbigger tactical offensives. Attack“peace and development” units andother weak parts of the enemy.Study the capacity of modern wea-pons to effectively evade, target orsabotage these. Comprehensivelyplan the expansion of guerilla frontswith massive AFP troop deployment.

The superiority of revolutionarypolitics and the people's unity toraise their struggles are thesharpest weapons against the fa-scist US-Duterte regime. We mustgrasp these firmly and relentlesslyuse these to inflict blows against thenarrowest target in order to weakenand hasten its fall.

Editorial: Resist and overthrow the puppet

and fascist Duterte regime 1

NPA seizes 8 fireams 1

Duterte, #1 terrorist 4

Duterte terminates peace talks 5

Martial law extension 6

Drones against the people 7

Youth maytyrs of the revolution 8

AFP kills 8 Lumads 9

Bonifacio Day rallies 9

Bungkalan in Nueva Ecija 10

Vol XLVI I I No. 23 | December 7, 2017

Contents

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Even before the declaration,Duterte has already set up theInter-agency Committee for LegalAction (IACLA) as his “crackdown”machinery against the legal massmovement. After its establishment,cases of illegal arrests and harass-ment of known activists, supposedNPA supporters and even families ofsuspected Red fighters have increa-sed.

Over and over, Duterte sanctio-ned the crimes and human rightsviolations of his lackeys in the mili-tary, paramilitary and police. Sincecoming into power up to December5, there have been 124 cases ofpolitical killings under the US-Du-terte regime. This is excluding the13,000 extrajudicial killings in theguise of his “war against drugs” andthe 3,000 Moros reportedly missingand possibly dead in his Marawiwar. During the same period, 1,173peasants, workers, human rights,workers and others have been ille-galy arrested by police and militaryforces. Attacks on civilian commu-nities using airstrikes and cannonsare also widespread.

DUTERTE'S INTENSIFYING fascismis an indication of the worseningcrisis of the entire semicolonial andsemifeudal system. He is terrifiedthat he will be overthrown by a po-pular revolt as he is increasinglyisolated and the people sufferincreased hardship due to his neo-liberal economic policies. Infightingwithin the reactionary class is alsointensifying due to Duterte's cro-nyism, favoring of a small groupinside the reactionary government,his family's growing share incorruption and his vengeful ways ofsilencing his political enemies.

Duterte fears the increasingstrength of the revolutionary move-ment both in the cities and country-side and the growing anger of theMoro people due to Marawi's de-struction and his continuedsuppression of their right to self-de-termination. He is clinging tight tohis US imperialist master, allowinghimself to be whatever it wants himto be in accordance to its militaristdesigns in the Asia-Pacific.

To suppress the people, the re-gime has combined the worst

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under the Eastern Misamis Oriental North Eastern Bu-kidnon Subregional Command attacked a PNP station inBinuangan town last December 3, at around 3:00 a.m.,wounding four policemen.

According to Ka Malem Mabini, NPA-NCMR spoke-sperson, the military action serves as punishment for thePNP-Binuangan's role in counterinsurgency. In 2012,one hor de combat Red fighter was slain by these policeforces.

Cagayan. NPA-Cagayan (Henry Abraham Commandor HAC) executed Angelo "Buridek" Luis, intelligenceagent of the Military Intelligence Group (MIG), when heresisted arrest last December 2, at 7:00 a.m. in Ba-rangay Awallan, Baggao. A calibre .45 pistol, one .9mmpistol, and one BSL shotgun was seized from him. TheHAC also recovered importantintelligence data from the MIG.Luis, a former soldier and pre-sently councilman of Baggao,was responsible for the death offour Red fighters in 2011.

Iloilo. The NPA-Central Pa-nay (Jose Percival Estocada Jr.Command) ambushed the 6thPNP-RPSB in Barangay Bolo,Maasin on November 24 ataround 6:00 p.m. One policemanwas killed and 12 wounded.

Antique. Before the Iloiloambush, a unit of the NPA-Sou-

thern Panay (Napoleon Tumagtang Command or NTC)ambushed a police vehicle at around 9:00 a.m. in Ba-rangay Pis-anan, Sibalom. Three policemen werewounded. Earlier, another NTC unit also staged harass-ment operations against the Philippine Army and CAFGUdetachment in Barangay Bulalacao in the same munici-pality, at around 2:00 a.m.

