National security chief looking into latest CPP-NPA purge

To help solve the recent slayings of left-wing militants, the government said yesterday it would begin investigating reports that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is carrying out a new wave of mass purging to cleanse its ranks of suspected government infiltrators.

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales flew to Cagayan de Oro Saturday to talk with the relatives of some of the slain militants and those who had mysteriously vanished in Mindanao during the past few months.

In a statement, Gonzales expressed confidence that he would be able to gather information that could help authorities track down those responsible for the killings.

He believes the killings are part of an ongoing purge ordered by CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison.

Gonzales, who chairs the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, said there were indications that the underground armed communist movement has been killing members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and other militant groups in a bid to rid their ranks of infiltrators.

He said Sison ordered the purge because he suspects that the NPA, the CPP’s armed wing, and other left-leaning groups had been infiltrated by government agents.

While this may be true, Gonzales said the CPP leadership should be held responsible for executing its members.

He likened the purging to the mass executions carried out by the CPP in the 1970s and 1980s, in which thousands of its members suspected of being deep-penetration agents were killed.

"This practice only shows the ruthlessness of communist leaders and their total disregard for human life," Gonzales said.

Only last Thursday, two Bayan Muna leaders were gunned down in Echague, Isabela. Leftist groups blamed the killings on the military, but Armed Forces officials denied any involvement in the twin murders.

Also last week, alleged NPA guerrilla Philip Limjoco was reported missing by his family.

Bayan Muna claimed that 91 of its members have been killed since 2001.