Don’t ‘water-down’ terrorist designation—NTF-ELCAC

AN official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) described as ‘watering down’ the seriousness of the country’s terrorism problem after pseudo-legal groups identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) claimed the designation of top CPP officials as “terrorists” by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) is nothing but ‘glorified red-tagging.’

In an online press conference on Monday, May 17, 2021, Atty. Marlon Bosantog, regional director of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and also spokesman for the task force’s legal cooperation cluster (LCC), noted that the designation by the ATC on CPP founder, Jose Maria Sison and other top leaders of the CPP central committee was backed by “testimonies, affidavit or pieces of evidence that were the product by the intelligence community or other people that came (to) verify as to why this person should be designated (as such).”

As reported by the Philippine News Agency (PNA), Bosantog said comparing designation to red-tagging is like watering down the gravity of terrorism as an offense.

“We’re concerned here on terrorism itself, its boundaries transcend ideologies, so it is done under the premise of due process, number one we have the ATC (Anti-Terrorism Council), it was passed by Congress, they have remedies available to them, even the decision of the ATC can be actually questioned before the Supreme Court (by affected parties),” he added.

Republic Act 11479 defines terrorists as persons who engage in acts intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person or endangers a person’s life; cause extensive damage or destruction to a government or public facility, public place, or private property; and cause extensive interference with, damage or destruction to critical infrastructure.

It also defines terrorists as those who develop, manufacture, possess, acquire, transport, supply, or use weapons, explosives or biological, nuclear, radiological, or chemical weapons and release dangerous substances causing fire, floods, or explosions.

In two separate resolutions in April and February 2021 respectively, the ATC has formally designated Sison and 18 other CPP leaders as well as 10 leaders off the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other Muslim extremist groups as “terrorists.”

Compared to red-tagging, a description the CPP front groups had themselves invented in an effort to turn the table against the government and the country’s security officials, Bosantog stressed that the terrorist designation is “very specific.”

“You are saying that this person is related to activities of terrorism, it does not pertain to ideology perception or ideology but it’s more of the actions and these actions are backed up by testimonies and evidence,” Bosantog explained further.

In a separate statement, AFP chief, Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said the entire AFP supports the ATC decision to finally label the CPP-NPA and its top leaders as terrorists.

“The military organization further conveys its full confidence to the ATC’s decision which was carried out based on verified and validated information,” Sobejana said in a statement.

“We are optimistic that the ATC’s resolution will continue to empower government, under the rule of law, to eradicate terrorism in our country, and maintain a peaceful and progressive nation for every Filipino,” Sobejana added.

1,506 CPP-initiated atrocities

In a separate report by the PNA, BGen. Noel Alejandro Nacnac, director of the AFP’s Center for Law of Armed Conflict (AFPCLAC), said that the sheer number of atrocities committed by the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) in the past decade alone should be enough to justify the ATC’s decision to brand these groups as terrorist organizations and their leaders as terrorists.

Nacnac on Monday, May 17, 2021 that based on their tally, the CPP-NPA has committed a total of 1,506 violent incidents, including the recruitment of ‘child warriors’ that is banned under international law.

Thus far, the official said the CPP-NPA has managed to recruit some 544 children as armed fighters of which, 304 are male while 240 are female.

At least 6 of these child warriors ended up dead and 11 others wounded after clashing with government troops.

He added that a total of 25 children were also “abused” (sexually molested) by CPP-NPA cadres while 464 were rescued after surrendering to the authorities.

“These reports (are coming from) from field units, verifiable with names,” Nacnac said.

The 464 child surrenderers, he said, could readily testify that they were used as “child warriors” by the CPP-NPA.

Nacnac also bared that from 2010 to 2020, the CPP-NPA perpetrated 532 incidents where civilian properties were destroyed.

He said 2017 was the year with the highest communist terrorist attacks against civilian properties as the military recorded 87 incidents.

Region 13, he said, has the highest number of CPP-NPA attacks against civilian properties with 107 recorded.

The NPA, he added also engaged in 141 incidents using improvised and anti-personnel land mines, which are also banned by international conventions and which claimed 224 casualties.

This can be broken down into 32 killed for the military and another 163 wounded for a total of 195 for the military; 5 civilians were also killed and 24 more wounded during these attacks.

Nacnac further bared that more civilians ended up being murdered by the CPP-NPA compared to their police and military personnel targets.

He said that of the 373 deaths attributed to the CPP-NPA, only 77 were military personnel while the rest, 296, are civilians.