Nueva Ecija. Two PNP-PPSC officers were woundedin sniping operations by the NPA-Nueva Ecija on No-vember 22 in Barangay Piut, Carranglan. The policemenwere on their way to reinforce 84th IB soldiers who werecarrying out operations against a unit of the NPA-NuevaEcija who punished an active enemy spy in BarangayPutlan.

North Cotabato. After almost four months of capti-vity, the NPA-Mt. Apo Subregional Command released

PO1 Bristol B. Catalan Jr. on December 4 in Ba-rangay Bagumbayan, Magpet, North Cota-

bato. He was turned over to Rev. HipolitoParach of the Exodus for Justice and

Peace and other mediators. His wifeand two children were also

present to receive him.According to Ka Rubi

Del Mundo of the NDF-Southern Mindanao Re-

gion, Catalan showed remorseand promised to voluntarily cease criminalacts against the people and the revolutio-

nary forces during the investigations whilein captivity.

"8 arms. . . , " from page 1

Duterte, number one terrorist

Since Rodrigo Duterte of the GRP terminated the peace negotiations withthe National Democratic Front of the Philippines on November 23, the

regime's attacks against activists and progressives, and on civilian communi-ties in the countryside intensified further. Within ten days, seven members ofprogressive groups and civilians were killed, 14 illegally arrested, while morethan 2,000 were forced to evacuate from their communities due to militari-zation and aerial bombings.

Killings. Fr. Tito Paez and Pa-stor Noveliyo Qui'ones were almostsimultaneously killed, Palparan-sty-le--on December 4 by elements ofthe military, Fr. Paez was killed bymen riding in tandem who flagged-his car on in Barangay Lambakin,Jaen, Nueva Ecija. He was one ofthe founders of Bayan-Central Lu-zon and among those who led thestruggle against the Bataan NuclearPower Plant.

Pastor Noveliyo Quinones was

killed in Barangay Don Pedro,Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro whilethe PNP was carrying out militaryoperations against a unit of theNew People's Army (NPA).

Earlier on November 28, a fact-finding mission to Bayawan, NegrosOriental killed Elisa Badayos,member of Karapatan-Negros andEleuterio Moises, member of theMantapi Ebwan Farmers Asso-ciation. CJ Matarlo of the KabataanPartylist-Cebu was also hit by a

bullet. Before the incident, soldiersbarred Badayos' group in BarangaySan Ramon where they were inve-stigating the AFP's militarization ofthe area.

On November 29, 66th IBtroopers killed Rodrigo Timoteo,member of the Compostela FarmersAssociation, in Purok 20 Nursery,Barangay Mambusao, Compostela,Compostela Valley. Meanwhile,elements of the 16th IB shot andkilled Apolonio Maranan, Anakpa-wis Partylist member, in BarangayMandug, Buhangin District, DavaoCity, while he was buying food nearhis house on November 25.

Before this, Vivencio Sahay,chairperson of the Unyon sa Mag-uuma sa Agusan del Norte (UMAN)

December 7 , 2017 ANG BAYAN4

was killed in Barangay Calamba,Cabadbaran on November 23.

Abduction and illegal arrests.PISTON chairperson George SanMateo was arrested last December5 while posting bail on trumped upcharges filed by the LTFRB. He wasdetained for several hours at theQuezon City police station before hewas temporarily released .

On November 24, soldiers of the20th IB abducted and kept in hidingthree farmers, Richard Avino, TerryGabon and Arnel Aquino. The threeare members of the Northern SamarSmall Farmers Association. On No-vember 26, LTC George Domingo,CMO Battalion commander, haras-sed and manhandled Sargie Ma-callan of the Katungod-NorthernSamar at the military detachment inOpong, Catubig while the latter wasarranging for a dialogue regardingthe abduction and involuntarydisappearance of the three.

Elements of the 66th IB alsoabducted Jean Baguio Bustamante,17, member of the CompostelaFarmers Association-Youth in Ba-rangay Mambusao, Compostela,Compostela Valley and brought himto their camp at Purok 20, BarangayMambusao, Compostela last De-cember 5.

Meanwhile, soldiers illegallyarrested four youth on December 4in Ud-Udiao, Sallapadan, Abrapurportedly for violating curfew.The curfew was imposed in theircommunity by the 24th IB after anencounter between the NPA andAFP at Sitio Nagas-asan, Sallapa-dan on November 28.

