of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

a. AFP Standing Rules of Engagement
b. Protection of Non-Combatants in the Philippines
c. The Philippine Army Soldiers’ Handbook on Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law
d. Primer on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Restrict for Human Rights
and International Humanitarian Law
e. Rules of Behavior on Combat
f. Love of Country/Pagmamahal sa Bayan
g. Code of Ethics
Gen. Esperon further said that it is unfair to link the AFP to all political killings
just because the political inclination of the victims is toward the left. He stated
that the AFP has been stereotyped as the perpetrator of the extra-judicial killings
of journalists and militants. Subjecting the AFP to a trial by publicity is a
modus-operandi by the CPP-NPA.
However, Gen. Esperon refused to categorically state that the AFP has
absolutely nothing to do with the killings of activists, as such statement might
be too presumptuous.
2. Reaction to Gen. Jovito Palparan’s Statement “Bayan, Karapatan, Anak ng
Bayan are all front organizations of the CPP-NPA with Bayan Muna as the
umbrella organization”.
Gen. Esperon agreed that there is truth to the said statement. He claimed that
the CPP-NPA uses as a shield the National Democratic Front (NDF), which is
an aggrupation of legal organizations that are infiltrated with members of the
CPP-NPA. For example, Bayan Muna, while being a legal organization has
elements that are also members of the CPP-NPA. These members are
conveniently hiding under a legal organization to serve the ends of the CPP.
Therefore, these organizations become the front organizations of the armed
struggle of the NPA. What is meant by the term “front organizations” is that
many members of the legal organization are identified members of the NPA.
These members, who are identified with the CPP-NPA, are fooling these (legal)
organizations to be the umbrella of the CPP-NPA and work ultimately,
wittingly or unwittingly, for the cause of the CPP-NPA.
3. Presentation entitled “Knowing the Enemy”
Gen. Esperon confirmed the existence of an AFP Briefing presentation entitled
“Knowing the Enemy” which explicitly accuses progressive leftist organizations
of being front organizations of the CPP-NPA.
4. AFP considers the CPP-NPA as “enemy of the state”
The CPP-NPA is treated as an enemy of the state because the Philippines is a
democratic state. The CPP-NPA wants to supplant our democratic way of life
with a communist ideology.
However, Gen. Esperon was quick to clarify that it does not follow that the
AFP similarly treats some left-wing organizations (which are considered front
organizations of the CPP-NPA) as enemies of the state because these are legal
organizations and serve a function in a democratic way of life. He added that
Gen. Palparan’s statement that Congressmen Satur Ocampo and Teddy Casiño
are “enemies of the state” might have been prompted by the fact that the
former was a known member of the CPP.
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article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1