Joma divide
Joma’s theories may have drawn a great divide between his believers and haters but one thing is definite — the father of the CPP is gone.
The top-ranking leader of the longest-running communist insurgency in the world passed away ten days before his communist party marks its 54th year on 26 December.
While death is a natural part of life and an unavoidable consequence of aging, the Saturday news on the death of the 83-year-old Jose Maria "Joma" Sison, founding chairperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, generated dissenting views from all positions in the political spectrum.
Reactions to the death of Sison, who went by the nom de guerre (pseudonym) of Amado Guerrero meaning "beloved warrior" — the name he used as the author of a book manifesto titled "Philippine Society and Revolution", were quickly issued as early as the morning of the next day.
The Department of National Defense, which described Joma as a stumbling bloc of peace in the Philippines, said he is a symbol of the crumbling hierarchy of the CPP-NPA-NDF (New People's Army and National Democratic Front), which he founded to violently put himself in power. "
It added that Sison, who had been in exile in The Netherlands for more than 30 years, deprived Filipinos of the opportunity to bring him to justice under the country's laws for more than five decades of brutal and bloody aggression against the State and the people that led to nothing but destruction and strife for millions of people.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Security Council said Sison's death is a major blow to the communist organization but presents a chance to end an armed conflict that started when I was still a toddler.
But for allies, including the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives, composed party-list groups Gabriela, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, and Kabataan, the CPP leader was a patriot and revolutionary who stood with the Filipino people against oppression, exploitation, and fascism during the Marcos dictatorship.
Days after Joma's death, he continue to heap praises from some supporters. But not for this former cadre of the CPP-NPA — Arian Jane Ramos.
Ramos is a former secretary of NPA's Guerilla Front 55 under the Sub-Regional Committee 5 operating in Paquibato District, Davao City.