While defending their homesagainst demolition on November 29,two young people were arrestedand mauled by policemen at Ba-rangay Mabini, San Jose, OccidentalMindoro.

Mangyan leader Jerry Santiagowas illegally arrested on November23 and charged with fake murdercases in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindo-ro. This was despite witnesses' te-stimonies that he was attending ameeting at the time of the crime.

Last December 4, 4th IB troo-pers abducted Nonoy Casidsid, aHanunuo Mangyan, at Sitio Taikti-kan, Barangay Purnaga, Magsaysay,Occidental Mindoro.

Two peasants were also tortu-red at Sitio Cambayang, BarangayCambunang, Bulalaco, OrientalMindoro. According to the farmers,the soldiers even mentioned that itwas ”okay to maul people, becauseit was martial law."

The next day, December 5, po-lice illegally arrested Bernardo Lo-waton at his house in Sitio Kawa-yan, Barangay Camflora, SanAndres, Quezon. Lowaton was a te-nant of hacienda Uy who is as-serting the distribution of land topeasants.

On November 29, elements ofthe 29th IB ruthlessly strafed thehouse of Imelda Gagap, leader ofthe Unyon sa Mag-uuma sa Agusandel Norte (UMAN), in BarangayMariging, Jabonga, Agusan delNorte.

In Davao City, military agentsharassed League of Filipino Stu-dents-Northern Mindanao Regionchairperson Kristine Cabardo onNovember 21. Military agents wentto her house in Barangay Saray, Ili-gan City, terrorized her father whofaced the agents, and accused Kri-stine and her sibling as NPAsupporters.

On November 23, ele-ments of the 71st IBand 46th IB ransackedthe house of peasantleader Renante Mantos,Hugpong sa Mag-uumasa Walog Compostela(HUMAWAC) chairper-son. Mantos is activelysupporting the struggleof agricultural workersof the Madaum AgrarianReform BeneficiariesInc. (MARBAI) againstexploitation by the Lo-renzo family, owners ofLapanday in Tagum,Davao del Norte.

Evacuation. Three

hundred forty-five families or 1,688individuals evacuated from 15communities in Barangay Diatagon,Lianga and Barangay Buhisan, SanAgustin, Surigao del Sur due to mi-litary operations after drones and75th IB troops continuously circledLumad communities and schools fortwo days. These communities arelocated in the Andap ValleyComplex which the state is offeringto multinationals for carbon mining.

As of December 1, soldiers ofthe 75th IB have thrice blocked hu-manitarian aid workers trying tobring food and other relief goods tothe evacuees. As of this writing,relief goods have failed to reach theevacuees despite attempts of offi-cials of the local social welfare offi-ce.

Last December 4, more than139 individuals fled their communi-ties in San Pedro, Binicalan andMahagsay, in the town of San Luis,Agusan del Sur due to operations by26th IB soldiers. They are presentlyencamped in front if the San Luismunicipal hall.

In Sarangani, up to 210 familieshave fled from the barangays of Li-lab, Basyawan, Balataan, Banlas,Nabol and Makol, in the towns ofAlabel and Malapatan, since De-cember 1 due to the relentlessattacks of the 73rd IB.

ANG BAYAN December 7 , 2017 5

Martial law extension in guise of rehabilitation

Under the guise of rehabilitation and immediate re-construction of Marawi City, the AFP and Duterte

insist on extending martial law which is due to end onDecember 31. This after the AFP razed down a largerpart of the city so Duterte can position his regime andhis favored bourgeois compradors. Their recommenda-tion will be submitted before December 15.

To further justify the extension, the AFP drumbeatsalleged recruitment of ISIS in parts of Lanao del Sur andbombing threats in Iligan City. This December, the AFPeven announced that improvised explosive devicesplanted by Maute group continue to explode in the city.This has been proven an utter lid by Maranao groupswho investigated the reported incidents.

Moro groups denounced the threat of martial law

extension by the AFP and Duterte regime. According toDrieza Abato Lininding of Moro Consensus Group, mar-tial law should be lifted and affected residents be al-lowed to return to their homes.

According to the group, the city has almost becomea macabre “tourist attraction” with the number of VIPsand politicians visiting the area. Media also featuresshowbiz celebrities roaming around Marawi while visit-ing AFP troops while former residents themselves arenot allowed to return home.

