2020

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison claimed that the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels are also too busy in fighting the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 and thus, have no time to stage attacks against government forces who have been observing unilateral ceasefire.

The Filipino people must fight two deadly viruses: the COVID-19 and the deadlier Duterte virus which has killed more than 30,000 since 2016.

The offensive operations of the AFP and PNP are continuing without any stop and include red-tagging, abductions and extrajudicial killings, compelling people to attend fake surrender meetings, staging fake encounters that kill and victimize ordinary peasants, bombing rural communities in certain regions and forcing the evacuation of the poor peasants and indigenous people and delivering the land and other natural resources to foreign and big comprador corporations.

“Ceasefire or not, NPA Red fighters have already been directed to step up efforts to render social, economic, medical, and public health services to the people,” the CPP said in a statement.

“The NDFP is not assured and satisfied that the reciprocal unilateral ceasefires are based on national unity against coronavirus disease 2019,” he said.

The leadership of the communist movement in the country welcomes with some apprehension the unilateral ceasefire declaration of President Duterte on Wednesday, March 18

Jose Maria Sison said the NDFP is not assured and satisfied that the ceasefire announcement is based on national unity against Covid-19, the appropriate solution of the pandemic as a medical problem and the protection of the most vulnerable sectors of the population, including workers, health workers, those with any serious ailments and the political prisoners.

Panayam ng Kodao Productions kay Prof. Jose Maria Sison sa pamamagitan ni Prof. Sarah Raymundo ng BAYAN National hinggil sa COVID-19 at paano hinaharap ito ng pamahalaang Duterte.

It is brutal for the Duterte regime to use the military and police to ban all forms of public transport, to mass up people at so many trunk lines and checkpoints just to check identification cards, mix up the healthy with possibly the unhealthy persons and order them to return home

while there is ongoing communication between the NDFP and Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) negotiating panels, there is yet no agreement for reciprocal unilateral ceasefires in regard to efforts in containing the corona virus disease (Covid-19) pandemic