PRESS RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE
Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

CPP commends New People's Army victories in Eastern Visayas, calls for more offensives nationwide
July 11, 2008

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today commended the New People's Army (NPA) in Eastern Visayas for successfully frustrating the efforts of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to suppress the people's revolutionary armed resistance.

CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said "Red fighters under the Efren Martires Command (Eastern Visayas NPA Regional Operational Command) have for the past several months demonstrated with consistent brilliance the superiority of the people's army over the inutile, terrified and moribund fascist armed forces of the reactionary puppet regime."

"With the vigorous support of the people, the NPA in Eastern Visayas has maintained the upper hand in practically all battles against the despised and miserable troops of the AFP," said Rosal. "The NPA has responded to the AFP's widespread military offensives in wide swaths of Samar and Leyte islands with a series of successful tactical offensives against the enemy forces."

Citing reports issued by the Efren Martires Command, Rosal said "the AFP has suffered at least 43 casualties killed in action since January this year. Three NPA fighters were martyred in armed encounters with the fascist troops during the same period." Since 2005, Rosal added, at least 129 fascist troops have been killed in action on the part of the AFP and nine Red fighters on the part of the NPA.

"The AFP has further isolated itself from the people with its fascist abuses and crimes against the people," said Rosal. He cited the case of at least 800 barriofolk of General MacArthur town in Eastern Samar who have been forced by the government forces' atrocities to evacuate to the poblacion and are demanding the removal of the fascist troops in their communities.

"As shown in the series of victories of the people's war in Eastern Visayas, the Arroyo regime's Oplan Bantay Laya 2 has been failing miserably. Despite employing the worst of Palparan-style terror tactics in Eastern Visayas, the AFP has totally failed to stem the growth of the NPA and the people's armed resistance," said Rosal. "In fact, as of April 2008, NPA forces have even expanded their mass work, recruitment and military operations to 14 additional barrios in four more towns of Eastern Visayas."

The CPP spokesperson said the NPA has been able to continually launch offensives against the Arroyo regime during the past several months, not only in Eastern Visayas, but in Southern Mindanao, Western Visayas, Bicol, Ilocos-Cordillera and numerous other regions.

"Tactical offensives by the NPA will continue to intensify across the country in response to the widespread clamor to punish the Arroyo regime for the worsening economic hardships, political repression and fascist brutalities it has been imposing on the people."