The Moro people know the imposition of martial lawin Mindanao and its extension is a mere reflection of hy-pocrisy and discrimination against the Meranao. Focus-ing solely on Marawi is Duterte’s strategy to occupytheir lands and award it to the AFP, US and local and

Duterte terminates peace talks

The Communist Party of the Philippines strongly condemned the US-Duterte regime’s arbitrary termination of the peace talks with the Na-

tional Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) last November. RodrigoDuterte capriciously dismissed months of negotiations between two panelswhich has already resulted into several common drafts.

Among these are 1) general am-nesty and release of all politicalprisoners; 2) coordinated an-nouncement of “stand down” ordersfor a coordinated unilateral cease-fire and 3) initial drafts on land re-form and nationalist industrializa-tion under CASER.

Duterte continued to speak ill ofthe peace talks and the revolution-ary forces even while his panel wasstill engaged in the talks. He disreg-arded the agreement that the talksshall be initially held away frompublic eye and arbitrarily ordered hisnegotiators to return from Norwaywhere the derailed fifth round oftalks was scheduled to be held lastNovember 25-27. On November 25,he issued Proclamation 360 whichformally ended his regime’s negoti-ations with the NDFP.

By doing so, Duterte also ter-minated efforts to come up with anagreement on political and consti-tutional reforms. According to JoseMaria Sison, NDFP negotiating pan-el senior consultant, Duterte is

evading the scrutiny of the negoti-ations on his planned changes to the1987 constitution. Instead, he hascontinuously maneuvered to imple-ment his type of federalism whichwill give him sole power and prolonghis term. He dreams of emulatingthe late dictator Marcos who dis-mantled the 1935 constitution so hecould impose fascist dictatorshipacross the country.

Duterte wishes to move to afederal system which will overcent-ralize power to him, a dictator whowill lord it over the regional centerswhich are currently run by dyn-asties and warlords.

It will squander national stateresources that should be spenton centralizedplanning to es-tablish andbloat regionalgovernments.At the sametime, repressiveinstruments ofthe state, such

as the police and military, will be-come even larger. It will worsencorruption and state violence in alllevels. Through regional govern-ments, restrictions on foreign in-vestments in destructive industriessuch as mining and commercialplantations will rapidly be doneaway with.

For now, Duterte is using hisfederalism to encourage the separ-ation of some regions in Mindanao.This is to placate armed Morogroups and make them believe thatthe Bangsamoro Basic Law, whichwill give limited autonomy to Moroareas, will be passed and imple-mented.

ANG BAYAN December 7 , 2017 6

foreign investors.Duterte even admitted that his

regime does not plan to allow res-idents to return to their com-munities. In his speech at theLibingan ng mga Bayani lastNovember 21, he stated that con-struction of a military camp willbegin ahead of Marawi rehabilita-tion to ensure that another siegewon’t happen again.

In the span of almost sevenmonths since the US-Duterte regime imposedmartial law, the gov-ernment has spentmore than P6 billion;almost 1,200 indi-viduals are nowhereto be found; around400,000 individualswere not ableto return totheir homes;while humanrights groupswere able to docu-ment about 300cases of abuseand humanrights violationscommitted bymilitary troops.

Despite protests from the res-idents against the soldiers, Dutertehas repeatedly defended them.Among their complaints wereblatant looting of personal belong-ings such as jewelry, money andappliances.

Worsening oppressionLast November 18, Kalinaw

Mindanao led the 3rd InterfaithHumanitarian Mission in Marawi.In their 2-day investigation, thegroup was able to document addi-tional 56 cases to the 300 docu-mented cases of abuse, looting andhuman rights violations by the AFPtroops.

According to the NIHM, thereare so many questions regardingabuse and violations of humanrights in Marawi which are left un-

answered. After the so-called liber-ation of the city, there is a need todocument and report the truth tothe people.

The group also added that thepeople are the ultimate losers oftheir livelihood, properties andloved ones. Many of them will notbe able to return to their homes inMarawi.

According to reports, only6,000 residents out of 400,000 dis-

placed were ablefrom returning.

While manywere pre-vented toreturn togroundzero, the

AFP enforced an ID system,residents were required topresent their land titles andmany are being evicted usingthe 1953 Presidential Decreewhich declares the entire citya military reservation.

