EP 16: CPP-NPA under fire over Masbate landmine attack

Kieth Absalon was biking with relatives in the morning of June 6 when an explosive device suddenly went off along the trail in Masbate City.

The 21-year-old Kieth, a promising football player who played with the Far Eastern University in Manila, was killed along with his uncle Nolven, a union leader.

His 16-year-old cousin was also wounded in the attack.

The culprit — the New People’S Army, which blamed the incident on “errors in military action” by its unit in the area. 

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, sought forgiveness and promised to “extend any appropriate form of indemnification.”

People understandably want justice. But how to get it under the circumstances may not be easy.

Left-wing organizations “condemned” the attack but insisted the NPA need not surrender the culprits to authorities.

There’s a separate mechanism for that under the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law or CAHRIHL. 

But how do you activate the joint monitoring committee when formal peace negotiations have been terminated?

Progressive groups are also under fire for allegedly being “selective” in condemning the NPA’s atrocities. 

In this episode, Christian Esguerra sits down with NTF-ELCAC Spokesman and Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya and Former Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño.