CPP admission negates own claim over killed ‘poet’
THE admission by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that Ericson Legazpi Acosta was its “peace consultant” and an official of the National Democratic Front (NDF) has negated the intense propaganda over his actual personality launched by the party’s front organizations after his death during an armed encounter with government troops last November 30, 2022, in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
As it turned out, Acosta was among the many former state scholars who got waylaid into joining the armed local communist terrorist movement while a student at the University of the Philippines (UP) that eventually resulted to his death, contrary to CPP and its fronts’ claims that he is a “poet,” “researcher” and “human rights defender” who was killed mercilessly by government “fascist troops.”
In a post in its own website, ‘Philippine Revolution Web Central’ (PRWC) on November 30, the day Acosta was killed, the CPP claimed that Acosta and his companion who was killed with him, Albert Jimenez, aka, ‘Tan-tan,’ were “unarmed” at the time and they were at the vicinity of Sitio Makilo, Bgy. Kamansi, Kabankalan City, to “consult” with local peasants and farm workers.
The CPP claimed the two were then “abducted” by elements from the 94th and 47th Infantry Battalions past 2:00 am in the morning and then killed “defenseless” (“walang kalaban-laban”) by the soldiers.
The party further claimed that Acosta’s visit in the area was in connection with the implementation of ‘CASER’ (comprehensive agreement on social and economic reforms) during the peace talks between the government and the CPP thru the NDF.
The CPP cited its version of events from one ‘Bayani Obrero,’ the alleged spokesperson of NDF-Negros, which simply means it was another tall tale by the party to confuse and misled the public.
The CPP, NDF and their armed wing, the New Peoples’ Army (NPA), have all been proscribed by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) as terrorist organizations, along with their top leaders, including CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison. Both the CPP-NPA, including Sison, are also in the proscription list for terrorism by the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the European Union since 2001.
On the other hand, all agreements with the CPP-NPA-NDF, including the proposed CASER have all been deemed null and void and of no more value after Pres. Rodrigo Duterte ended the peace talks in 2017.
Who really is Ericson Acosta?
On the government side, the 3RD Infantry Division of the Philippine Army on the same day said “the undeniable fact is that Ericson Acosta and his comrade engaged the army troopers in an encounter. It is unfortunate that they were neutralized in the said encounter.”
The division added that as before, the CPP-NDF-NPA has once again proven that it is “highly capable of twisting the truth to the point that they will deny their own to maintain the veil of deceit that shrouds the communist terrorist organization.”
Military records also showed that Acosta, 43, hailed from Ligao City, Albay province, Bicol Region.
He was married to Kerima Lorena Tariman, aka, ‘Ka Ela,’ herself a ranking CPP cadre in Negros. Tariman was killed last August 20, 2021, in another armed clash in Silay City (see also Pinoy Exposé, August 23, 2021).
The couple were deployed by the CPP to Negros in 2018 due to the dwindling number of able CPP cadres and to oversee terrorist activities in the island. This is aside from resolving the internal squabbling within the organization that has resulted to the surrender of many of the CPP’s cadres and armed fighters to the government.
At the time of his death, the military identified Acosta, aka, ‘Ka Raffy,’ as the deputy regional CPP secretary covering the island provinces of Negros, Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor (KR-NCBS), head of the Political Unified Committee (PUC) of the NPA in the entire Visayas and member of the National Education Secretariat (PAKED) of the CPP.
From his exalted positions in the terrorist movement, the military said Acosta was also “automatically” a member of the ‘Execom’ (executive committee) of the KR-NCBS
The military added that paving the way for Acosta’s ascension was the the arrest of his predecessor, Ramon Patriarca, aka, ‘Usting/Chino’ the CPP’s secretary for Negros, early this year.
Among other atrocities, the military tagged Acosta as behind the ambush of the personnel from the Binalbagan Municipal Police Office last February 13, 2022, at Sitio Candida, Bgy. Biao that injured two policemen and a 15-years old bystander.
Renato Reyes needs to explain
Photographs of Acosta showing him fully armed inside an unknown NPA camp that have surfaced also belied the claim that he is just any ordinary person who loved poetry and who enjoyed the company of the country’s poor peasants and farm workers.
And other telling photos that need to be explained were those showing him with Renato Reyes, ‘Bayan’ (Bagong Alyansang Makabayan) secretary general for Metro Manila. Bayan has been acknowledged as far back as 1987 by CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison as the CPP’s leading and biggest “legal democratic force” in the country.
Reyes is famous for leading huge protest marches in Metro Manila against the government and readily acknowledged his “closeness” to Acosta in his social media posts.
However, instead of answering queries why Reyes is personally close to a ranking terrorist leader like Acosta, he and the other CPP fronts have focused their bogus “rage” in demanding for an investigation and justice for Acosta’s death.
