Rebel fingerprints all over Negros massacre: AFP spox

FILE: Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

MANILA — The fingerprints of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and their allies are all over the Oct. 20 incident, which caused the death of nine farmer-recruits in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, a military spokesperson said Sunday.

“Amidst the denial of the CPP-NPA and their affiliate organization NFSW (National Federation of Sugar Workers) their fingerprints, so to speak, are all over the shooting incident in Sagay, Negros Occidental where nine unsuspecting fresh recruits were slain,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement forwarded to reporters.

While the Philippine National Police is investigating to determine who are the exact perpetrators of the killings, what is known so far, based on official police reports, is that NFSW cadres brought the victims to the place of their demise, he added.

“And for that, the leaders should be liable as the trigger-men themselves (in case the trigger men were not their members) as principals to the crime by indispensable cooperation,” Arevalo stressed.

He added the Oct. 20 incident is a classic “Oplan Bungkalan at Okupasyon”. “Bungakalan” is what happened in Sagay, Negros Occidental; and “Okupasyon” is what happened in Pandi, Bulacan when urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) forcibly took over housing units intended for other beneficiaries.

” ‘Oplan Bungkalan at Okupasyon’ is part of the many other Oplans they laid out in their ‘Red October’ plot contained in the NPA documents that the AFP has seized,” Arevalo added. If one isn’t satisfied, just consider the same criminal pattern of the CPP-NPA that were shown in the incidents in Hacienda Luisita; in Escalante, Negros Occidental; in Plaza Miranda, and in Kidapawan,” the AFP spokesperson stressed.

“They are not stopping. The cited incidents are not going to be the last if we, as a nation, will not stop them. If we will not heed the warning,” he pointed out.

Part of the military seized documents include “koda” (codes) for their planned small unit attacks on soft targets:

– “Supermarket” is targeting PNP stations/AFP detachments to gain firearms;

– “Casino” is operation of its Special Partisan Unit (Sparu) targeting our assets and intelligence operatives;

– “Bulldozer” is attacking mining companies and burning of heavy equipment for government’s high impact projects;

– “Tabasco” is targeting suspected “Tokhang” agents/extra-judicial killing suspects.

“The CPP-NPA’s excuse that they are not capable of winning over the AFP or of overthrowing government, militarily, — while true— could be deceiving. They have mastered the art of deception. Because they have perfected the art of having unsuspecting people killed in their stead,” Arevalo said.

In line with this development, the AFP spokesperson said that they have warned the managements of three haciendas nationwide that are targets of the CPP-NPA’s “Oplan Bungkalan”.

Should these incidents happen, Arevalo advised the haciendas to resolve the issue peacefully.

“We have alerted AFP and counterpart PNP units in those locations and intensified our intelligence monitoring,” he added.

Also, Arevalo said that “Oplan Okupasyon” will be conducted in another city in Central Visayas while “Oplan Aklasan”, on the other hand, will be in full swing in two companies in Southern Tagalog.

“The CPP-NPA will not stop their dastardly plans hence we have forewarned all concerned. These said, the AFP and other security forces with the support of our people will frustrate the plans of these communist terrorist group,” he concluded.