From : The Executive Committee of the Central Committee (EC-CC)
Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa – Mindanao (RPM-M)
For : Immediate Circulation
March 6, 2017
On the Desperate Attempt to Link the Martyred Comrade Ruben to the Murder of Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas
We categorically DENY the totally baseless and a pure fabrication of the allegations coming from some elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), linking Comrade Ruben to the cold-blooded murder of Dr. Dreyfuss Perlas, as a desperate attempt to paint a criminal image of a revolutionary organization, and to camouflage their incompetence in bringing the real perpetrators of the murder of the good Doctor to justice. In order to avoid the pressures from their higher ups they are presenting somebody as a fall guy.
Unarmed and unable to defend himself, Comrade Ruben was cold bloodedly murdered at around 4pm last March 4, 2017 at Purok 8, Bagong Silang, Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte by the combined elements of the Bravo Company of the 15th Infantry Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and the PNP in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte. Comrade Ruben was an active political and military cadre of the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA) since it split away from the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) in 1994 and from the Revolutionary Workers Party-Philippines (RPMP) – Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Bongcayao Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB) in the early part of 2001.
The local elements of the Army and the Police have been actively pursuing Ka Ruben for several years already. This is attributable to the various struggles that Ka Ruben took part as a provincial leading cadre of the RPA and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa – Mindanao (RPMM). Among these struggles are the community campaigns against the proliferation of illegal drugs (even before President Duterte was elected), the prohibition against the vote-buying operations of local politicians campaigning in the RPA areas of influence, the disarming of the armed guards and goons of local dispotic land lords who are harassing the farm workers, to name a few.
Because of these struggles, he became relatively known in his areas of operation. Few years ago, to evade from the intensified efforts of local state elements who apparently eager to get him, he was re-assigned to other areas. Last month, he got sick and was hospitalized. He just got out from the hospital and was recuperating when he decided to visit his family and friends in Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte. It was during this time when the assets of the AFP and PNP spotted him.
Now that Ka Ruben is dead, the murderers are seemingly not yet satisfied. They want to mock and trample upon his memory by trying to accuse him as one of the suspects to the murder of Doctor Dreyfuss Perlas. We CATEGORICALLY and VEHEMENTLY DENY any involvement of Comrade Ruben in the said murder, as we are as fervent in demanding justice for the Doctor’s death. Our armed comrades are for the active defense of the peoples’ communities, struggles and victories. Dr Perlas is not only a big loss to the people of Sapad and of the whole province of Lanao del Norte, he is also a big loss to us because we have known that he had been serving the most neglected and deprived peoples in our areas.
This shameless effort of the local state agents to use a fall guy is a manifestation of their incompetence to solve the murder of the Doctor and to bring the real perpetrator/s to justice. This is in fact insulting, to say the least, to the bereaved family and friends of Doctor Perlas. They deserve true justice - not mere conspiracy theories, speculations and fall guys.
In due time, we will make known the results of our own investigation on the murder case of the Doctor. Simply because we strongly believe that attaining justice for the Doctor is achieving justice for all victims of unsolved murders in the province including the victims of Extra-Judicial Killings (EJK).