The NDFP Peace Negotiating Panel is deeply outraged by the death of Ka Concha Araneta and nine other cadres and red fighters of the New People’s Army (NPA).
We extend our sincerest condolences to the family and comrades of Ka Concha and all the martyrs who were killed during a series of military operations of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army in the border area of Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, and Aklan in Panay Island from August 5 – 15, 2024.
The bodies of the martyrs bore signs of heavy beating, stab wounds and front-facing gunshot wounds. One of the victims had his feet bound when the family received his body.
This incident fits into the pattern of the AFP’s “take no prisoners” policy which is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, specifically the First Geneva Convention, which guarantees the rights of sick and wounded combatants, and Article 41 of Additional Protocol I, that prohibits any attack against enemy forces recognized as hors de combat.
Concha Araneta or fondly known by the masses in Panay as “Ka Minay”, was a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. She was also a member of the Joint Monitoring Committee to monitor the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
She returned to Panay when Duterte unilaterally terminated the peace negotiations in 2017.
Concha hailed from the elite Araneta clan in Iloilo City. She was the widow of Reynaldo Bocala or “Ka Bading”, who was summarily executed by fascist agents in 2021.
Concha studied at the Assumption Iloilo and later on at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman. Despite her comfortable life, she opted to join the revolutionary resistance against the Marcos fascist dictatorship.
She was imprisoned during martial law, where she led a daring escape at the Iloilo Camp Delgado detention center on September 10, 1980.
She was one of the pioneers of revolutionaries who established guerilla zones in Panay. She led the revolutionary forces during the darkest periods of fascist military rule and helped develop forces in the countryside and the cities of Panay. Concha played a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the revolutionary organization in Panay against internal enemy special agents who sought to destroy the organization.
She dedicated her whole life to serving the masses. Her undying commitment and boundless optimism in victory of the revolution serves as inspiration to all revolutionaries to carry on the struggle and overcome difficulties.
Mabuhay si Ka Concha!
Long live the revolution!
Down with the US-Marcos Jr. Puppet regime!
Signed:
Julie de Lima
Chairperson
NDFP Negotiating Panel
