Highest salute and tribute to Procopio "Ka Pyro" Tauro, Revolutionary leader, hero of the masses!
marco
Highest salute and tribute to Procopio "Ka Pyro" Tauro, Revolutionary leader, hero of the masses!
At 5:20 am on October 30, 2010, Ka Pyro was one of the Red Commanders who led the tactical offensive undertaken by Red Guerillas of the Agustin Begnalen Command. During the 1st 10 minutes of gun battle, Ka Pyro was hit while leading an assault as he stood up to fire a grenade launcher at enemies belonging to the Alpha Coy, 41st IB. At 9:10 am, the good comrade died, a revolutionary leader and hero of the masses. From the start, during the preparations, up to the implementation, Ka Pyro was resolute in guiding and leading the victorious tactical offensive in the Abra Kalinga Road, Lenneng, Baay-Licuan, Abra.
Ka Pyro was born and raised in Benben, Lapaz, Abra. Named at birth as Procopio Tauro, he was born to a tenant-farmer family, and endured the harsh life of the peasants and the terrorism of the warlords. He was able to go to school through scholarships and raise other needs by self-reliant efforts. Despite being unorganized activists then, his family earned the ire of the warlords because of their support to the revolutionary movement and because of their affiliation with the traditional oppositionist political party. Warlords murdered his brother, and he and his father were incarcerated in prison for about a year, because of charges of rebellion.
Ka Pyro was resolute in revolutionary struggle and grasped basic revolutionary principles because of his life experiences and his sharp understanding of revolutionary theory. During his entire service in the NPA, he maintained warm relationships with the basic masses of the peasantry mainly because of his persistence in waging agrarian revolution; he was a good organizer of the basic masses of the peasantry. He was also resolute in the fight against warlordism. Secondary to these are his weaknesses in the application of some revolutionary policies, dual-tactics, and in building the united front.
Ka Pyro was a trailblazer and led difficult tasks of the Party and the NPA that other comrades refuse to take on. He was one of the pioneers in the recovery and persistent work in various areas in Abra and in nearby municipalities, such as in the BuDaBoSa (Bucloc, Daguioman, Boliney, Sallapdan); the tri-boundary of LaDaLaga (Lapaz, Danglas, Lagayan) Abra, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur; and in the Abra-Mt. Province-Ilocos Sur tri-boundary. In the face of incessant enemy attacks and harsh guerilla life, he remained unfazed and led comrades to strengthen revolutionary resolve and persistence.
Ka Pyro was a good educator and propagandist among the basic masses. He had a deep knowledge of the problems of the people, was good at details of various issues, events and incidents; these served as concrete examples of revolutionary theory and an effective tool in explaining to the people the policies and programs of the revolutionary movement.
Himself a victim of bourgeois-decadent life while in college and during his short stint as a government employee, Ka Pyro lived the life of a lumpen-intellectual. He was into all sorts of vices and bourgeois-feudal relationships. His concrete experiences with bureaucrat-capitalism while in the reactionary government forced him to persevere in the fight against warlordism, graft and corruption. As a legal activist in the town center of Bangued, he had a deep and wide grasp of the provincial situation and the tasks required. He became sick because of his vices and resolved to do away with these and led a healthy living in the NPA since then. He had a child whom he loved so much -- the result of an affair he had prior to joining the NPA. He patiently waited for the opportunity to finally meet his daughter and later catch up on parenting and very limited family life.
Despite sanctions as disciplinary actions due to his errors and past mistakes, Ka Pyro is a role model in rectification and revolutionary perseverance. Even during crisis and misdeeds, he was a perennial revolutionary optimist, ceaselessly believed in rectification, and constantly viewed the bright revolutionary future. Even in courtship and love, he was persistent and an incorrigible optimist.
Ka Pyro firmly grasped, prioritized and believed in the justness of armed revolutionary struggle. In order to fight military conservatism, he joined military operations and actively participated in the Provincial Operational Command. The tactical offensive on October 30, 2010 was the last project of Ka Pyro. He was directly involved during the preparations, trouble-shooting snags in intelligence work, battle planning, rehearsals, up to the actual implementation. He sacrificed his own life to advance armed revolutionary struggle, frustrate Oplan Bantay Laya 2, and to advance the revolution to the strategic stalemate until final victory.
The life of a revolutionary should be measured through actual contributions in waging revolution. There is no doubt, Ka Pyro's revolutionary role was important and of strategic value not only in Abra, but in the entire region of Ilocos-Cordillera. The life of a revolutionary was cut short, but his dreams and aspirations will continue through the people and revolutionaries that he helped arouse, organize and mobilize. Up to his last breath, Ka Pyro died not only as a revolutionary, but also as a proletarian leader.
Turn sorrow into revolutionary revenge and steadfastness!
Long live the shining memory of Procopio "Ka Pyro" Tauro!
Long live the true revolutionary leader and people's martyr!
Carry on the struggle of Ka Pyro and other martyr's until final victory!
Advance the national democratic revolution until total victory!
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Note (27 February 2011): The above statement was issued by the ABC upon the death of Procopio "Ka Pyro" Tauro on October 20, 2010. Originally, the statement was intended for immediate public release, but was subsequently withheld due to the following reasons:
1. It was reported by the field unit that Ka Pyro, before the ambush, specifically requested that should he die, his burial should be undertaken in the area where he spent substantial years of his revolutionary life, and that his body not be brought home to his birthplace in Benben, Lapaz, Abra.
2. Reaction/pursuit operations of the 41st IB was an immediate consideration, as his remains were carried by the guerillas, along with firearms and other logistics taken from the enemy after the ambush.
3. His immediate family, particularly his daughter, son-in-law, and grandson, first be informed of his death.
Surely, the AFP and the PNP will feast on the confirmation of Ka Pyro's martyrdom. Reactionary propagandists will hail his death has "the demise of the revolutionary movement in Abra", and "NPA members are subsequently demoralized." Warlords will join the people's enemies in this feast, as a staunch anti-warlord fighter died in the battlefield.
But the truth is far from their illusions. The death of a revolutionary, especially because he died in battle, becomes an inspiration for the people and the revolutionary movement. Cadres will rise up to the challenge and will take over the reigns of lea dership. The guns he left will continue to rage and fire against the enemy. More revolutionaries and organized masses will continue the fight that Procopio "Ka Pyro" Tauro left behind.