COMMUNIST organizations in and out of Congress are now stumbling all over the place like headless chickens after the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) admitted “full responsibility” on the cold-blooded murder of rising Philippine football sensation, Kieth Absalon, 21, and his cousin last June 6, 2021, in Masbate province.
Only last Monday, a day after the incident, members of the Makabayan Bloc, composed of CPP front organizations in Congress, claimed it would be “premature” to claim, and people should not “jump into conclusion,” that it was the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed terrorist component of the CPP, that is behind the attack.
CPP ‘Information Officer’ Marco Valbuena, also on Monday, made light of the incident and even justified the NPA’s indiscriminate use of ‘APMs’ (anti-personnel mines) and other explosives.
In a Twitter post cited by TV5, Valbuena claimed the NPA’s “command detonated explosives are legitimate weapons of war.”
“They are a poor man’s bomb, They might not be no match to the AFP’s 500-lb aerial bombs, but in the hands of Red fighters, are effective tools for defending the interest of the masses,” Valbuena said.
Rep. Sarah Elago, one of the Makabayan members in Congress representing the Kabataan Partylist, even issued a statement claiming the “circumstances” surrounding the death of Kieth and Nolven are “unclear,” and that “we (should) exhaust efforts to ascertain the details regarding the incident before jumping into conclusions.”
But on June 8, 2021 and amidst widespread condemnation over the senseless murder of Kieth and his cousin, Nolven, 40, where they were also established to have been shot at pointblank range by the NPA terror group headed by ‘Eddie Rosero,’ aka, ‘Star,’ thus further enraging Filipinos from all walks of life and even in political circles, the Makabayan Bloc was forced into a retreat.
This, after the CPP officially admitted “full responsibility” in a statement it released on this day.
“The entire CPP and NPA take full responsibility for the tragedy. There is no justification for the aggravation this has caused the Absalon family.
“We fervently hope that the Absalon family, their relatives and friends, and the entire Filipino people can accept our profoundest apologies, self-criticism and willingness to extend any appropriate form of indemnification,” the CPP said in its statement under Valbuena’s name.
And with their even reliable “allies” denouncing the incident and the NPA like Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) along with opposition senators, the Makabayan Bloc, was forced to issue a statement “condemning” the “NPA unit” which carried out the attack on the Absalons.
“We condemn the military action by a unit of the NPA in Masbate City that caused their death and injuries to others for violating international humanitarian law,” the group said.
The Makabayan Bloc is composed of Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite, and Eufemia Cullamat; ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro; Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas; and, Elago.
“Our commitment to human rights binds us to condemn any and all acts that harm or kill unarmed civilians, non-combatants, and protected persons in situations of armed conflict,” the bloc also claimed.
This was the first time the CPP representatives in Congress was forced to condemn the NPA and its terrorist activities, without a doubt under mounting pressure to do so as even their dependable allies mentioned above declared their repugnance of the incident.
Surrender Absalon killers, Sec. Año tells Makabayan, CPP
With the CPP-NPA officially taking responsibility for the Masbate attack, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary, Eduardo M. Año, dared them to surrender to the authorities all those responsible.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año called on the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) to turn over those responsible for murder of Far Eastern University (FEU) football player Kieth Absalon and his cousin in Masbate so that they may face public trial for their crimes.’
“Now that the CPP/NPA has accepted full responsibility for the senseless murder, it now becomes their duty to turn over the terrorists responsible for the deaths so that justice maybe served to their families and loved ones,” said Año.
Año insisted that “it is not enough that they took responsibility and let bygones be bygones.’’
“The ends of justice require that those responsible must be held accountable for their crimes against the people under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.
The former AFP chief also noted that the supposed internal probe the CPP claimed it would undertake on the incident cannot be trusted as “they do not adhere to established rules of procedure and that they have their own brand of revolutionary justice.’’
“They can turn over the suspects to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) or to their allies in the Makabayan Bloc who are serving in Congress if they prefer so long as they face trial in a court of law,” Año said.
“The ends of justice require that those responsible must be held accountable for their crimes against the people under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines,” he said.
He also assured to personally guarantee the safety of the suspects while undergoing trial.
Año also challenged the Makabayan Bloc to make good of their condemnation of the NPA by arranging for the suspects surrender as part of their “sworn duty” as government officials and as members of Congress.
Año said surrendering the terrorists is the least the CPP-NPA can do can do for the families and loved ones of the victims who are crying out for justice and to also put substance to the CPP’s professed regret of the incident.
The DILG at the same time also described as “distasteful” and “repulsive” the Makabayan Bloc’s linking the Absalon murders to the resumption of the peace talks between the CPP and the government.
In particular, Elago, in a Twitter post said the death of Kieth and Nolven “highlights why the government must resume the peace negotiations and resolve the decades-old armed conflict through addressing the roots of armed struggle such as extreme poverty, abuse, marginalization, and injustice.”
“By attempting to use the death of Absalon in the hands of the NPA as justification for the resumption of peace talks only proves that Elago and her kind are not interested in exacting accountability from the NPA terrorists who murdered a promising young individual,” said DILG Undersecretary and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
Malaya said the CPP and the Makabayan’s “only interest is to utilize the deaths for propaganda purposes to force government to return to the negotiating table where they can exact concessions while continuing their terror attacks against the people.”
“It’s repulsive that instead of calling for justice for the death of the Absalons, Elago has used the murders for propaganda purposes.
“If anything, the death of the Absalons reinforces the futility of the peace talks because nothing will come out of it or has come out of it for decades due to the lack of sincerity from their end,” he said.