đˇMaria Concepcion “Ka Concha” Araneta-Bocala
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP-CC) paid the highest tribute to Maria Concepcion Araneta-Bocala (Ka Concha), Vicente Hinojales (Ka Hadjie/Ka Emil) and the August Heroes and Martyrs of Panay, saying they will never be forgotten by the Party, the New Peopleâs Army (NPA) and the entire revolutionary movement.
In a statement dated Aug. 26, 2024, the CPP revealed that the 11 fatalities, all Party cadres and Red fighters, were martyred in a series of encounters with Philippine Army (PA) soldiers from Aug. 5 to Aug. 15 in the towns of Lambunao and Calinog in Iloilo and on Aug. 24 in Valderrama, Antique. They perished while battling the Marcos fascist regime, defending the rights of the oppressed masses of workers and peasants and fighting alongside the Filipino people to attain their centuries-long aspirations for genuine freedom and democracy.
Ka Hadjie, Ka Concha, along with Aurelio B. Bosque (Ka Zarco/Baijan/Rio), Jose Jerry Tacaisan (Ka Miller/Bronze), Bemjamin Cortel (Ka Amor/Ruby/Mamang), Romulo Iturriaga Gangoso (Ka Reagan/Biboy/Pedik), Jielmor Gauranoc (Ka Doc/Tango/Baron), Juvylene Silverio (Ka Kaykay/Purang), Armando Savariz (Ka Nene/Kulot), Rewilmar Torrato (Ka Minerva/Mara/Moray) and John Paul Capio (Ka Ronron) were killed in a series of armed encounters with bloodthirsty fascist troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP.)
âThey are martyrs of the broad masses of the Filipino people, and heroes of the Philippine revolution. They devoted their lives to the interests of workers, peasants and all democratic classes, in their struggle against all forms of oppression and exploitation in the country, and to attain national and social liberation,â the CPP-CC said. âThe Party honors the August Heroes and Martyrs of Panay with the highest distinction. Their deaths are a great loss to the masses of Panay and the Filipino people and weigh heavily on our hearts. We express our deepest sympathies to their families, the revolutionary forces and the oppressed and exploited people of Panay, and share with them profound grief. At the same time, we express our indignation at the Marcos fascist terrorist regime that continues to wage a brutal war of suppression against the Filipino people.â
CPP paid the highest honors to Ka Hadjie, a CPP-CC member and secretary of the Panay Regional Party Committee (PRPC.) He assumed leadership of the Panay region in 2016 after having played a key role in the comprehensive growth of the revolutionary struggles in Northeast Mindanao from 2006 to 2016. Since 2016, Ka Hadjie and cadres of the PRPC led the revolutionary forces in the region in resisting the relentless and brutal campaign of the Marcos fascist regime. He was 55.
âWe also pay special tribute to Ka Concha, who dedicated her life to the revolutionary cause. She started to work full-time as a cadre organizer in 1972. Apart from serving as a key official of the PRPC, she was also assigned as consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations. Ka Concha abandoned all the comforts and privilege of the landlord class and joined the oppressed peasant masses and Tumandok people in their struggle for land and justice. She would have turned 74 today, Aug. 26,â the Party said.
âWe call on all revolutionary forces of Panay and the entire Filipino people to remember the August Heroes and Martyrs of Panay. Let us conduct memorial meetings to pay tribute and honor their revolutionary deeds. Let us draw courage and determination from their examples and pledge to commit ourselves to continue the people’s struggle and armed resistance to achieve the people’s aspiration for genuine freedom and democracy. While some Party cadres and revolutionary leaders in Panay have fallen, other leaders of the Party in the region are now picking up the mantle of leadership. Amid the worsening crisis of the semicolonial and semifeudal system, aggravated by the anti-people and anti-national policies of the Marcos regime, more and more young workers and people, from both cities and rural areas, are heeding calls to join the Party and the NPA. They are driven by the urgency of fighting back against the fascist and oppressive regime,â CPP-CC added.
The broad masses of Filipino people have no option but to fight back against the abuses and ruthless war of the Marcos regime directed against them. Marcos uses the AFP to serve the interests of multinational corporations, their local big bourgeois comprador business partners, big landlords and bureaucrat capitalists. Peasants and minority people in their millions are being dispossessed of their land and driven away by Marcos and the AFP to make way for mining operations, plantations, dams, tourism and crony infrastructure projects. Marcos and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are fooling only themselves when they claim that they can crush the armed revolution this year or next. Despite having experienced setbacks, the New People’s Army, under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of the Philippines, is resolute in its determination to wage armed resistance relentlessly.
