3 Truths About the ‘Defend Mindoro Campaign’

The death of a fugitive-turned-NPA rebel on August 1 has become the new material for agit-prop, rage-baiting, and fake news by the “Defend Mindoro Campaign.” This effort is now being led by the KARAPATAN Southern Tagalog (ST), supposedly tasked with fact-finding and human-rights watchdog duties. However, they happen to find interest in Mindoro just as intensified military operations against the New People’s Army are making headway. Coincidence?

It is easy to be confused about what is actually happening on the ground—such as why KARAPATAN ST is even there in the first place. Here are 3 truths that the Communist Party of the Philippines and “human rights advocates” are keeping from the public.

Screengrab from KARAPATAN ST video on Facebook

1. They are not there for HUMAN RIGHTS—they are there to save the NPA from being decimated by state forces.

In an attempt to stretch government forces and divert their focus, legal national democratic groups quickly marched to the vicinity of the encounter sites. In the guise of “fact-finding” or “humanitarian missions,” the tactic forces the government troops to allocate security personnel to entertain these “activists.”

Currently, as the urban Party organs are actively helping the NPA in its recovery efforts, these “missions,” packaged as human rights interventions, are a means to gain a foothold in their previous bases. But ultimately, the goal is to divert attention away from the fleeing NPA unit, helping them maneuver out of focus military operation (FMO) areas.

2. Resurrecting the long DEAD: Sweep organizing and reviving the defunct MINDORO WHITE AREA COMMITTEE

Former rebels from Mindoro recall the hardships they endured in NPA-controlled “red areas.” The lack of popular support from local communities is widely seen as the primary reason for the steady decline of the armed struggle in the province.

For the past five to seven years, a series of defensive armed encounters has resulted in mounting NPA casualties. Today, as in the past, these NPA combatants who were killed in action were falsely presented as civilian victims by Karapatan ST. But some who surrendered told the real story.

They revealed that Karapatan ST, among other organizations, is a legal national democratic organization being operated by CPP cadres in its white area committee.

Despite this reality Karapatan ST presses on with various so-called human rights campaigns. To outsiders who do not know better, these actions may appear as actions that ensure justice is upheld or of solidarity to victims. But to former rebels, it is clear that the CPP is directing its legal machinery to use all issues to help reestablish a rudimentary white area organization. The CPP Mindoro Island Committee knows it cannot withstand the intensified military offensives, especially with the continuing decline of its remaining NPA combatants, without revitalizing its white area committee.

3. They-– the CPP-NPA-NDFP and its legal groups—are NOT welcome in the communities

In a now-deleted live-streamed video, members of the Karapatan ST contingent were confronted by several local residents. The Hanuno people of Barangay Happy Valley urged the “activists” to leave.

A woman told the group that if they needed something, they should just say so, and then go. The Karapatan ST contingent quickly pointed fingers at local security forces—police and military—claiming they were pressuring the locals, especially the local government units. However, the video clearly shows that the only thing being forced was the narrative coming from Karapatan ST’s political agit-prop. Even the barangay captain condemned the continued presence of communist groups. Therefore, the stories these activists are trying to weave hold no weight.

This is a developing story. Watch this space for more updates.