‘Ka Roger killed 66 Red cadres in 1988 purge’

He killed his own.

This was the accusation hurled at Communist Party of the Philippines spokesman Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal by a former comrade, who said Rosal took part in the summary execution of 66 New People’s Army cadres in Southern Tagalog in 1988 during the CPP-NPA’s bloody purges.

"If there is anyone who ought to be tried in the people’s court, it should be Ka Roger," said Manuel "Steve" Quiambao, who once headed the CPP national secretariat. Quiambao now works for a foundation dedicated to promoting peace.

"(Rosal) is one of those responsible for the deaths of dedicated comrades who were only suspected of being government DPAs (deep penetration agents)," he said.

According to Quiambao, the executions were carried out in the Sierra Madre mountain range over a six-month period as part of the CPP’s "Operation Missing Link" purge.

He added that the executions were done in at least five "concentration camps" set up by the NPA in the Sierra Madre between the towns of Kalayaan and Mauban, Quezon.

Five of the 66 cadres who were summarily executed, Quiambao said, were top leaders of the communist movement in Southern Tagalog and had been students of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) before they joined the movement.

"They were fine, dedicated comrades," he said. "It was a sheer waste of precious life."

However, he could only remember the name of one of the five UST students he accused Rosal of executing.

"A certain Benjamin Libojo, who was a philosophy major at UST when he was drawn into the movement."

Quiambao said he is "living proof" that the purging took place and that Rosal, who was then a member of the CPP’s regional party committee, had a direct hand in it.

According to Quiambao, he was placed under "arrest" and tortured by a team of inquisitors, of which Rosal was part, on mere allegations that he, too, was a DPA.

Quiambao said he was released because the inquisitors could not find any solid evidence to back their allegations. Now his scars serve as grim souvenirs of his torture.

Rosal was one of those who took part in his torture, Quiambao said. "He was my torturer," he said.

Quiambao also served as head of the CPP’s national peasant secretariat and its trade union secretariat for several years after entering the CPP in 1971.

He said he had intimate knowledge of what happened because he was later called on to take part in a "review committee" created by the CPP to study the cases of the 66 cadres.