Ka Frank Fernandez, a former priest-turned-leader of the communist revolutionary movement in Negros, has “health problems” but remains “active” in revolutionary work, his comrades said recently.

At a press conference in the Negros hinterlands late last week to mark the 42nd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Ka Marco, acting spokesman of the CPP in the central Philippine island, said Fernandez continues to contribute to the revolutionary movement “although it is undeniable that he has problems with his physical health.”

Nevertheless, he stressed, Fernandez, who is in his 60s, remains the spokesman of the National Democratic Front in Negros.

There has long been speculations that the former priest, who has been involved with the rebel movement for more than 20 years, is either ailing or dead.

However, Fernandez has continued to issue statements, both written and taped, as NDF-Negros spokesman.

Fernandez, who was once a national officer of the NDF, returned to Negros in the early 1990s to lead the mainstream communist movement in its efforts to recover from a disastrous split within its ranks that decimated its membership in the province.

From an estimated full battalion of regular fighters, the NPA on Negros was left with a single platoon operating within only three barangays in the wake of the split.

However, the rebels say they have since recovered both the territory and mass support they lost.*

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