PNP chief urges rebels to surrender

MANILA, Philippines — Following the death of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. Sison, the chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) urged communist insurgents to surrender to the government.

Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. said without a leader, the CPP’s armed component the New People’s Army (NPA) should give up the struggle and return to mainstream society.

“The olive branch of peace and reconciliation offered by government is still the best option and should be accepted by the remaining CPP-NPA members,” he said in a statement.

Azurin said the CPP-NPA has become obsolete in modern times.

Sen. Francis Tolentino said it is unfortunate that Sison failed to face the consequences of his actions before dying of heart failure while in asylum in the Netherlands.

Those who died because of the attacks of Sison’s group did not get justice, he noted.

“It is also regrettable because the long arm of the law of our judicial system did not reach (him) while he was in Utrecht in the Netherlands, but someone must still be held accountable,” Tolentino said.

“As a Christian country, we sympathize. But let’s not forget that there are many who need justice, especially those who died due to the violence caused by the terrorist acts of the NPA in the past. I hope they also get justice,” he added.

Reports had it that the CPP announced that it would not declare a ceasefire this Yuletide season as it ordered its NPA units to mount attacks against state forces in time for the party’s 54th anniversary on Dec. 26.

But in Bacolod City, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade chief, predicted that the rebels’ influence, capability and manpower will continue to decline with the continued operations against the rebellion.

He reported that the 303rd IB has neutralized 122 NPA leaders and combatants in almost a year of focused military operations in northern and central Negros Island.

At least 77 others, with 83 firearms recovered, were reported to have surrendered and availed themselves of Department of Social Welfare and Development’s livelihood program.

In Iloilo City, Azurin awarded the Medalya ng Sugatang Magiting (PNP Wounded Medal) to Cpl. Jomar Yamuyam and Pat. Danmer Cruz, who along with several other police officers, fought at least 16 heavily armed rebels at a government-owned vegetable plantation last Dec. 11.

In Central Luzon, three members of the militant group Anakpawis surrendered to the police in Limay, Bataan on Saturday. They also surrendered a .45 caliber handgun and two bullets.

Facebook censorship

Meanwhile, social media site Facebook reportedly imposed restrictions against the accounts of Gabriela party-list, League of Filipino Students (LFS), Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) and Manila Times columnist and vlogger Noemi Lardizabal-Dado after they recently posted a tribute to Sison.

The groups yesterday took to Twitter to slam the move of Facebook.

“Our Facebook page is at risk of being unpublished for a mere post expressing our condolences to Prof. Sison’s friends and family. Meanwhile, red-tagging pages endangering the lives and safety of individuals continue to proliferate. #StopCensorship,” Gabriela said in a post on its official Twitter account.

The LFS likewise lamented a similar move by Facebook.

“The League of Filipino Students Facebook page is at risk of being unpublished after its tribute for Prof. Joma Sison was flagged for allegedly supporting ‘dangerous individuals’,” the LFS tweeted.

CAP also had a similar experience, sharing on Twitter that its post about Sison was taken down by Facebook.

Just like in its message to LFS, Facebook supposedly warned CAP that if its content “goes against our Community Standards again,” the account may be “restricted or disabled.”

Dado, meanwhile, said her post about Sison is already back on her Facebook account as of yesterday after it was restricted from being viewed by the public on Wednesday.

“Apparently, posting about Joma Sison caused multiple restrictions to my Facebook account. A first for me. Even in death, Joma Sison is a threat,” Dado said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

“Yes, my Joma Sison post is back on Facebook but what about the others?” Dado said in another post yesterday.

In statement, activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) slammed the supposed censorship as most of its members’ online posts paying tribute to Sison were also reportedly removed by Facebook.

“The repeated removal of posts honoring the legacy of Sison, whose life and works are featured in history classes and textbooks, reflects the systematic efforts of state-funded trolls to erase any trace of online dissent. It also exposes how the so-called community standards of Facebook are arbitrarily invoked to silence activists and revolutionaries,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Gilbert Bayoran, Elizabeth Marcelo