‘Sparu’ hits rising

They were just waiting for orders regarding their mission and targets.

YOUNG rebel in hinterland, Sparu in communities. FGH

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army’s (CPP-NPA) Special Partisan Units (Sparu) have accounted for more than 80 liquidations in the past 11 months, targeting members of the uniformed services, former comrades and even civilians.

This was disclosed by Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff for civil military operations and spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

Parlade said the threat from the Sparu prompted the recent raids in what the authorities suspected were armed communist safehouses in the cities of Escalante and Bacolod.

The officer said the joint military and police operatives conducted the simultaneous operations against underground lairs to thwart the supposed NPA plot.

The raids resulted in the arrest of 57 suspected rebels.

“They were just waiting for orders regarding their mission and targets,” Parlade told Daily Tribune in a telephone interview.

Data obtained by Daily Tribune showed that among those previously targeted by the Sparu were active and retired soldiers and policemen, members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit, barangay officials, civilians and even former rebels suspected of going against the NPA.

Among the prominent victims was Councilor Ramon Jalandoni of Canlaon City, who was assassinated last July.

The former communist rebels killed were Junjun Sabeco, a member of the Revolutionary Proletariat Army, and Weny Alegre, who were slain in February and July this year, respectively.

Parlade cited the admission of James Durimon, alias “Ka Juros,” a supposed self-confessed NPA-Sparu member who surrendered to the authorities, as a basis in claiming the resurrection of the unit.

According to Parlade, Durimon said the killings were ordered by CPP founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison and NPA leader Charity Amacan.

He supposedly admitted killing peasants and other “progressive” and innocent civilians in Panay.

“That’s right, Mr. Sison. You killed all these innocent people for the sake of your propaganda,” Parlade said, referring to CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, who is based in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

“For the record, they (Sparu) have arrived and have accounted for 81 hits in 11 months, until many of them were captured or killed by state forces,” he added.

The NPA-Sparu — formerly named as the Sparrow Unit — gained notoriety in the 1980s, claiming responsibility for high-profile assassinations including that of American Col. James Rowe, two other United States servicemen and two US civilian citizens.

The late NPA chieftain Romulo Kintanar admitted to the killing of Rowe, then saying that it was aimed at ending the supposed American military intervention in the Philippines.

The Philippines was host to US military bases (Clark Air Base in Pampanga and Subic Naval Base in Zambales) from 1901 until the Philippine Senate abrogated the treaty on 16 September 1991.

Other US military installations all over the country had also left.

Kintanar was himself killed by his own Maoist communist fellows on 23 January 2003 while having lunch in a Quezon City restaurant.

Together with Sparrow Unit (also known as Alex Boncayao Brigade) founder Filemon Lagman and Ricardo Reyes, Kintanar was expelled from the communist movement for what the CPP-NPA claimed were factional activities.

The move resulted in the big split of the Maoist group in the early 1990s, triggering the order for Kintanar’s liquidation by his former comrades.

Lagman was earlier assassinated by Maoist hitmen on 6 February 2001 at the footsteps of a University of the Philippines building. Reyes remains active in the progressive movement and has helped like-minded politicians win government seats.

Parlade said the presence of NPA rebels in “white areas,” such as the cities of Bacolod and Escalante, clearly indicate the dwindling mass base support in the rural areas.

“It’s just a matter of time. They will die a natural death,” he said.

The 130,000-strong AFP will not relent on its efforts to thwart any attempt by the CPP-NPA against government personnel and especially innocent civilians, Parlade reiterated.

No less than President Rodrigo Duterte warned against supposed plots by the NPA-Sparu since last year.

In Central Luzon, newly appointed Police Regional Office-3 chief PBrig. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia directed all police units under his command to implement key programs addressing communist insurgency.

Sermonia also stressed the implementation of Executive Order 70, or the NTF-ELCAC, issued by President Rodrigo Duterte last year to defeat the CPP-NPA.

The order tasked concerned government agencies and their attached offices to establish localized peace efforts against insurgency.

“Central Luzon remains a major flashpoint for communist insurgency and in the white area operations. In recent years, insurgency was limited only to fighting the armed component of the enemies,” Sermonia said.

“We will take advantage of the potentials of community engagement to prevent industries from being infiltrated by communist agitators and insulate the youth from falling prey to the New People’s Army’s recruitment,” he added.

At the same time, Sermonia also emphasized the PNP’s sustained fight against narcotics and the organization’s image rebuilding.

Over the weekend, he gathered the 140 chiefs-of-police from the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales and cities of Angeles and Olongapo and directed them to ensure the efficient implementation of the organization’s thrust programs in countering the white area operations of communist terrorists, the Recovery and Wellness Programs of the PNP for surrendered drug personalities, and the internal cleansing initiatives aimed in piecing back together the public’s trust and confidence in the police force.

In Central Luzon, some 77 NPA members and sympathizers surrendered to the Army’s 7th Infantry Division (ID).

Maj. Gen. Lenard Agustin, 7th ID commander, said the group came from different NPA units in the provinces of the Nueva Ecija and Aurora.

Agustin said 53 of the 77 rebel-returnees came from Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, while the remaining 24 were from San Luis in Aurora.