Bernabe Buscayno
Encyclopedia
Bernabe Buscayno, also called Kumander Dante, is the founder of the New People's Army
, the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines
.
, who had founded the Communist Party of the Philippines
on December 26, 1968. Buscayno's group officially became the New People's Army
(NPA) on March 29, 1969.
From a group composed of about 35 members with only 10 rifles between them, the NPA grew and spread throughout the Philippines, challenging the Marcos
regime during the Martial Law
years. Buscayno was finally captured in September 1976 at age 32, during what was called "Operation Scorpio". He had been a revolutionary for about 16 years.
ordered the release of hundreds of political detainees. Bernabe Buscayno was one of those released. A year later, Buscayno, together with a few other Left leaders, formed the Partido ng Bayan (PnB). Buscayno ran for senator
but did not win. In that same year, 1987, he survived an attempt on his life. He escaped getting hit by bullets when two men shot at his car, but got hit by shrapnel from a grenade. Two of his companions died while the other two were wounded; Buscayno himself still has three pieces of shrapnel in his back up to the present. Buscayno left Manila
and went home to Capas, Tarlac
, where he turned to farming, setting up the People's Livelihood Foundation-Tarlac Integrated Livelihood Cooperative (PILF-TILCO) in 1988. The cooperative was intended to help end the poverty of the peasants. However, Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, severely ruining vast tracts of land in Luzon including Tarlac
, and contributing to the demise of the cooperative in 1994.
In 1999, the Department of Agrarian Reform awarded Buscayno and his family certificates of ownership for their own land. In 2000, Buscayno set up another cooperative, the Tarlac Integrated Agricultural Modernization Cooperative (TIAMC) which seeks to promote the mechanization of farmwork, from sowing the seeds to harvest.
New People's Army
The New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...
, the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
.
Early life
Bernabe Buscayno was one of eight children born to impoverished tenant farmers in Capas, Tarlac. In the late 1960s, after Buscayno's mother died of tuberculosis and his seven-year-old sister died of meningitis, his father, unable to support his remaining children, put them up for adoption. Buscayno, then a teenager, became a canecutter, earning 18 pesos for a six-day week. At his age, he led a small uprising to force the landowner to increase their wages. Another farmer, a former member of the Huks, recruited him into the Communist Party of the Philippines at age 17, where he was given the code name "Dante".Revolutionary career
At age 21, Kumander Dante was a full-time revolutionary. At age 23, he became district commander in the outfit of Faustino del Mundo, also called "Kumander Sumulong", where he became education chairman. Eventually dissatisfied with Sumulong's outfit, Kumander Dante took some fighters and joined forces with Jose Maria SisonJosé María Sison
Jose Maria Sison is a writer and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy....
, who had founded the Communist Party of the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
The Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
on December 26, 1968. Buscayno's group officially became the New People's Army
New People's Army
The New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...
(NPA) on March 29, 1969.
From a group composed of about 35 members with only 10 rifles between them, the NPA grew and spread throughout the Philippines, challenging the Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
regime during the Martial Law
Martial Law in the Philippines
Martial law in the Philippines refers to the period of Philippine history where Philippine Presidents declare a proclamation to control unpacified places under the rule of Military, it is usually given when threatened by popular protests, or to crack down on the opposition...
years. Buscayno was finally captured in September 1976 at age 32, during what was called "Operation Scorpio". He had been a revolutionary for about 16 years.
Post-revolutionary years
After the EDSA Revolution, on March 8, 1986, almost ten years after Buscayno's arrest, President Corazon AquinoCorazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
ordered the release of hundreds of political detainees. Bernabe Buscayno was one of those released. A year later, Buscayno, together with a few other Left leaders, formed the Partido ng Bayan (PnB). Buscayno ran for senator
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
but did not win. In that same year, 1987, he survived an attempt on his life. He escaped getting hit by bullets when two men shot at his car, but got hit by shrapnel from a grenade. Two of his companions died while the other two were wounded; Buscayno himself still has three pieces of shrapnel in his back up to the present. Buscayno left Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and went home to Capas, Tarlac
Capas, Tarlac
Capas is a first class municipality in the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 122,084 people in 18,333 households. It is a part of the Third Municipal district of Tarlac with Mayor Antonio "TJ" Capitulo Rodriguez, Jr. as its incumbent Mayor and...
, where he turned to farming, setting up the People's Livelihood Foundation-Tarlac Integrated Livelihood Cooperative (PILF-TILCO) in 1988. The cooperative was intended to help end the poverty of the peasants. However, Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, severely ruining vast tracts of land in Luzon including Tarlac
Tarlac
Tarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west...
, and contributing to the demise of the cooperative in 1994.
In 1999, the Department of Agrarian Reform awarded Buscayno and his family certificates of ownership for their own land. In 2000, Buscayno set up another cooperative, the Tarlac Integrated Agricultural Modernization Cooperative (TIAMC) which seeks to promote the mechanization of farmwork, from sowing the seeds to harvest.