MIM Notes 229                   March 1, 2001

Former u.$. puppet's plot to kill Jose Maria Sison exposed

The crimes and plots of the clique around former Philippines 
president Estrada(1) continue to come to light. At the end of 
January an officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines exposed 
the former regime's plans to assassinate Prof. Jose Maria Sison, 
Chief Political Consultant for the National Democratic Front of 
the Philippines (NDFP) in its peace talks with the Government of 
the Republic of the Philippines and founder of the Communist Party 
of the Philippines.

The new government around Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has expressed an 
interest in re-starting peace talks with the NDFP, which were 
derailed by Estrada. However, as long as those behind the plot on 
Prof. Sison's life remain free, the peace talks are in jeopardy. 
The life of the NDFP's chief negotiator will remain in danger and 
the sincerity and credibility of the Macapagal-Arroyo regime's 
peace overtures will be discredited. Hence we encourage all those 
who support continued peace talks to join us in calling for the 
investigation, arrest, and prosecution of those involved. For 
updates and action guidelines, see our webpage, 
http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext.

The prosecution of these gangster plotters is but one of many 
gestures the new regime can make to demonstrate it is serious 
about peace talks. The NDFP has also asked that the regime heed 
"heed the pleas of human rights and church organizations" and 
release its political prisoners.(2) For several years now, the 
NDFP has made it clear in word and practice that it "is prepared 
to order the release of the prisoners of war in the custody of the 
New People's Army." Repeal of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) 
would also be a step in the right direction. The VFA turns the 
Philippines into an Amerikan military base and grants Amerikan 
soldiers immunity from prosecution for crimes committed on 
Philippine soil, among other things. The VFA violates sovereignty 
of the Philippines, one of the principles agreed upon as the basis 
for peace negotiations between the NDFP and the Government of the 
Republic of the Philippines.(3)

Notes:

1. MIM Notes 228, 15 February 2001.
2. Philippine Daily Inquirer, 24 Jan 2001.
3. The Hague Joint Declaration, 1 September 1992.

ESTRADA IS MASTERMIND OF ASSASSINATION PLOT

By Jose Maria Sison 

NDFP Chief Political Consultant

3 February 2001

Since the third quarter of last year, I have been aware of an 
assassination plot against my person. This plot has been fully 
operationalized since May 2000. It is ongoing. It has not been 
stopped by those most responsible for it despite the change of 
government in Manila.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines has collected its 
information about the assassination plot, its mastermind, tactical 
planners and ground operatives.

The mastermind of the assassination plot is no less than Joseph 
Ejercito Estrada. Upon advice of General Panfilo Lacson, he 
directed TESDA director Romulo Kintanar to serve as the chief 
project officer of the assassination plot and to prepare the 
operational plan together with Arturo Tabara and Nilo de la Cruz 
of the RPA-ABB. [The Revolutionary People's Army-Alex Boncayo 
Brigade is a criminal gang masquerading as a "revolutionaries" and 
participating in government psy-war operations. It has ties to 
former President Estrada.]

To "perfect" the plan, General Lacson and then PNP chief 
intelligence officer General Yarcia brainstormed with Kintanar, 
Tabara, Nilo de la Cruz and others. Money was probably disbursed 
from the PNP [Philippine National Police] and ISAFP [Intelligence 
Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines] intelligence funds 
for the implementation of the operational plan.

Under the cover of his private placement agency, which monopolizes 
the placement of TESDA trainees for overseas work, Kintanar made a 
trip to the Netherlands early last year to prepare the 
intelligence work on my whereabouts. In May last year, the 
assassination team assembled in the Netherlands.

Kintanar, Tabara and de la Cruz are military intelligence assets 
of the ISAFP. It is highly probable that then ISAFP commanding 
general Jose Calimlim is involved in the assassination plot, 
especially because an active army soldier is a member of the hit 
team.

In one drinking session last year, Estrada and Kintanar were 
boasting to other people in the room that I was already in a box 
(nakakahon) and that it was a matter of time that I would be 
finished (matotodas na). They talked openly about the 
assassination plot.

Our information comes not only from the arrogant and loose talk at 
the top level of Mr. Estrada. Far more solid information comes 
from the level of operatives, that consist of a monitoring team, 
the hit team and a handful of Filipino residents in the 
Netherlands.

From May to December 2000, the five-man hit team was headed by 
Joey Mortera, alias Redford and Nana, who was also the chief 
triggerman. Others in the team were the backup triggerman provided 
by Arturo Tabara, a soldier supplied by a general and two Filipino 
residents in the Netherlands who had the role of lookouts.

The hit team wasted several months grumbling about the poor 
intelligence provided by the so-called monitoring team, going to 
the nightspots under the pretext of looking for me there and 
ultimately trying to do surveillance work in a sweeping way until 
the team decided to concentrate on conducting surveillance on the 
NDFP International Office in Utrecht. An assassination attempt was 
slated to be carried out in October. But this was fouled up 
reportedly by the arrest and detention of the backup triggerman by 
the Dutch police in an earlier separate incident.

The hit team floundered until December when once more it made a 
last desperate assassination attempt. But I did not appear at the 
spot where I had been anticipated.

Joey Mortera and other operatives were recalled to Manila sometime 
in December. But a monitoring team has continued to conduct 
surveillance on me, despite the change of government in the 
Philippines. Some members also belong to the hit team as lookouts.

Because of the difficulties and ineffectiveness of Mortera, a 
second hit team was formed by Kintanar as early as November. This 
team, with a new set of principal and secondary triggermen, was 
supposed to leave Manila early this year and assassinate me in 
February or March.

We have been anticipating this team to walk into a trap on my 
birthday, February 8 or some other occasion in February or March. 
But the expose of the assassination plot by Col. Reynaldo Berroya 
came on January 31, 2001 in a radio interview with DZBB's Mike 
Enriquez. Consequently, we have decided to further expose the 
assassination plot in the mass media.

Solid or indelible evidence can be established from the paper 
trail of the operatives. This includes the passports, visa 
applications and plane passenger listing of the operatives from 
the Philippines, the credit card used by at least one operative in 
his real name and the arrest and detention of another operative in 
the Netherlands.

My lawyers are now in the process of consolidating the evidence 
and gathering more information. In due course, I shall be able to 
divulge more information.

In my opinion, Col. Berroya made his expose with the honest 
intention of holding Estrada and company responsible and 
preempting the possible embarrassment of the Macapagal-Arroyo 
government were I to be assassinated after the fall of Estrada.

In this regard, I expect the Manila authorities to cooperate with 
my lawyers in investigating the grave threat to my life and in 
fully uncovering the paper trail of Estrada's operatives. I also 
demand that Estrada cancel his orders to Romulo Kintanar and 
recall all the operatives immediately.

The operatives themselves should decide to quit and denounce 
Estrada and Romulo Kintanar because if their hit job were 
accomplished they would be deepsixed by the mastermind and would 
have no chance of collecting the final payment for the job.

Drunken with both power and alcohol, Estrada was careless about 
paper trails, in using bank accounts as well as in deploying 
assassins in cross-border operations.