The arrest of three National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultants in succession betrays the sordid fact that the official policy of pursuing peace negotiations has become meaningless due to the covert operations of the militarist wing of the Marcos Jr. government headed by National Security Adviser Eduardo Año to prevent meaningful talks between the regime and the NDFP.
In a statement, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said the capture of NDFP consultant Wigberto Villarico on Oct. 24, 2024 comes in the heels of the arrests of NDFP peace consultant Porferio Tuna in Tagum City, Davao del Norte and NDFP consultant Simeon Naogsan of the Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF) in Ilocos Norte. All three hold documents of identification covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) by the NDFP and the government that protects them from surveillance and arrest by government forces.
CPP chief information officer Marco Valbuena said the party condemns the arrest “in the strongest terms,” and argues that the Villarico arrest is proof some elements in the Marcos Jr. government want ongoing efforts to revive formal peace negotiations with the NDFP to fail. Villarico, with companion Marjorie Lizada, was arrested in Fairview, Quezon City last Thursday on purported kidnapping and murder charges allegedly committed in Quezon province in 2007.
CPP claimed the charges were “trumped-up” and demanded both Villarico and Lizada are released in accordance with the JASIG. Valbuena said Villarico’s arrest is in blatant disregard of the JASIG for which the military and police responsible must be held responsible. The 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army claimed credit for their arrest. Año, a protégé of convicted kidnapper and former Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, earlier tried to throw a monkey wrench into the peace talks by demanding that the CPP renounce armed struggle even as peace adviser Carlito Galvez said it was not a requirement before the preliminary talks could proceed.
“The Party demands that Villarico’s rights be respected and that he be immediately released. All trumped up charges against him must be immediately withdrawn,” Valbuena said. “We demand that he be accorded his right to his own lawyer, and to a doctor of his choice,” Valbuena added. He said Villarico, 68, is suffering from various ailments like spondylitis (arthritis of the spine), hypertension, heart arrythmia (irregular heartbeat), asthma and prostate enlargement. Valbuena does not identify its members and officers to protect their personal security and that of the organization. “The National Security Council can speculate all they want and claim that they have arrested the CPP Chair to their ‘accomplishment’ and bloating their reward,” he argued.
Año alleged that Villarico is the acting CPP chairperson, having assumed the leadership of the party after the death of Benito Tiamzon in August 22, 2022. He is purported to be the secretary of the CPP’s Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee as well as a member of the CPP’s Political Bureau (Politburo.) The capture of Villarico has prevented the NDFP consultant from tackling the issues, concerns and demands of workers, peasants and minority people, students and other sectors in Southern Tagalog, CPP said. His arrest was carried out at the height of a tropical storm which he was closely monitoring to help advise the NDFP’s forces in organizing and mobilizing assistance and resources to those in need, Valbuena revealed.
Similarly, the arrest of fellow NDFP peace consultant Porferio Tuna in Tagum City, Davao del Norte this month will derail the process of engaging with revolutionary organizations in the region to discuss issues related to the comprehensive peace negotiations. Likewise, the capture of NDFP peace consultant Simeon Naogsan of the Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF) in Ilocos Norte will further delay the crafting of an official stand of the people of Ilocos and Cordillera on the peace talks.
“Without a doubt, the successive arrests of NDFP peace consultants were carried out with the aim of derailing efforts to revive the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations, at a time that both sides are working hard to forge ahead, based on the Oslo Joint Declaration of November 2023,” Valbuena said. “Clearly, some elements within the Marcos regime do not want these efforts to succeed,” he added. The CPP said Villarico, Tuna and Naogsan as well as other peace consultants of the NDFP must be immediately released for them to participate in efforts to revive peace negotiations.
