Menandro “Ka Bok” Villanueva’s 50-Year Career as a Philippine Communist Guerilla
Menandro “Ka Bok” Villanueva’s 50-Year Career as a Philippine Communist Guerilla
On January 5, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) killed most wanted rebel Menandro “Ka Bok” Villanueva, who was one of the country’s longest-active Communist insurgents and was involved in one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies (Manila Times, January 7). Ka Bok was killed by government forces in Mabini Town, Davao de Oro, which coincidentally is a municipality named after Filipino revolutionary hero, Apolinario Mabini, a historical figure who advocated for independence from Spanish rule (Davao Today, January 12). The death of Ka Bok marks the latest loss of the old guard core of the Philippine armed Communist resistance movement following an AFP operation that killed the infamous Ka Oris in late October 2021 (Manila Bulletin, November 1, 2021).
Ka Bok’s Legacy
Ka Bok was approximately 70 years old when he was killed and had served in the Communist insurgent ranks for over 50 years, making him one of the small handful of still-active veterans remaining in the movement (PRWC, January 12). He was a founding member of the New People’s Army (NPA), having connected with the group in the 1970s as a student activist at the Philippine Science High School and then through Kabataang Makabayan (KM), an underground socialist youth organization (Rappler, January 13; PTV News, January 8). He had climbed the NPA’s organizational ranks to become a top commander and highly respected leader (CPP, January 13).
The high level of reverence Ka Bok had earned through his service to the NPA was expressed when NPA spokesman Marco Valbuena put out the rare call for “all revolutionary forces and commands all Red fighters to give [Ka Bok] the firmest Red salute” (PRWC, January 12). Valbuena celebrated the life and deeds of Ka Bok and eulogized his “selflessly serving the Filipino people’s revolutionary cause,” including becoming “among the legion of heroes of the Filipino people”, and “performed crucial tasks in the national growth of the NPA as its head commander” (PRWC, January 12, 2022). Adding some clarity to exactly what roles Ka Bok played, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison officially confirmed that he was a “member of the Central Committee and Political Bureau of the Communist Party of the Philippines, National Commander of the New People’s Army and secretary of the Mindanao Commission” (CPP, January 13).
Speaking to his character and operational security diligence, Sison stated that Ka Bok was “a highly resolute, intelligent, diligent and effective cadre” and “was so humble and self-effacing that the enemy was unable to get a photo of him for a long time until his capture” (CPP, January 13). There is some indication that the latter detail is accurate as his “most wanted” poster included only a sketch and no actual photographs (SunStar, December 28, 2021). Although Ka Bok maintained a reserved demeanor and low profile, in contrast to the late similarly-long serving comrade Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, his death nonetheless reverberated throughout the international socialist and Communist movement, including eliciting statements of respect from groups, such as the Turkish militant Yeni Demokrasi (the legal wing of Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey or TİKKO) and the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP-ML), French La Cause du Peuple (The Cause of the People), the prominent militant communist Red Spark website, and Anti Imperialist Action Ireland, among others (Twitter/@TKPML2, January 14; Twitter/@YDemokrasi11, January 21). Individual online supporters expressed their condolences as well, with one Maoist from Waterford, Ireland even posting a photo of a spray painted message reading “RIP Ka Bok” (Twitter/@MaoismIreland, January 18).
Losing a veteran as seasoned as Ka Bok is undoubtedly a significant blow to the NPA (military wing), as openly admitted by the CPP (political structure connected with the NPA), insofar as Ka Bok brought five decades of experience and wisdom to the insurgency (PRWC, January 12). He was a force multiplier in the purest sense as he had trained “a number of Party cadres and NPA commanders, veterans in people’s war, as well as young leaders” who the CPP claim to be well “primed to take his place and perform his duties” (PRWC, January 12, 2022). However, it is doubtful the NPA has any true 1 to 1 replacement for a legendary fighter with the pedigree of Ka Bok.
Information War Over Ka Bok’s Death
There is a consistent pattern that unfolds following AFP operations that kill high profile Communist insurgent leaders: the government frames the “elimination” of said figures as the application of justice, while the Communists accuse Manila of extra-judicial killings. This trend was discernible following the military operation that killed Ka Oris. For example, the CPP alleged that he was unarmed and travelling to seek medical treatment when he was executed in cold blood by the AFP (PRWC, October 31, 2021).
In the case of Ka Bok, the CPP claims that he and his comrade Ka Sandra Reyes (Ka Kaye) were captured alive on December 24, 2021 during a firefight in Mabini Town, Davao de Oro (CPP, January 13). The CPP accordingly accused the military of deceptively setting the stage for a propaganda victory, while holding Ka Bok captive by distributing wanted posters and press releases saying they were in the process of hunting him down (CPP, January 13). Then, on January 6, according to the CPP’s version of events, the military launched their media blitz celebrating the great achievement of killing Ka Bok in a gun battle between the AFP and NPA the day before (CPP, January 13). The CPP, however, alleges that the AFP tortured and then executed Ka Bok and blamed “the fascist murderer Rodrigo Duterte as the mastermind who gave the final order to execute Ka Bok while under custody” (CPP, January 13).
The government and military paid little attention to these accusations and proceeded to impugn Ka Bok as a “terrorist” wanted on charges of arson, robbery with intimidation, rebellion, multiple murders, double frustrated murder, and more (PTV News, January 8). As part of its narrative war, the Philippine government unveiled Joy “Ka Amihan” Saguino, an apparent former NPA cadre of Ka Bok. Saguino then denounced Ka Bok for “serving the violent Communist aspirations” and “for the terror and fear he strewed in every Filipino community” (PNA, January 12).
The government alleges that authorities were tipped off by a “civilian informant” and the bounty of P5.6 million was divided up between this individual and others who provided information deemed relevant to the pursuit of Ka Bok in the past (PTV News, January 8). It was later announced that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gave an additional P2 million reward that was split up and given to the informants. This was a gesture to incentivize others to come forward with relevant information on wanted Communists in the future (PTV News, January 8).
Conclusion: Setbacks and Succession
The Philippine Communist rebel movement cannot replace seasoned old guard veterans on the level of Ka Bok and Ka Oris. However, the insurgency persists and those trained and inspired by these charismatic leaders will carry forward the lessons learned from them. The status and importance of these figures is evidenced by the Philippine government’s dogged efforts to find and remove the core of long-serving “Red” veterans from the battlefield. Eliminating these individuals hurts Communist morale and provides major propaganda victories for the Philippine government and military.
With this said, there is a talent pool of experienced and competent fighters ready to assume leadership positions. The Philippine government believes that Ka Bok’s role as top NPA leader in southern Mindanao will be taken over by 46-year-old Eric Jun Casilao, whose nom de guerre is “Ka Elian” or “Wally” (Journal News Online, January 15). Despite being much younger than Ka Bok, Casilao has been involved in the Communist insurgent underground for 20 years and his wife May “Gab” Casilao is also in the movement. The Philippine government has put a large bounty on him and stated he is wanted for two counts of murder, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention (Philippine News Agency, January 12).
Reiterating the importance of Casilao, the Philippine military named him among the ten “Most Wanted New People’s Army rebels” on January 26 and predicted that the “NPA’s Southern Mindanao Regional Committee will fall” once he is “neutralized,” as he is the “group’s secretary.” The military assured the public that it was in “relentless” pursuit and was “monitoring Casilao” (Twitter/@pnagovph, February 25).
