A Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) revealed that Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison has been named as party in the government’s bid to declare the alleged communists as terrorists.

In an eight-page order, Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar of the Manila RTC Branch 19 declared Sison as a party to the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) proscription case that seeks to declare the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), as terrorist groups.

“With respect to Jose Maria Sison, his stature as head of the CPP, as well as the fact that he is currently, for some time, residing at an undisclosed address in the Netherlands, is information which is public knowledge and therefore, can be taken judicial notice of, by this court,” read the ruling Malagar dated 1 February.

State prosecutors have already cut down the list to include only eight persons, namely: Sison; Jorge Madlos of the NPA National Operations Command; Jaime Padilla, a supposed leader of the Melito Glor Command; Francisco Fernandez, an alleged secretary of the Negros Region Committee; Cleofe Lagtapon, a Southeast Front head of the same committee; Antonio Cabanatan, secretary of the Mindanao Commission; Leonido Nabong, head of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Military Commission and Myrna Sularte, secretary of the Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee.

However, the court only allowed Sison and Cabanatan to be admitted as parties to the case.