CPP: No resurgent hit squads

BAGUIO CITY – The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) laughed off the claim of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa that the rebel group’s assassination squads have stepped up operations.

In a statement, the CPP said there is no basis for Dela Rosa’s claim and the government “is doing some scenario-building to hatch up another tyrannical scheme.” It also said that the PNP plans to hire a group of seasoned retired police officers to train PNP field personnel on anti-sparrow operations, referring to the group of rebel assassins who killed policemen and other targets in urban areas in the 1980s.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the number of communist rebels continues to dwindle, dismissing as “desperate reaction” the denial of the CPP-New People’s Army that more than 4,000 of its members have surrendered to the government.

“The latest statement of the CPP shows that they are now in a quandary as to how they can reverse their current predicament. Because of the government’s sincere call for peace, they have lost a lot of fighters lately and their mass base has rapidly dwindled,” he told reporters yesterday.

Lorenzana said labeling everything the government has achieved in the quest for peace as mere “hoax” manifests the desperation of the communist group.

He added that the surrender of the CPP-NPA former regional secretary for Far South Mindanao, regional commanders for Northern Mindanao and Surigao, front secretary for Davao, along with several platoon and team leaders, could not be considered a hoax.

In its report, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said 4,356 regular NPA members and supporters surrendered nationwide from Jan. 1 to March this year. Of that number, 626 were NPA regulars and Sangay sa Partido Lokal or local party members, while 3,730 belong to either the Militia ng Bayan or the Underground Mass Organization.

It also reported that 96 percent or 4,194 of those who surrendered were from the Davao and Caraga regions of Mindanao.

Lorenzana said it is the CPP-NPA who should apologize to the Filipino masses that they have deceived for so long, adding that many of its members have realized that they no longer have any ideology to fight for.

“What’s left is an organization that uses the plight of vulnerable sectors to promote their ultimate plan of amassing money through extortion and seizing power for their leaders’ selfish agenda,” the defense chief added, as he renewed his call for those who are still with the CPP-NPA to surrender to the government.