CPP-NPA killed 1,227 people in past six years, says Gonzales

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed component, the New People’s Army (NPA), have killed more innocent people in the past six years, far more than the number of killings blamed on the government by human rights and militant groups.

Citing military sources, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the CPP-NPA carried out 1,130 "liquidations" from 2000 to May 2006, which resulted in the murder of 1,227 people, mostly civilians.

Gonzales said the CPP-NPA particularly ordered the liquidation of 843 civilians in the past six years.

This is aside from the 384 soldiers, policemen, and intelligence agents killed by the NPA in ambushes and assassinations, he said.

Gonzales said the record pales beside the claim made by human rights group Karapatan which recorded a total of 717 political killings since President Arroyo assumed office in 2001.

Militant groups accused security forces of being behind the scores of abductions and killings of activists and journalists.

Gonzales maintained the CPP-NPA undertook another bloody internal purge to clean out their ranks of suspected spies and infiltrators.

He said many former rebel returnees, civilian volunteers and barangay officials have been targeted for assassination by the NPA.

"The priority targets of the group are soldiers, policemen and government intelligence agents, suspected government informants, rebel returnees, members of civilian volunteer organizations and barangay tanod (watchmen), uncooperative local officials and party members suspected to have pilfered party funds," Gonzales said.

He said the killings are part of the CPP-NPA’s "special tactical operations" against personalities they consider counter-revolutionaries.

Gonzales named the special armed partisan unit (SPARU) as the hit squad of the NPA carrying out the "special tactical operations."

Gonzales said most of the killings occurred in so-called CPP-NPA infested areas such as Bicol region, Central Luzon, Southern Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Southern Tagalog and CARAGA region.

The Bicol Region had the most number of killings with 341, he said. — With Paolo Romero