A Communist's Christmas

[mazdamazda]

NPA rebels to feast on holiday delicacies
Updated 08:41am (Mla time) Dec 23, 2004
Delfin Mallari Jr.

With the New People's Army's 10-day unilateral ceasefire starting midnight today, communist rebels begin preparation for the traditional noche buena to celebrate Christmas with families and friends.

According to Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal, spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, NPA rebels put away their guns to cook their favorite native holiday delicacies like "suman" and "kalamay."

"Some of the Red fighters cook suman and kalamay. Some of them take turns in the laborious mixing of kalamay, while others help in the wrapping of suman," Rosal told the Inquirer in a mobile phone interview.

The declaration of a truce, which ends on Jan. 2, 2005, according to Rosal, gives the communist rebels time to enjoy the holidays with their loved ones inside the guerrilla zones just like any typical Filipino community. President Macapagal-Arroyo declared a three-week ceasefire last week.

Rosal said festivities usually extend up to Dec. 26, when the CPP celebrates its founding anniversary. "There's a lot of singing. They (visitors) stay inside the zone in the comfort and security being provided by the NPA," he said.

Children inside the guerrilla zones also visit their relatives to ask for Christmas gifts, according to Rosal. "The kids also ask gifts from NPA members. If a kid greets a Red fighter with a 'Merry Christmas,' the comrade is obliged to dig into his pocket for some coins to give to the kid," he said.

But according to Rosal, despite the abundance of Christmas food and other holiday favorites, he could not help missing his mother's "suman sa lehiya."

"For me, it's the best suman in the whole Ibaan, especially if it's accompanied by hot chocolate or coffee. I really can't forget the delicious taste of my mother's suman. I now miss it," he said.

The Rosals hail from Ibaan town in Batangas. His mother Crispina, 91, is suffering from acute arthritis.

During the truce, some NPA members also study to strengthen their political and ideological foundation, Rosal said. Although the rebels participate in the celebration of Christmas in deference to Filipino tradition, "we could not afford to be totally complacent against the treacherous attacks of the enemy," he added.

Rosal said communist guerrillas were prepared to defend themselves if attacked by the police and the military.

He said he was sorry for government troopers because they could not be with their families to enjoy the Christmas holidays in view of the "continuous military operations even during the duration of the government-imposed ceasefire," he said.

and all the while I thought they don't believe in religion...

[silhouette]

contradicting nga ang belief nila. they want peace and yet they don't want to give up their guns. labo. they are for the people and yet they do kill people. haaay! wake up wake up!!!

[jojo_mouth2]

syempre, what do you guys expect from their thinking? almost all members are uneducated, so madali lang sila na brain washed by their culprit leaders. pinaasa, ginagamit, taught to extort etc.. instaed of living a peaceful and decent life.

[wowiesy]

ginagamit nga lang ang mga maliliit.. and also.. they get a continuous orgas* by being in power in their own organization... kasi kung babalik sila sa fold ng batas.... ordinaryong tao lang sila... wala silang kapangyarihan... so at least dyan.. kahit na "naghihirap" (daw) ang leaders.. at least.. they have power....

[Altis6453]

Communist ideology does not recognize religion and its practices. In fact, they even liken it to "opium for the masses". It's strange to see these people even celebrating Christmas if they can't embrace the ideals of christianity.

[Bogeyman]

Kahit kontra sa mga idolohiya nila, I suppose they would celebrate any religious occasion, so long as it will shield them from military operations. Yun lang naman yung bottom line nila eh.

Eh kung lahat ng government at military officials taga-Iglesia Ni Cristo, siguradong yari na ang NPA. :lol:

[van_wilder]

oo nga dapat di ba walang religion kung communist?

[kiper]

Wala na kong tiwala jan sa mga NPA na yan. Di na nila alam mga paniniwala nila at mga pinaglalaban nila.

Naging money-making business na rin ang ORG nila. Sama mo na ung mga kakuntsaba nilang nasa gobyerno.

