By Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos
Spokesperson, National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Mindanao
The National Democratic Front in Mindanao condemns in the strongest possible terms the abduction, rape and murder of civilian Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of Comrade Parago. This reprehensible act shows the utter desperation of the mercenary AFP and its master, the puppet reactionary Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regime in its current Oplan Bantay Laya 2 "counter-insurgency" and particularly its failure to get Comrade Parago by all means.
By all indications the self-imposed timetable of the AFP to defeat the revolutionary movement nationwide by year 2010 is bound to fail. And it is particularly failing miserably in Southern Mindanao Region despite the sheer and brutal force deployed by the AFP's 10th ID. The revolutionary movement in Southern Mindanao Region has been consistently advancing in the past years, repudiating the wishful thinking and false claims of victory by AFP generals and their paid propagandists.
The regime's utter failure to dismantle the whole revolutionary movement in Southern Mindanao forced them to scale down their objectives, focusing on high media impact targets such as revolutionary personalities the likes of Ka Parago. But once again, they failed to get Ka Parago. Their failure to score even a semblance of achievement led them to the most dastardly act, that of targeting the family of Ka Parago to weaken and pressure him to surrender. But reactionary as they are, it is impossible for them to understand that true revolutionaries steeled in the crucible of the people's struggle can withstand pressures. Not even this Palparan-type of raw terrorism against defenseless family members can cow down Ka Parago and all revolutionary cadres into submission.
Rebelyn's death is now added to the thousand victims of state terrorism crying for justice. Revolutionary justice will certainly catch up with these "death squads" and their masters in a way that adheres to international laws of war. As revolutionaries we shall not be goaded to stoop down to the level of barbarities exemplified by this regime that so violates the Geneva convention – that of targeting hors de combat with the most sinister motive.
We are one with Comrade Parago and his family, and the whole people in their grief for the loss of their beloved Rebelyn, whose abduction, rape, torture and brutal death symbolizes the terrorist character of the Arroyo regime. We are one with them in saying that all these will fuel more our revolutionary fervor to persevere in our just struggles against the reactionary regime. Together, let us turn our grief into revolutionary courage to move on towards the victory of our struggle for national liberation and democracy.
