THE Department of Justice on Wednesday formally asked the Manila City Regional Trial Court to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army or the Bagong Hukbong Bayan, as terrorist or outlawed organizations.
The DoJ, through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, filed the 55-page petition seeking to declare CPP-NPA as terrorist groups pursuant to Section 17 of Republic Act No. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007 following the collapse of the peace talks with the communist rebels.
Meanwhile, PNP chief Director-General Ronald dela Rosa supported the justice department’s move to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army as terrorist organizations.
tag on Reds
“They had it coming,” dela Rosa told reporters.
He said the torching of equipment by the NPA prevented development in provincial areas and kept people poor.
With a terrorist tag, Dela Rosa said authorities’ hunt for the communist movement’s members would be simpler and quicker.
Ong explained that if granted, this would allow the government to seek clearance from the Court of Appeals to engage in wiretapping activities against the communists, as well as apply for a freeze order on, and examination of, the bank accounts and assets of the CPP-NPA leaders and identified members.
The DoJ cited several incident of atrocities and terroristic acts that the groups committed over the years to support the petition of the government.
These include 12 incidents in 2017
such as the ambush-slay of four policemen in Davao del Sur; the ambush of Army soldiers assisting in relief operations to victims of Tropical storm “Urduja” in Northern Samar; the ambush in Tikalaan, Talakag town, Bukidnon that killed a four-month old baby girl and policeman; and the attack on the Presidential Security Group convoy in Arakan, Cotabato.
These series of attacks by the NPA angered President Rodrigo Duterte and publicly tagged the group as terrorist.
In its petition, the Justice department stressed that the CPP-NPA were organized for the purpose of engaging in terrorism and, in fact, have been committing acts that fall under the R.A. 9372.
Also cited in the petition was the purging activities of the CPP dubbed as “Kadena de Amor, Takip Silim, Kampanyang Ahos, Operation Missing Link, Zombie, Olympia” aimed at cleansing its ranks of government infiltrators.
It also accused the groups of being insincere in finding peaceful solutions to the decades-long insurgency problem in the country.
“From the foregoing, respondents CPP and NPA are merely buying time by deceiving the Philippine government in entering into peace talks, while their main purpose is to mobilize all their forces in preparation for the ‘people’s war’ aimed at overthrowing the duly constituted authorities, seizing control of the Philippine government and imposing a totalitarian regime,” the petition stated.
“Thus, there is no other time to put an end to their deception, to their ‘protracted people’s war’ and to their evil plan of imposing a totalitarian regime, but through the filing of this petition and, consequently, by declaring respondents CPP and NPA as terrorist and outlawed organization, association s and/or group of persons,” it said.
Ong said the leaders of the CPP and NPA were expected to be summoned by the court to answer the petition.
“We will follow the rules on civil procedures. Their leaders will be summoned to answer the petition,” the DoJ official pointed out.
Ong said officers from the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines assisted him in coming up with the petition.
When asked why the National Democratic Front was not included, Ong said the order issued by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II to him was only for the CPP-NPA, adding it was also the same guidance issued by Aguirre to the Prosecutor General.
Duterte last December signed an order declaring the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization and ordered Aguirre to immediately file a petition before the Manila RTC to classify the communist movement as a terrorist group under the Human Security Act of 2007.
Under the said law, a person found guilty of terrorism shall be meted a jail term of up to 40 years without parole.
The crime is given heavier penalty compared to rebellion which is punishable by reclusion perpetua or also up to 40 years imprisonment, but eligible for pardon or parole.