Karapatan’s “Military Intelligence Report”: A Mere Fabrication

By Maj. MELECIO Y. CASTILLO, 803rd Brigade
October 26, 2009

CATARMAN, Northern Samar  –  The recent exposition of the alleged military intelligence report that was mentioned in the eleven-page National Fact-Finding Report of the allied CPP’s legal front on the killing of Fr. Cecilio Lucero is purely fabricated [read article].

Accordingly, the fabricated report was handed over to them by an “unidentified state forces asset” that up to this press time remained to be doubtful.

In this alleged “military intelligence report”, names mentioned in its first part are persons who happened to be close to the military authorities and are team partners of the Army units in the area in the pursuit of peace and development.

On the other, when these names were verified, those concern persons denied their active involvement in any leftist organization; some even does not exist while some of them are already living in Luzon or other parts of the country and even abroad.

Though some are former militant activists, most of them vehemently denied any current affiliation with any leftist organizations and are now partners in shaping a peaceful Northern Samar, some are even members of the Northern Samar Peace and Development Forum (NSPDF), and affiliated school-based teams of our units helping University of Eastern Philippines (UEP) create a more conducive learning environment and peaceful community.

Mid last year, the creation of Northern Samar Peace and Development Forum (NSPDF) was sponsored by the clergy particularly the DCC to help out in improving the economic stability of the province thru the pursuit of peace and order, good governance and development.

It was partnered by AFP, PNP, Provincial and Local Government Units and other concerned agencies and became very active in peace and development programs within the province.

This forum created another wall that blocks the fault-finding leftist organization to reach out and poison the minds of the local folks.

Karapatan even casually reported that all officers of the University Student Council of the UEP with Luke Jansen Detera as President are also the leaders of the League of Filipino Students. However, most of these students categorically denied this previously in a symposium with the military which was attended by all officers of school-based organizations and some school administrators led by Atty. Mar De Asis, UEP President at the UEP Kapihan last August 20, 2009. What then is Karapatan implying with this statement?

These are but some of the usual tactics of the CPP-NPA-NDF in an area where they are already loosing their grip, to create a wedge between the supportive stakeholders and the military units.

This is a clear manifestation that the leftist/militant organizations in the province are desperately crafting issues and stories to destroy accord and harmony within the society.

The relentless massive information drive jointly conducted by the Army units in the area and other concerned agencies, the legal front of the CPP-NPA-NDF in the province is indeed losing their grip within the urban areas as the local folks are becoming aware of their deceptive schemes.

This situation prompted the KARAPATAN and other allies to craft a propaganda issue finger-pointing to the military all atrocities in the province but have not undertaken any fact finding activity on atrocities done by the NPAs! Likewise, they have not even included in their investigation the murder of Manolo Daza, Mayor Cesar Sasi Vicencio, among others.

Ex-Congressman Wilmar Lucero, brother of assailed Fr. Lucero even expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the efforts of the Army units in the area helping the on-going investigation for the immediate resolution of the aforesaid case.

This baseless issue is no longer new to this organizations particularly the fact-finding turn fault-finding mission usually conducted by KARAPATAN to evade the truth to the public.

This is the primary task of NDF, the branch of CPP in terms of legal struggle to support the armed struggle being staged by the NPA in the countryside.

Conspicuously denied by the KARAPATAN to be linked with the CPP-NPA-NDF, the alleged “results” of the fact-finding mission is a mere propaganda aiding the armed movement to continuously flow in the far areas.  Why not conduct fact-finding mission in against the brutal killings perpetrated by the NPAs in the area? The answer is obvious.

Meanwhile, the Army units in the area remain steadfast in their mandated mission and continuously upholding the programs left unfinished by Fr. Lucero.