LUCENA CITY—The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Sunday (Aug. 4) described President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to the military to respond “tit-for-tat” to supposed rebel atrocities as a “code for killings and torture” that would target civilians, promising to “fight back” for noncombatants who can’t defend themselves.

“The New People’s Army is not shaken by Duterte’s threats,” said CPP in a statement sent by e-mail. “The NPA can defend itself with arms,” it said.

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“But unarmed peasants, lawyers, human rights defenders, church people, civilians can’t,” the CPP statement added. “The NPA must fight back for them.”

CPP said Duterte’s order to the military and police to “give NPA rebels what they deserve” was nothing but a directive to target civilians suspected of aiding rebels and sow terror to instill fear among leftist activists and organizers.

Duterte accused NPA of torturing four intelligence police officers before they were killed in Negros Oriental on July 18 but CPP said the policemen were killed in ambush, not tortured and were treated as “armed adversaries of the NPA who died in a legitimate act of war.”

CPP also called on NPA rebels in Negros Oriental to escalate attacks on government targets in response to Duterte’s tit-for-tat order. The order also covered DDS or Duterte Diehard Supporters “to punish those responsible for the killings of civilians.”

CPP rejected Duterte’s claim that he never allowed the military to torture NPA rebels, pointing out how a captured female rebel was shot in her genitals last April by soldiers following Duterte’s order to shoot female guerrillas “in the vagina.”

CPP said revolutionary forces “will hold Duterte personally responsible for any more killings carried out by his agents following his threats.”

At the distribution of land titles for agrarian reform in Davao City last Friday (Aug. 2) , Duterte pinned the blame for bloodshed in Negros Oriental on NPA.

Duterte also warned he could enforce a “more extreme measure” to deal with the guerrillas.

Salvador Panelo, presidential spokesperson and chief legal counsel, said it could mean martial law in Negros Oriental.

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In a separate statement, the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command, which operates in central Negros, accused alleged “death squads” deployed by the police and military of attacking civilians in the province that led to the killing of 14 people. Delfin T. Mallari Jr./TSB

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