Army to secure 5 of 'Morong 43' facing threats from CPP-NPA

MANILA, Philippines – The Army will secure five of the “Morong 43” reportedly facing danger for abandoning the communist rebel movement.

Acting Army spokesman Col. Daniel Lucero said the New People’s Army (NPA) punishes those they consider “enemies of the revolution.”

“The security of the five self-confessed members of the Morong 43 is a paramount concern of the Philippine Army,” he said.

“(The Army) has taken steps to keep them out of harm’s way, both from the threats of the armed members of the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) and its united front organizations.”

Lucero told The STAR the NPA plans to kill the five former rebels, who are now under the custody of the military in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal.

“They are actually earmarked to be liquidated,” he said.

Valentino Paulino, John Mark Barrientos, Eleanor Carandang, Cherylyn Tawagon, and Jenylyn Pizarro refused to leave military custody, fearing for their safety, after the Department of Justice dropped the illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges against them and 38 others.

They were arrested in Morong, Rizal last February for supposedly attending a seminar on explosives making.