NPA attacks may undermine peace talks, lawmaker says

MANILA, Philippines - A senior opposition lawmaker has called for a congressional inquiry into the spate of attacks by the New People’s Army (NPA) in the country, even as he warned that such attacks undermine the ongoing peace negotiations with the communist rebels.

Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez filed House Resolution 1786 directing the House committee on public order and security to investigate the failure of intelligence agencies of the government to thwart such offensive operations of the NPA.

Suarez also called on the government to conduct a nationwide threat assessment to identify vulnerable targets aside from assessing the relationship of the military field units with the communities.

In pushing for the congressional inquiry, Suarez noted that despite the ongoing efforts of the government to pursue peace talks with the rebel groups, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has been staging acts of violence in many parts of the country.

Suarez cited the recent incident involving a bus owned by Holiday Bus Lines, which was burned by four gunmen believed to be NPA guerrillas in the Davao-Cotabato National Highway, Barangay Astorga, Sta. Cruz.

He also pointed to the raid of a police outpost in Davao del Sur province as well as the attacks on three mining companies in Surigao del Norte last month.

Suarez said “the attacks underscored the difficulty of negotiating with the rebels even with a ceasefire.”

“We hope that we fulfill our dream for peace, the everlasting peace that we’re longing for decades,” he said.

AFP cautions youth

The military, meanwhile, renewed its call for the youth to be careful in choosing their friends after three former students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) were nabbed in Tanay, Rizal for illegal possession of firearms.

Armed Forces Civil Relations Service chief Maj. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario said campuses have always been a source of recruitment for the NPA.

“Once again, we in the AFP are warning the students to be careful in choosing their friends, the organizations to join and the advocacies to promote. For the parents, it is wise to guide your children to focus on their studies,” Del Rosario said in a statement.

Del Rosario made the statement after three former PUP students believed to be communist rebels were arrested in Tanay, Rizal.

The military said the suspects, who were nabbed last Oct. 26, were caught with two M16 rifles, a shotgun, explosives and propaganda materials.

Del Rosario said the three suspects – Marissa Espidido, 21; Jared Valero Morales, 21; and Hermogenes Reyes Jr., 22 – were members of the League of Filipino Students (LFS).

“It is unfortunate that the three former students and LFS members have abandoned their studies and were deceptively enticed to join the ranks of the NPA,” he said.

The CPP has demanded the release of the suspects, saying the three were merely conducting consultations with local residents. CPP claimed their arrest was a violation of the international humanitarian law.

The group also accused the government of committing “fascist brutalities” in the conduct of its counter-insurgency operations.

Del Rosario said militant youth groups aligned with the NPA would befriend students and invite them to discussions.

“New recruits would unknowingly be indoctrinated with communist ideologies. The student will be disillusioned with society, abandon their studies and eventually take up arms against the government,” he said. – With Alexis Romero, Danny Dangcalan