NDFP consultant-columnist shot dead in Nueva Vizcaya

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BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Randy Felix P. Malayao was shot dead inside a bus in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Malayao’s ride was at a bus stop when the gunman reportedly climbed aboard, approached the sleeping victim and shot him, witnesses said. He died on the spot.

Before President Rodrigo Duterte canceled peace talks with the NDFP, Malayao attended formal peace negotiations in Europe as a consultant from Cagayan Valley. He also acted as one of the spokespersons of the NDFP Negotiating Panel in Europe.

Abroad and in the Philippines, Malayao represented the NDFP in peace forums, along with Government of the Republic of the Philippines negotiators Secretary Silvestre Bello III, lawyer Angela Librado Trinidad and others.

Unlike most other NDFP peace consultants, Malayao had no criminal charges before government courts, which allowed him to freely move around the country to attend peace-related activities.

Malayao was a former political prisoner who was abducted and tortured under the Gloria Arroyo regime. He spent more than four years in jails in Cagayan and Isabela provinces and was freed after he had been acquitted of charges against him.

Ex-rebel believes CPP-NPA-NDF orders murder of Malayao 

A top-level source from the group Kilusan at Alyansa ng mga Dating Rebelde (KADRE), which is composed of former communist rebels, bared that the communist group ordered the murder of NDF consultant Randy Malayao.

The source who identified himself as Ka George said he has evidence to prove that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) was behind the killing of Malayao.

Ka George was a former rebel who worked with Malayao during their time with the communist-led National Youth (NY).

It can be recalled that Malayao was gunned down while sleeping on board a bus in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya heading to Cagayan early Wednesday morning, January 30.

Ka George said he has this evidence to show the order to kill Malayao really came from the CPP-NPA-NDF.

He said the “hit” can be resembled with the bombing of Plaza Miranda in 1971, which was initially denied by the communist group and instead put the blame on former President Ferdinand Marcos. However, during the 80s, a member of the communist group admitted that it was CPP founder Joma Sison ordered the bombing to start a revolution.

In the issue of extrajudicial killing within the party and the mass purging of rebels, these are currently being blamed on the government but there were witnesses and victims who came out to prove that these are the handiwork of the CPP just like the discovery of a mass grave in Inopacan, Leyte.

According to Ka George, before the killing, Malayao told the communist group that he will be having a break from the organization that is why he was heading to Cagayan.

Malayao was formerly the vice president of College Editor’s Guild of the Philippines.

Malayao entered the communist movement in 1992, during the time of the debate in the communist group that caused a breakup between RA (re affirming the Leadership of JOMA and adopting the Maoist line of guerilla warfare) and RJ (Rejecting the leadership of JOMA), and also REJOICE (3rd block) that was eventually renamed into MAKABAYAN.

Malayao is the product of a streamlining who joined the RA.

Part of the streamlining of RA is the experimental joining in the parliamentary struggle through the selection of candidates who will be part of the partylist groups like Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Anakpawis, Migrante, ACT, Kabataan, Piston and this will be under a political party like Makabayan.

Another part of the experiment is the inclusion of candidates who will run as mayors, congressmen, councilors, senators from the CPP. These partly became successful through the likes of Satur Ocampo, Lisa Masa, Teddy Casino, and Neri Colmenares.

Malayao earned his Bachelor of Science in Fisheries degree from the University of the Philippines Visayas-Miag-ao in the 1990s. He was also a columnist of the Baguio City-based newspaper Northern Dispatch. Bello was his one-time legal counsel. /cbb