[Karding]

minsan nagtataka ako kung bakit may tinatawag na ceasefire dahil pasko. Pagkatapos ng pasko, patayan ulit? damn, eh wala din palang saysay ang pasko sa mga tao na to eh.

[Prometheus]

Oo nga bwis*t yang mga NPA na yan, nanghaharang ng kawayan sa gitna ng daan tapos humihingi ng pamasko, manok, karne, gulay, itlog, pati pasalubong.
NPA> <gumising na po kayo sa katotohanan. Di na uso ang communism ngayon. Capitalism na ang kailangan sa mundo, hindi pasakit ulo ng mamamayan.

[stinkaboy]

labo naman ni ka roger.. may pahinga pa pla sila, when the new year comes, ano barilan na naman ulit?...to think they value their families rin pla. tsk tsk tsk

[OTEP]

Parang sila yung mga nag-rarally against the Americans sa Mendiola pero ang suot namang t-shirt ay Mickey Mouse. hehehe.

Malabo talaga ang ibang tao. Flip kumbaga.

[wreckless]

sila dapat yung na-wipeout ng tsunami o kaya ng flashflood.

[Linkk]

dapat sa kanila, padala sa north korea doon siguro eh sasaya na sila, communist ang bansa na yun di ba?

[theveed]

Labo naman mga concept ng iba dito ng communism... Di naman communist ang US ah, pero war din naman solusyon nila sa "peace" sa middle east... Biased naman mga opinions nyo porke christian and "democracy" ang pananaw nyo.

Wag nyong sabihin wala kayong nakikitang non-communist na nangungurakot, namamaril, di-educado?

Ibig sabihin lahat ng taga USSR, Vietnam, China, etc dati di educado?

Just because di yun ang belief nyo or ideology nyo doesn't automatically mean your concept of right is final.

Daming bansa nag cecelebrate ng xmas just because it's a festive thing and not because they think about it's religious meaning, why do you think mas "sikat" si Santa as xmas figure than Christ in most parts of the world?

People in non-christian countries such as HK, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand etc still celebrate 25th of Dec, why don't you complain about that?

[woulfe27]

Actually, David, wala lang alam karamihan sa mga tao (puro Starstruck kase pinapanood hehe) pero si Jesus Christ (kung nag-exist man sya talaga) e pinanganak ng either March or April. Nasa Bethlehem sila kase magbabayad sila ng tax, and according to history books, ang bayaran ng taxes sa provinces ng Roman empires ay March to April, a habit na hanggang ngayon e sinusunod pa ng maraming bansa including the Philippines. What we really celebrate sa Dec. 25 ay yung pagbabago ng araw (uno solaris?), a pagan rite na na-carry over sa Christian tradition.

Hindi ako naniniwala ke Christ (or ke Vishnu or Buddha or Allah or any other deities) pero gusto ko pag pasko kase me 13th month pay hehe. Sabi ko nga dun sa dalawang mormon missionaries na nakausap while I was cleaninmg my car, "If you don't believe that Hercules ran non-stop for several months in pursuit of the golden ram, then why do you believe that a man can walk on water?" Ayun, muntik ng magaway yung dalawa hehe. Pero iabg istorya yan. Post ko pag sinipag ako i-document yung pinagusapan namin ng mga American missionaries na yun

[woulfe27]

partida pa pala yun, david, hindi edukado mga Vietnamese pero natalo US army bwehehehehe. bulag pa yung isang mata nung general nila ha! hehe

bottom line: as long as maraming taong nagugutom at iilan lang ang nagpapasasa sa yaman ng bayan, communism will always be an option. not because it works, but because for the poor nothing else did. kung ang isang tao ay kumakain ng pagkain na pulot sa basurahan at nakatira ako sa overpass, me mawawala pa ba sa kanya kung sasali sya sa NPA?

[woulfe27]

USSR was imperialist, but so is the US. Kaya nga galit si Ernesto "Che" Guevarra sa kanila pareho. Visit this URL: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~lorma.../soa/chile.htm