So my first few posts here might seem like they are jumping around a little bit.
I wrote about some moments before my departure with Bing Bing, a moment from inside the police cell with my dog Junior and friend Mark. I also commenced a letter to the Governor of Surigao Del Norte - Governor Matugus.
For some cohesion in the tale I need to fill you on a few things. Firstly, the island of Siargao, where I was living, lies on NE tip of Mindanao. It has grown from a society of farmers and fisherman, into today's hustling tourism destination on the back of the surfing industry.
The island is essentially a tropical paradise, the atmospehere of the island has changed however as locals interact with more and more tourists, but still nice.
Here is some further information on the island and its history:
http://tourism-philippines.com/siargao-island/
During my years on the island it was mostly peaceful, a little hectic around the time of elections but essentially peaceful, except however for July 1 in 2008 when approx. 100 communist rebels from the New Peoples Army attacked! Read about the incident --> http://www.philstar.com/nation/70502/army-troops-kill-15-npa-rebels
Now from that article above there is one particular paragraph I would like to highlight,
" Residents along the shorelines of Dapa and General Luna towns saw armed men suspected to be NPA rebels arrive Friday afternoon but failed to notify their barangay officials"
Interesting? Even in 2008 we had a cell phone service and every other house has a cell phone so why did no one notify the cops??
Simple!
1. The residents live in fear of the communist shadow governments and don’t comment for fear of retribution…ie death!
2. 80% percent of the local population are in on the secret and it’s a very well guarded secret!
Wow – that kinda escalated quickly into some large allegations! Let me explain.
Aside from my first hand experience with the shadow government, learning firstly that it existed and secondly that the armed militia known as the NPA are purely guns for hire and they are not ideologically anchored to anything! It was with a certain sense of relief I found online the writings of Jun Alcover.
He is a former communist rebel intent on exposing the entire Philippine communist narrative! Learn more about him here:
https://anadpartylist.wordpress.com/biography-of-jun-alcover/
Now if your up for a read this article by Jun is exceptional:
https://anadpartylist.wordpress.com/useful-articles/know-the-enemy/
I could highlight many things from this article but this paragraph is haunting and this is why nobody the reported the incoming NPA raid to the police:
Anybody who would dare report the presence of NPAs in the barangay would be killed in front of barangay folks. Anybody who would dare oppose their views would be eliminated in the guise of cleansing the barangay of “bad elements.” Those who refuse to be convinced are subjected to the muzzles of the gun placed on their mouth. A sort of “political power growing out of the barrel of the gun” practice.
The communist backbone of the Philippines utilises the militant NPA, as "guns for hire" and they have infiltrated all levels of society
Only one man controls Surigao del Norte(Siargao) and he controls EVERYTHING .