THE leaders of the “Rebellious Left” embodied in the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) went from, at best, serious participants to, at worst, irrelevant. While the government has said the peace process and negotiations will continue, the CPP-NPA leadership is now rendered toothless by their own actions. Jose Maria Sison himself said in a television interview that he was not in a position to order the insurgents to declare a truce.
That is not to say their armed members are not a dangerous threat. Groups like this can always find innocent civilians to terrorize and kill. However, it will be difficult for government negotiators to trust the words of the other side. Further, the government said the leaders of the CPP-NPA had been furnished with the guidelines to the cease-fire prior to the deadly encounter. Was the CPP-NPA leadership unable to communicate with its fighters or were their orders ignored?
The former seems unlikely from the statement issued by the CPP-NPA, when they said, “The AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is leaving out the glaring truth that its troops were clearly on combat operation and not engaged in ‘civilian’ activities, in direct violation to GRP President Duterte’s cease-fire order.”
The AFP contends that, in a statement from 1003rd Infantry Brigade commander Col. Ricardo Nepomuceno, AFP troops were pulling out from the operational area in compliance with the unilateral cease-fire.
When asked by President Duterte for an explanation, Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesman of the NPA-Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command, said there was no “conspicuous and veritable unilateral cease-fire” exercised by the AFP, PNP and paramilitary troops in the region. If that is true, why didn’t Sanchez offer any example of government forces attacking the NPA operatives or any evidence of the AFP being on “combat operations”? Sanchez clearly and unequivocally stated the NPA performed a preemptive strike on the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit forces. In other words, instead of withdrawing to see if there might be a combat operation against them, the NPA acted first.
Perhaps, the best proof of a “conspicuous and veritable unilateral ceasefire” is that the side that declares the unilateral cease-fire does not fire first.
Active and retired commanders of the AFP have said privately that, during the Aquino administration, efforts to bolster the AFP military capability were very successful with greater supplies, armaments and training made available. Further, these same officers have expressed—from cautious optimism to absolute confidence—that the NPA insurgents could be taken down. However, it will be a “bloodbath” with hundreds, if not more, combatants killed as well as thousands of people being displaced.
President Duterte came under harsh criticism and was accused of coddling the communist insurgents by reaching out to their leadership. Unfortunately, by this incident, the CPP-NPA may have proven what many have said all along. Their members do not want peace; they only want victory. The CPP-NPA will not achieve either except maybe—as in the President’s words—the “peace of the dead.”
Image credits: Jimbo Albano
1 comment
This shows the irrelevance of JOMA to the cause( if any ) of the CPP-NPA, The government should now focus on talking or negotiating with the local leadership instead of wasting time and money talking with JOMA in the Netherlands, where he is enjoying his stay for the past decades.