At the same time, condi-tions of hundreds of familiesin evacuation centers con-

tinue to worsen. Since the siege,the state has only given a P1,000financial assistance per family.Meanwhile, Task Force BangonMarawi could only give relocationto 2,000 families for this year.

The International Coalition forHuman Rights in the Philippinesalso expressed distress on the ini-tial reconstruction program of theDuterte administration which fa-vors foreign and local investorscarrying loans.

With the World Bank and AsianDevelopment Bank spearheadingMarawi reconstruction, it is certainthat it will only serve the profit-eers' interests to earn from thewidespread destruction and war inMarawi. The reconstruction pro-gram is under the “Build, build,build” policy of the regime.

In addition to this, Duterte andTask Force Bangon Marawi chair-man Eduardo del Rosario are callingout big local and foreign developersto submit their unsolicited propos-als for the Marawi rehabilitation.Such scheme is full of corruptionand anomaly.

Drones used to attack peopleTHE NPA-North Central Mindanao Region slammed drone and spyplane operations by AFP troops in the villages of Cagayan de Oro,Iligan and western parts of Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Sur lastNovember 18-19. According to NPA-NCMR, these drones are similar tothe spy planes used by the AFP to bomb Marawi City. This causedalarm to the residents especially since drones were operated frommidnight until the next morning.

In a statement released by Malem Mabini, spokesperson of NPA-NCMR, drone operations serve as threats of bombing to harass anddisplace Moro and Lumad families in their communities. This wasconducted to pave way for the construction of mines and plantationsin their ancestral lands.

Through threats and harassment, investors for developmentprojects and agribusinesses can easily enter the Autonomous Regionfor Muslim Mindanao in Cagayan and Iligan. In ARMM alone, almost103,000 hectares of lands will be used for oil palm and bananaplantations. There are also plans for extending mining operations inCagayan de Oro, by old and new foreign investors.

To hasten these projects, the AFP continues its violence againstMoro people even after ending the Marawi siege. Military troopscontinue spreading black scare and fake stories of Maute group andISIS recruitment in universities of Marawi, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro.

ANG BAYAN December 7 , 2017 7

Red salute to the youthmartyrs of the revolution“If we have chosen the position in life which we can most of all work formankind, no burdens can bow us down, because they are sacrifices for thebenefit of all; then we shall experience no petty, limited, selfish joy, but ourhappiness will belong to millions, our deeds will live on quietly but perpetu-ally at work, and over our ashes will be shed the hot tears of noble people.”- Karl Marx

The Communist Party of the Philippines gives the highest honor andrecognition to the courageous 15 Red commanders and fighters of the

New People’s Army-Batangas (Eduardo Dagli Command) killed in an am-bush by the Philippine Air Force last November 28 in Nasugbu. TheKabataang Makabayan also saluted them, especially their members whowere killed in the encounter, as they commemorated youth martyrs of thepast two years.

Among the 15 killed were GlenMark Aytona, Carl Espinosa Laba-jata, Julieto Pellazar Jr., Karla Ba-hasa, Henry delos Reyes, JoshuaHernandez, Evelyn Pagara Manalo,Roberto Dolendon, Alfred Cadag,Josephine Lapira, Anthony Felixand Graciella Pocaldo.

Tne National DemocraticFront-Southern Tagalog also sa-lutes their service to and defenseof the people of Batangas who arecurrently under attack by intensemilitarization and abuse by theAFP. According to NDF-ST, AFPunits in the region have intensifiedtheir military operations in thepast month. Among these are fre-quent strafing and bombing of ci-vilian communities.

Illegal searches and arrests ofactivists and those purported to besupportive of the NPA arerampant. Movement of civiliansand residents are controlled andmonitored through checkpointsalong main roads and highways. All

these are part of the regime'sdesperate attempt to weaken therevolutionary movement and stopthe growing number of people’sstruggles in Batangas.

Meanwhile, on their 53rd an-niversary, Kabataang Makabayanconferred a red salute to the youthmartyrs who joined people’s warand offered their lives for theFilipino people.

Under the Duterte regime,more than 21 youths have offeredtheir lives in service to the people.In addition to the above men-tioned, others are Miguel Himor ofNPA-Sorsogon, Jeramie Garcia andPaul Aringo of NPA-Quezon, AlvinSoria, Carlo Laguito, John PaulCalica, Emmanuel Canlas, VicNagawang and Guiller Cadano ofNPA-Central Luzon.

