Members of a former Communist Party of the Philippines-New Peoples’ Army breakaway group who entered into a peace agreement with the Philippine government continue to remain targets of NPA hit squads, their leaders said Thursday, May 11.
The former Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB) rebels who entered into the peace agreement
are now members of the Kapatiran Para sa Progresong Panlipunan Inc. (KAPATIRAN), a non-government organization.
Alan Gozon, KAPATIRAN secretary general and Democratic Association of Labor Organizations chairman, said his house in Barangay Bata, Bacolod City, has recently been under surveillance by suspected NPA hitmen.
Gozon said he received information that an NPA Sparrow Unit had been deployed in Barangay Bata and since May 6 suspicious looking people have been spotted near his house.
He has not been staying at his house because it appears that he has become a fixed target, Gozon said.
Gozon said he has been a noncombatant and their group has had no intention of fighting with the NPA.
Killing him would be a bad propaganda move by the NPA, he said.
Gozon noted that 13 RPM-P/RPA/ABB leaders have already been killed by NPA hitmen.
Veronica Tabara, co-chair of the peace agreement Joint Enforcement Monitoring Committee, said they have asked to be provided with interim security.
Recovered papers and reliable sources have revealed that the CPP-NPA has declared them enemies for cooperating with government, she said.
She said because they have decided to “cooperate with the government for peace and development, they want to wipe us out”.
Her husband, Arturo Tabara, a RPM-P/RPA/ABB leader, was assassinated by the NPA in 2009.
Recently it has been noted that several of their leaders have been under surveillance by NPA sparrow units, she said.
Tabara, who used to be a member of the CPP-NPA central committee, believes CPP chairman Jose Maria Sison who died on Dec. 16, 2022 has been replaced by Rafael Baylosis since he is the most senior cadre of the party.*