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Rebellion in
Catanduanes
Ni Rebellion in Catanduanes
By Perry M. Calara
Kaiba
News and Features
NOW THAT the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is aiming its gun at the New
People's Army (NPA) and the NPA has established a base in Catanduanes,
Catandungans can expect their island to become a battlefield.
Even before
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered a redeployment of troops
to NPA areas, there were already reports of encounters between government
troops and the NPA guerillas in Catanduanes. In early July 2002,
two policemen were killed when the rebels attacked the police station
in the municipality of Bagamanoc. Last February 2002, a suspected
NPA member was gunned down by government forces while riding a motorbike.
The military
already acknowledged that Catanduanes is one of the areas where
the NPA has expanded. The island-province is in the eastern part
of Bicol facing the Pacific Ocean.
Expansion
in 1997
In 1997, residents observed that there was a suspicious-looking
group of people from the mainland Bicol who came to the island.
A former municipal kagawad of San Miguel town described the activity
of that group as, "dati nagtitinda lang sinda nin sigid, pagkatapos
nin pirang taon namalisyahan mi kaiba na sinda kan mga nasa itaas"
(they used to sell broom, then we noticed that they were already
with a group in the mountain). This suspicious looking group is
described by Victor Corpus in his book Silent War to be the, "liaison
group that avoids military activities in order not to induce government
troops to launch a major operation against them."
One Catandungan
interviewed by the Kaiba News and Feature (KNF) said that, "dati
ginigibo lang kan mga taga mainland (Bicol) an Catanduanes para
sa rest and recreation…lalu na idtong hali sa Caramoan."
(Those "guerillas" from the mainland Bicol used to make
Catanduanes a "rest and recreation" area…particularly
those from Caramoan)." The Caramoan Peninsula of Camarines
Sur, west of Catanduanes is in the third district of Camarines Sur.
The third district is the birthplace of the NPA in Bicol.
Jallores
Brothers
According to a document at the Tigaon Museum, in Camarines
Sur, Romullo (Kumander Tangkad) and Benjie Jallores planted the
seed of the NPA guerilla warfare in Bicol to fight the Marcos dictatorship.
The brothers started the organization in the boundaries of Tigaon
and Ocampo towns, about three towns away from the municipality of
Caramoan. The NPA did not consider Catanduanes for their expansion.
From Tigaon-Ocampo area, the NPA expanded to Albay. In 1972, just
when Marcos declared Martial Law, they started organizing in the
province of Sorsogon. The NPA started organizing in Masbate a few
years before the 1986 People Power revolt. Masbate is the other
island-province in the south-western part of Bicol.
Although the
Jallores brothers started organizing the NPA in Bicol in 1971, it
was only in 1997, twenty six years later, that their organization,
as observed by many Catandungans, made Catanduanes into one of their
guerilla bases.
Number Estimates
The KNF asked some government line agency personnel and residents
to estimate the number of the guerillas in Catanduanes. Those who
answered estimated that there are about 20 to 30 armed guerillas.
A resident of an upland barangay in Catanduanes observed that, "minsan,
mga tolo lang sinda, minsan kinsi na may mga darang halaba"
(sometimes they are in a group of three, sometimes they are in a
group of 15 with long firearms). This observation is a classic guerilla
tactic from Sun Tzu's Art of War, a tactic used by Mao Tse Tung:
expand when needed by the situation, and disperse when there is
a stronger enemy force.
Revolutionary
Tradition
Guerilla movement in Catanduanes is not new.
In the 1896
Revolution, thousands of Catandungans joined the revolutionary guerillas
in Catanduanes to fight the Spanish colonizers. Jose Maria Panganiban
led the guerillas in the northern part of the province. (Today,
a town in the island is named after him.) Because of the brave effort
and sacrifices of the revolutionaries, the Spaniards left the island
in September 1898.
During the Filipino-American
war, many Catandungans again bravely fought the new colonizers.
One prominent battle happened in the town of Bagamanoc where the
guerillas, led by Apolonio Cueva, killed an American officer. Many
Catandungans were detained and killed by the American military during
that war. One of those killed was Mariano Alano, the Capitan del
Pueblo of Buagao, Bagamanoc.
When the Japanese
colonizers came, the Catandungans organized the Catanduanes Liberation
Forces (CLF). This guerilla group was led by Salvador Rodolfo. The
CLF fought the Japanese without any external help. They were fearless
and fought so hard that the Japanese forces were virtually destroyed.
When the American forces, the supposedly liberators, arrived in
Catanduanes in 1945 the island was basically free from Japanese
military forces.
Fifty-two years
after the guerilla forces under the CLF defeated the Japanese colonizers
in Catanduanes, the NPA started organizing their own guerilla force.
Politics
and Economy
For decades, the island has been controlled by a few clans;
and, the Church, during the Spanish period. They are basically the
elite who have been controlling the economy and the seat of power
in the island. The poor peasants, who comprise the majority of the
Catandungans, have not been near that seat of power.
During the American
period, the Vera family was the political kingpin. Jose Vera from
Pandan, Catanduanes was one of the Senators when the Philippines
was still under the American colonizers. Pedro Vera, brother of
Jose, also became a congressman.
The First Governor
of Catanduanes in 1947 was Alfonso Usero, nephew of the Vera Brothers.
From 1951 to 1986, it was the Albertos who controlled the political
power of the province--particularly Vicente and Jose Alberto. But
it was during the Marcos regime that the Albertos and the Kilusang
Bagong Lipunan (KBL) became very powerful.
Senator Francisco
"Kit" Tatad, from the town of Gigmoto, although a former
KBL member and Public Information Minister of Marcos, opposed the
Albertos. Tatad aligned himself with the Estrada camp during the
impeachment trial of ousted President Joseph Estrada.
After the 1986
and 2001 People Power revolts, the family of Leandro Verceles, Sr.,
a family close to former President Fidel Ramos, emerged as the dominant
political clique in the province. During the 2001 elections, the
Verceles camp was challenged by four big political names in Catanduanes:
Alberto, Sarmiento-Alcantara, Sanchez, Santiago.
The elite's
control of political power as well as the poor economy of Catanduanes
pushes the peasants of the island to embrace the cause of any group
that promises to give them political and economic power. It will
not be a surprise if many of them should support the cause of the
NPA.
In the Town
of San Miguel, the municipal government reported in 2000 that ninety-eight
percent (98%) of the residents, particularly those residing in the
upland barangays of J.M. Alberto, San Marcos, Kilikilihan, and Tobrehon,
live below the poverty line. The average household income, particularly
in the upland barangays, was about PhP18,000.00 per annum. Province-wide,
however, the average income in 1997 was PhP83,605 per annum.
Typhoons which
regularly pass the island contribute to the economic difficulties
of Catanduanes.
Because of the
government's all-out war declaration against the NPA and the expansion
of the NPA in Catanduanes, Catandungan can expect their island to
become a battlefield. (Kaiba News and Features)
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