The people and the entirecountry will never forget the time,enthusiasm, strength, wit, talentsand lives given by these youngmartyrs.

Military kills 8 Lumads

defending land

EIGHT LUMADS defending theirancestral land against the DMCIcompany's land grabbing ope-rations were killed by elements ofthe 27th IB and 33rd IB last De-cember 3 at Sitio Datal Bong-langon, Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu,South Cotabato.

The victims were all membersof the T'boli-Manobo S'daf Clai-mants Organization. Only recently,the government rejected theirclaims and favored the DMCI inarrogating their land in the nameof the Integrated Forestry Mana-gement Agreement (IFMA).

According to the NDF-Far Sou-th Mindanao Region, the soldierswent to the Lumad community andbrazenly strafed the house of DatuVictor Danyan Sr. The residentsdefended themselves with home-made shotguns and other indige-nous weapons.

Datu Victor Danyan Sr., VictorDanyan Jr., Artemio Danyan, PatoCelardo, To Diamante, Bobot La-gase and Mateng Bantal were killeddefending their land. Many werewounded, including a minor. Threesoldiers were killed while anotherthree wounded.

The NPA-Mt. Daguma Ope-rations Command immediatelydispatched a unit to rescue the re-sidents. They encountered an ene-my column a kilometer away fromthe community. That afternoon,the AFP shelled the area 15 times,the NDF-FSMR added. Hundreds ofT'boli and Dulangan Manobo fami-lies were force to evacuate.

The DMCI is owned by theConsunji family, a crony close toDuterte and the Marcoses. Wide-scale logging by the DMCI hasgrabbed wide swathes of ancestralland from the Lumad and destroyedforests in South Cotabato, Cota-bato, Sultan Kudarat and Saranga-ni.

December 7 , 2017 ANG BAYAN8

Groups hold rallies against intensifying fascismon Bonifacio Day

Coordinated rallies were held nationwide by national democratic organ-izations on the occasion of Andres Bonifacio's 154th birthdate on

November 30. The rallyists bannered the call ”Frustrate the imposition ofdictatorship! Resist the US-Duterte fascist regime!” They condemned theregime's fascist attacks on the people's rights and livelihood.

They also slammed Duterte'sbogus “revolutionary government”that his supporters tried to pop-ularize. This maneuver was part ofDuterte's measures to arrogate solepower and impose a dictatorship.

Progressive forces also de-nounced the regime's arbitrary ter-mination of the peace talks, his in-tentions to declare as terrorist NewPeople's Army and maliciously con-nect the whole democratic move-ment to the armed movement.

Earlier, workers unions and as-sociations held protest actions.Meanwhile, other sectors alsostaged their own actions the pasttwo weeks.

Bonifacio Day. In Metro Ma-nila, 8,000 workers and otherdemocratic forces marched to theLiwasang Bonifacio from Mendiolaagainst the Duterte regime. Policeforces attempted to disperse thembut they stood firm. At the end oftheir program, the rallyists burnedthe big effigy symbolizing Duterteas a brutal puppet of US imperial-ism.

In Bicol, 1,000 members of Bay-an and Kilusang Magbubukid ngPilipinas marched to Legazpi City.In Southern Tagalog, at least 2,000protesters marched to the CalambaCity center in Laguna and held aprogram on the street. In BaguioCity, members of the Tongtongan TiUmili went to Magsaysay Avenue tohold their protest.

In Davao City, morethan 2,000 demon-strators marched toFreedom Park wherethey burned the”Duterminator,” a bigeffigy illustrating Duterte's fascism.

In Cebu City, hundreds of BAY-AN-Cebu members staged a picketat Camp Sergio Osmena, the re-gion's police headquarters, to con-demn the killing of a Karapatan-Central Visayas member and hercompanion, a barangay tanod inNegros.

Drivers' protests. A coordin-ated protest was launched by jeep-ney drivers on December 4 againsttransport privatization. In Bicol,Condor-Piston held a transportstrike that paralyzed transportationin the provinces of Albay, Sorso-gon, Masbate and Camarines Surwhile a protest caravan was held inCatanduanes and Camarines Norte.

In Cebu, Piston members held apicket while their leaders had adialogue with officials of the localLTFRB. Members of Kadamay-Cebusupported their activity.

