Old habits never die, they are simply recyled

September 2, 2010 | Sourgraping Fascist. This is the kind of person we call Col. Jonas Sumagaysay. Fresh from protecting his bloodthirsty master, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, he now spew vile and recycled psywar statements against the progressive organizations after taking a blow from the NPA in a surprise raid that neted 23 high powered firearms. Again the AFP has proven itself to be the major supplier of arms to the NPAs.

Col. Sumagaysay is scheming and quick to accuse progressive organizations of being “silent” on his version of human rights violations committed by NPAs during the raid, an excuse to cover up his failures in the field of combat while using his expertise in maligning, harassing and intriguing people’s organizations highly critical of the state terror program dubbed as Oplan Bantay Laya.

Like other fascist implementors of Oplan Bantay Laya,  he calls members of people’s organizations as “enemies” of the state and he is just so triggerhappy to shoot them and brags about this in the media when he was in command of the 78th IB in Cebu.

The former intelligence chief must also check his backyard of death squads like the mysterious motorcycle riders- suspected gunslingers Bajon and Caurino. First admitting to be soldiers and later “fishermen”. Perhaps his intelligence prowess can unmask the true identities of the two major-major suspects in the murder of Aglipayan lay leader Benjie Bayles. He can also order the notorious RPA-ABB to produce the bodies (dead or alive) of two teen-agers, Pelayo cousins,  who were  forcibly kidnapped for almost a year now.

More intel funds for counter-insurgency is another old tune of Col. Sumagaysay. Time and again this practice of pouring in people’s money for military intel budget that is not even subject to public scrutiny and audit had been utilized in monitoring, tailing and threatening members and leaders of people’s organizations in the cities and countrysides.

If the AFP just listened to BAYAN and KARAPATAN calls of dismantling these detachments that endanger the lives of people living nearby, the NPA raid could have been avoided. Clearly these detachments serve as magnets of NPA attacks and also as centers of military attacks against civilians they suspect as supporters of NPAs. These also serve as breeding grounds of hold-uppers/robbers as the Hinigaran bank robbery incident clearly showed.

Sumagaysay must listen to the people’s demand for genuine development anchored on the realization of genuine land reform, nationalist industrialization and an equitable transformation of society for the poor majority in order to attain lasting peace. He should stop repeating the old broken records of psywar statements against the leaders of people’s organizationss. He should wake up to the reality that  Oplan Bantay Laya miserably failed because it is anti-people and counter-productive.

For reference: Ronald Ian Evidente | BAYAN Negros Spokesperson