Press Statement
12 September 2015
The NDFP-Mindanao strongly condemns the brutal killing of ALCADEV Executive Director
Emerito Samarca, MAPASU Chair Dionel Campos and Datu Juvello Sinzo committed by the
combined elements of the 36th IB, 75th IB and the bandit group led by Calpet Igwa and Marcos
Bocales. They also burned down the cooperative building of Sitio Han-ayan. As a result, over
3,000 residents from the hinterland barangays of five towns in Surigao del Sur and one in Agusan
del Sur were forced to evacuate en masse to Tandag City. After the residents evacuated, the same
armed groups also burned down 10 houses and a school building of the Panocmoan Lumad
community and a corn sheller in the nearby Lumad community of Kabuluhan, all part of Diatagon,
Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
Before the Han-ayan massacre, AFP elements and their bandit murdered two Tabugol brothers in
Brgy. Siagao, San Miguel, Surigao Sur, last August 28, 2015. In Brgy. Mendez, Pangantucan,
Bukidnon, the 1st Special Forces Battallion also massacred five members of the Samia family last
August 28, 2015. The number of Lumads in Mindanao who fell victim to summary killings by the
Aquino Regime have reached almost 70.
The Han-ayan massacre happened on Sept. 1, six days after Sec. Teresita Deles, of the OPAPP
(Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) together with Maj. Gen. Aurelio Baladad,
C.O. Eastmincom AFP, and General Oscar Lactao, C.O. 4th ID P.A., and other high ranking
officials presented 42 mostly fake surrenderees in a “Peace” Caravan held in Lianga, Surigao del
Sur last August 25. Also, on Aug. 22 AFP Chief of Staff Hernando Iribiri, who was born in
Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, visited during his hometown fiesta, and in less than a week after he left,
he deployed additional troops to Surigao del Sur.
Last Wednesday, Sept. 9, Sec. Mar Roxas visited the 3,000 evacuees in Tandag. Instead of showing
sincere sympathy, he rubbed salt to the injury of the evacuees by absolving the military and the
bandits, saying that the police is investigating into the alleged NPA shooting in the area that may
have caused the displacement and misery of residents from 27 communities. He deliberately and
shamelessly brushed off the fact that it is already public knowledge and the evacuees themselves
have testified that it was the military and their armed bandits who killed their school executive
director and leaders and sowed other forms of terror in the hinterlands of 5 municipalities of
Surigao del Sur and one adjoining municipality, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur. It turned out that his
10-minute visit was to cover-up for the AFP and its bandit group and a photo-op session to boost
his sagging survey results.
Malacañang cabinet members and the AFP national leadership have shown such special interest in
Caraga to ensure the unhampered plunder of multinational foreign and local mining and plantation
firms in the area, and to finally defeat the resilient and advancing revolutionary movement in the
region. But such a special interest is not only focused on Caraga, in fact it is beefing up its forces
from just about 50% to more than 60% of the total nationwide AFP forces, air and land assets to
Mindanao, giving particular focus to three NPA regions of Eastern Mindanao, namely Southern,
North Central and Northeastern regions.
Maj. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, C.O. Eastern Mindanao Command, says that “they key to defeating
the revolutionary movement in the Philippines is to defeat it here in Eastern Mindanao.” But, with
barely eight months left to Aquino III’s term, he is now ever more desperate to turn his regime’s
dream of defeating the revolutionary movement into reality by unleashing the most brazen fascism
against the people through the escalation of AFP combat and terror operations in Mindanao.
In its terror campaigns, AFP forces are secretly recruiting, training and arming Lumad bandits,
calling them by many names such as “Task Force Gantangan” and “Alamara” in Southern
Mindanao, “Wild Dog”, “BULIF” and “NIPAR” in North Central Mindanao, “Magahat” and
“Bagani” in Northeastern Mindanao and many other groups. These groups are trained to kill even
their own kin and terrorize communities whom they suspect to be NPA sympathizers, and they
engage in banditry, extortion, illegal drugs and illegal logging to support their vices.
The AFP is trying desperately to project that these bandits are Lumads rising up in arms against
the revolutionary movement and that it’s a case of Lumad versus Lumad, when in fact what they
are recruiting are mostly the dregs of Lumad communities who, due to their self-interest and vices,
are prone to violence and banditry. By employing these cost-effective counter-revolutionary
bandits, the AFP can get away from any responsibility of the crimes committed by these groups
and can also easily disclaim and dispense them off once there is public uproar.
Benigno Aquino III is currently touring the country to help boost the chances of his anointed
successor Mar Roxas in next year’s elections. He is making sure that the country continues to go
down the path of his “daang matuwid,” which, in truth, is his legacy of deception and blatant
fascism. Roxas himself vowed to continue Aquino III’s legacy, which only means that once he
wins in next year’s electoral race, he will continue and even intensify state terror that is detested
by the people.
We call on the people of Mindanao and the rest of the country to unite in protest with the countless
victims of the US-Aquino III regime’s intensified terror campaign in Surigao del Sur, Caraga and
in other regions in Mindanao. The people must further amplify its demands to give justice to all
victims of state terrorism, to immediately disarm and dismantle all bandit groups in Caraga and
other parts of Mindanao, and to stop all forms of state terror perpetrated either by the military or
the para-military.
We call on the New People’s Army to do everything within its capacity to defend the peasants and
Lumads by launching tactical offensives against military operations of the AFP and their bandit
groups.#
(sgd) Ka Oris
Spokesperson
NDFP-Mindanao