In Metro Manila, the LTFRB at-tempted to block the PISTON groupwho were marching towards Men-diola. Students of the University ofSto. Tomas joined other rallies.

The PISTON nationalleadership is set tosit down on adialogue at thesenate of

December 11 to voice their opposi-tion to the Jeepney ModernizationPlan.

Workers' actions. On Novem-ber 28, employees of the centraloffice and NCR office of the De-partment of Social Welfare and De-velopment held a protest action atMendiola, likewise the employees ofthe National Food Authority on thesame day. They demanded the re-peal of Joint Circular No. 1 that al-lows widespread contractualizationin government agencies and asser-ted their right to higher salaries.

On the same day, members ofthe VECO union held a picket infront of the DOLE regional office inCebu City. They demanded themanagement to respect their CBA(collective bargaining agreement.)

Meanwhile, workers of SanMiguel-Yamamura in Imus, Caviteheld a picket to demand the regu-larization of factory workers whohave been working for two decades.They condemned the connivance ofthe DOLE-Cavite and the Yamamuracapitalists for keeping the workerscontractuals.

The Kilos Na Manggagawa alsopicketed in front of the NationalPress Club on November 26 to callfor wage increases.

On November 25, con-struction workersheld a picket led byADLO in front of acondominium theywere building in Sta.Mesa, Manila City.They demanded

ANG BAYAN December 7 , 2017 9

Armed men harass "bungkalan" in Nueva Ecija

THE ALYANSA ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson-Nueva Ecija(AMGL-NE) launched a fact-finding mission in Sitio Saranay, Ba-loc, Sto. Domingo on November 22 to investigate the harass-ment against farmers after they took back 17 hectares of landthat were grabbed by the Sanggalang family. Led by the Damay-an ng Mamamayan Laban sa Kaapihan at Kahirapan (DAMMA-KA)-Baloc, farmers started to till their land on November 15.

The AMGL reported cases of harassment to evict the farm-ers tilling their land. On November 30, two farmers wereawakened by elements of the Provincial Public Safety Companyand searched at gunpoint. Their huts were searched withoutwarrants. The police took off with the AMGL banner that wasplanted outside the hut. Earlier on November 17, the Sang-galang family's armed goons removed the group's placards andstreamers put up by the roadside. The same day, the Sang-galang family forcibly took the peasant group's waterpump and brought this to the police station.

The 17-hectare land currently being tilledby the peasants has been awarded to them in2007. The Sanggalang family appropriated theland and rented it out. Because the Sang-galangs were not directly tilling theland, the Municipal AgrarianReform Office declared that thiscan be tilled by the peasantsand they were later awardedtitles.

According to NidaAquino, DAMMA-KAspokesperson, they are pre-pared for any measures the Sang-galang family were planning, in casethey are evicted. They have been sufferingpoverty and hunger for so long, this is thetime to fight for the land that has beendenied them. With collective struggle and unity intheir area, they will surely win the fight, she added.

the rejection of contractualization and as-serted their right to be regularized.

Commemoration of the Maguindanaomassacre. Media groups held protests onNovember 23 in different parts of thecountry to commemorate the AmpatuanMassacre and the continuing harassment ofthe media. The National Union of Journal-ists of the Philippines led the mass in Am-patuan, Maguindanao to remember theeighth year of the massacre.

Meanwhile, a torch parade waslaunched in Bacolod City and young journ-alists lit candles in Tandag City in Surigaodel Sur and Davao City.

Other protests. More than 1,000Kadamay members held a rally in front ofthe National Housing Authority office inQuezon City on November 22 to call or thedistribution of idle houses to the urbanpoor. Instead of facing them, the agency'sguards bombed the urban poor with watercannons and arrested a protester. The ral-lyists stood firm and rebuilt their camp infront of the office.

At the same time, members ofPanaghugpong-Kadamay in Cebu also heldprotests to defend the rights to housing.They were accompanied by residents of Si-tio Tangke, Alaska Mambling who arethreatened with demolition to give way tocommercial buildings in their area.

Meanwhile, Lumad students led by SaveOur Schools Network went to the Depart-ment of Justice on November 24. Theycondemned the continuing state violenceagainst their ranks, including the latestcase of militarization and forced evacu-ation in Lianga and other parts ofMindanao.