PRESS RELEASE Information Bureau Communist Party of the Philippines PRESS RELEASE #1 "Mass graves" hoax overstretched- -CPP March 27, 2007 The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has "overstretched its 'mass graves' hoax to an incredulous extent." CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said "AFP officers and its psywar spinmasters have been tripping over each other in their rush to put up more hoaxes, only to expose all the more their deception. In the AFP's desperate effort to concoct more stories of NPA 'mass graves' in Leyte," he said, "AFP officers forgot to iron out the contradiction with each other of their lies before blaring them out." The other day, Philippine Army spokesperson Maj. Ernesto Torres announced that elements of the 43rd IB were led by an unidentified informant last March 21 to a "second gravesite of NPA purge victims" in Sitio Can-isak, Barangay Utanan, Hilongos and that the military has already coordinated with PNP Scene of the Crime Operatives for the exhumation of the remains of 15 persons supposedly buried there. But when later asked for verification, the commander of the 43rd IB, Lt. Col. Mario Lacurom, was surprised to hear about the so-called discovery, saying that they only "have information about it" but "his troops were still trying to pinpoint this so-called second mass grave." AFP Chief-of-staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon also said they have yet to verify the information. Rosal said the contradictory statements by AFP officials, even in the same command, exposes the entire "mass graves" spin for what it is--"nothing but a big hoax." "The government's security and military establishment has already made a habit of concocting discoveries of so-called NPA mass graves only to be exposed later as pywar fabrications, " said Rosal. Rosal recalled that last year National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales blared press releases of a discovery of "NPA mass graves" in San Fernando, Bukidnon, only to be rebuffed by provincial officials and even the local Army commander. He added that local barangay officials disclosed that Gonzales' men tried to coerce them into making false testimonies about the "mass graves." The AFP is trying to use the supposed discovery of a so-called 'NPA mass grave' in Barangay Dako, Inopacan as evidence for the multiple murder charges filed against Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, Prof. Jose Ma. Sison and 50 others the military alleges to have been involved in the killings. Local residents have pointed out that the so-called mass grave "discovered" in Inopacan is actually a common community cemetery of Caulisian, Baybay and other nearby interior barangays of Inopacan. Representative Ocampo, Professor Sison and other accused in the case have dismissed the charges against them, pointing out that they were under military detention when the so-called killings took place in 1984. Ocampo also pointed out that the skeletal remains being put forward as evidence by the AFP were recycled from another so-called "mass grave" in Sitio Monterico, Barangay Baybay, Inopacan and used in a previous case two years ago with the same charges and using the same "witnesses" but with different respondents. ------------ --------- --------- --------- ----- PRESS RELEASE #2 Ka Roger: Bishop Rosales is misinformed March 27, 2007 Communist Party of the Philippines spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal today issued the following reaction to statements yesterday by Manila Archbihop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales that are "obviously misinformed" about the gravity of, and culpabilty for, the spate of political killings of unarmed activists and innocent civilians in the country: We welcome the statements issued by Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales expressing concern over the spate of extrajudicial killings involving the government's armed forces. We enjoin Bishop Rosales to join in the growing clamor for the Arroyo regime and its security and military forces to stop and account for their bloody campaign of political killings and other fascist and terrorist atrocities against unarmed activists and members of progressive organizations, workers, peasants, lawyers, church people, students, teachers and journalists and other civilians. We take exception, however, to the Cardinal's view that the New People's Army (NPA) has also been involved in the killings. It is unfortunate that Bishop Rosales has echoed without verification the lies of Malacaņang and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that the NPA is guilty of the current spate of killings otherwise attributed to the regime's security and military forces. We believe Bishop Rosales has gravely been misinformed about this matter. We assure Bishop Rosales that the NPA has been in no way involved in those killings. It is only Malacaņang and its security, police and military establishment and their propagandists that say so. Even the Arroyo-created Melo Commission and the United Nations human rights rapporteur on extrajudicial killings have cleared the NPA of fault in these killings. The UN rapporteur went so far to say that the documents and other pieces of "evidence" that the AFP are presenting as "proof" of the CPP-NPA's culpability in those killings are "fabrications" and "at best, disinformation. " It is also gravely unfortunate that Bishop Rosales tends to belittle the gravity of the killings under the present regime compared to the martial law period by describing it as "ga-tinga" (miniscule). It is discomforting, to say the least, for Bishop Rosales to make such a dismissive statement in the face of more than 800 people killed extrajudically by the present regime's security and military forces since it assumed power in 2001. If Bishop Rosales would have a chance to review the statistics of extrajucial killings under the two regimes, he will find out for himself that they are not far apart and that the Arroyo regime's fascist atrocities have even surpassed that of the Marcos dictatorship in some apects. Calling the grievous political killings and other fascist and terrorist acts under the current situation as "ga-tinga" is like mistaking a forest for a tree. Such a statement itself is unjust to the Filipino people, especially the families of the hundreds of victims of extrajudicial killings and forcible abductions, the several hundreds of thousands more of the Filipinos subjected to other acts of fascist violence and terrorism unleashed by the Arroyo regime and its armed minions, including beatings, torture, rape, food blockades, destruction of peasant farms, bombings and burning of entire communities, forcible evacuations and the like. It is inconsistent with the verdict of the recently concluded Permanent People's Tribunal in The Hague, the earlier US senate deliberations, the report of the Melo Commission last February and the initial findings of the UN human rights mission also last February. We urge Bishop Rosales to open his eyes to the truth and heed the Filipino people's cry for justice and their demand to put an end to the extrajudical killings and all other brutalities and cruelties of the Arroyo regime and its security and military minions. Reference: Marco Valbuena Media Officer Cellphone Numbers: 09179776392 :: 09282242061 E-mail:cppmedia@ gmail.com