BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The guns appear to be silent on a typhoon and pandemic hit Christmas 2021 but the Army and rebels here continue to sling verbal darts at each other on the day the Communist Party marks its 53rd year.
“Meaningless,” the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade said on the day the mainstream rebel movement marked its 53rd anniversary on 26 December.
CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison chose the day to coincide with the birthday of Mao Zedong, the Communist leader who led the successful revolution in China.
While the Filipino Communists celebrate the significance of the date, to the Army, it only marks what the Brigade described as “decades long violations” by the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), of human rights and the International Humanitarian Law.
“CPP NPA terrorists are proud to celebrate their MEANINGLESS 53rd anniversary of killings, abductions, tortures, sexual abuses, using of anti personnel mines, recruitments of minors, arsons and other countless criminal acts to the Filipino people,” Brigade civil military officer, Capt. Mervin Rosal said in message sent local reporters.
Rosal also slammed” other groups and organizations who PRETEND to be Human Rights Advocates are actively defending them, hiding from the phrase Stop Red Tagging.”
The local command of the NPA, however, claimed they have added five more influenced areas to the existing 10 where their guerrillas operate.
Rebel spokesman JB Regalado said on their social media account:” Halos namentina ang malapit 10 ka banwa kag syudad nga ginahulagan sang hangaway sang banwa kag malapit 5 pa ka banwa kag syudad ang bag-o nga nahulagan.”
He did not identify these areas, however.
