President Rodrigo Duterte celebrated his 77th birthday yesterday with a message from the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP): to enjoy his birthday as this might be his last outside of a prison cell.
CPP Chief Information Officer Marco Valbuena stated Duterte only has a few months left in his official term. Valbuena affirmed that the Filipino people will demand Duterte’s prosecution for his crimes against humanity once his term ends.
“Whatever the outcome of the May elections, the Filipino people will surely raise their demand for Duterte to be immediately arrested and be made to face the International Criminal Court or local courts where charges can be filed,” Valbuena added.
His unsuccessful drug war only resulted in a highly alarming rate of extra-judicial killings, including his attempts to silence and suppress his critics through red-tagging and harassment. Aside from this, the CPP also stated that Duterte will be held accountable for his corruption, his subservience to both the United States and China through negligence towards the country’s marine resources, and allowance of both forces to set up military bases within the state’s sovereign territory.
“Tiyak na hindi patatahimikin ng mamamayan si Duterte sa dami ng krimen niya laban sa sambayanang Pilipino. Uusigin siya ng bawat Pilipino at hahabulin siya para makamtan nila ang hustisya. Iisa ang sigaw nila: Panagutin si Duterte, ikulong at pagbayarin!”
The International Criminal Court is set to investigate the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, incurring thousands of EJKs and human rights violations. Drug war victims and other human rights groups have asserted the urgency to hold Duterte and his ilk accountable for their crimes.
Figures estimate around 6,000 killinges; however human rights groups assert killings have amounted to over 30,000.
The investigation will also cover the Davao Death Squad killings from November 2011 to June 2016, during Duterte’s term as mayor.
The growing numbers of crimes against the people has further augmented the militancy of the people’s war. In a report issued by the CPP last March 28, they stated that the attempts of the Duterte administration to put to a halt the growing NPA since 2017 have failed.
“Contrary to repeated declarations by Duterte and his military and police officers that the NPA has been weakened, the AFP and the PNP continue to beef up its forces against the NPA,” stated the report.
Another report said that 166 combat battalions of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are currently deployed against the NPA. This is 21 higher than the number of deployed battalions in the previous year.
According to the Party, this overwhelming use of force against guerilla forces indicates an increasing strategic weakness by the ruling system.
“It shows that to preserve the ruling system, the neo-colonial state relies more and more on armed suppression and fascist methods, rather than political persuasion and support,” they stated.
The CPP also denounced Duterte’s “overspending” on the military and police. This is due to the increase from an estimate of 4 billion to 21 billion on the state’s defense budget, as well as a 17.5 billion allocation for the NTF-ELCAC, which the Party described as a “civil-military junta”.
According to the Party, the AFP has become isolated from the people as a result of the overwhelming military superiority. The excessive and overabundance of military troops and weapons promotes the “culture of fascist impunity and complete disregard for people’s democratic rights and freedoms”.
The leadership of the CPP also said that the people’s war it currently leads is in the middle phase of the strategic defensive stage. Through the multiplication of platoons and companies, the Party continues with a clear view toward the advanced phase.
The New People’s Army celebrates its 53rd anniversary today as Duterte enters the last three months of his term to fulfill his promise that he would crush the NPA.
Featured image by PressReader
