By Ka Marcella Valiente
Spokesperson, Armando Dumandan Command
NPA-Southern Mindanao
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's fascist army in Southern Mindanao is once again reeling from one beating to another. And true to form, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) military establishment is dishing out lies and fabrications in a vain attempt to conceal the defeat of Oplan Bantay Laya II.
In yet another big blow given by the Armando Dumandan Command of Guerrilla Front 33 of the New People's Army (NPA) yesterday, 15 high-powered rifles which consisted of eight Garand rifles, six M14 rifles, and one M16 Armalite were seized from a Philippine Army (PA)/Cafgu detachment in Brgy. Napungas, Asuncion, Davao del Norte; without a single shot being fired.
The tale about the supposed use of civilians as a human shield during the attack is a clear and blatant lie. The NPA guerrillas employed a ruse and were dressed in regular PA military uniforms. In fact, the detachment commander was arrested minutes before at what appeared to be an "AFP" checkpoint and later proceeded to the detachment together with the Red fighters.
Nothing is farther from the truth than the worn-out black propaganda of the AFP on this matter. No civilian was used as a shield before, during, and after the swift NPA raid that all took five minutes to complete. No harm of any sort was done to the enemy personnel because they did not offer any armed resistance; this is an affirmation of the NPA's commitment in upholding its internal rules of discipline and the international rules of war.
On the contrary, it has been both the policy and practice of the AFP to impute wrongdoing where there is none whenever they find themselves in this situation. The Arroyo-imposed 2010 deadline is fast approaching but nowhere are they any nearer to OBL's objectives. Hence, foul means are first, and facts are turned into falsehood. And as the 10th Infantry Division-AFP is mired in confusion and desperation, the People's Army is right on track in forming new and additional platoons of Red fighters, armed by firearms confiscated from the enemy.
