Plot vs. Duterte bound to fail, Davao, Caraga Army units say

DAVAO CITY – The Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) and the Army’s 10th Infantry Division said the "Red October" plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte "is bound to fail.”

Eastmincom spokesperson, Lt. Col. Ezra Balagtey, said Wednesday the Armed Forces in Davao and Caraga areas "are solid and undivided".
 
Balagtey said dissenting views cannot be avoided but the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) remains "loyal to the Constitution."

He added that it is farfetched for government forces to collaborate with the communist insurgents, "given their differences in ideology".

Nevertheless, Balagtey said the military has continued its intelligence monitoring against destabilizers as part of the AFP's mandate to protect communities from any threat group.

"So far, we do not see any movement,” he added.

On the sidelines of the AFP - Philippine National Police (PNP) Press Corps briefing, Balagtey said the “Red October” plot is apparently patterned after the October Uprising during the Bolshevik Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin on October 25, 1917.

In that revolution, the Bolshevik Red Guards under the Military Revolutionary Committee began the occupation of government buildings and subsequently ousted the Russian monarchy.

'Bound to fail'

Balagtey said a similar takeover "is bound to fail in the Philippines because the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) lacks the support of the people."

He noted that the CPP follows the Maoist, Leninist, and Marxist ideology.

The planned mass mobilization uncovered by the AFP, he said, was designed to create unrest among the public and create a pretext for a revolutionary action.

He said the Sept. 21 mass action against Martial Law was a test but it failed to command mass mobilization.

“The people still believe in the government,” Balagtey said.

Army's 10th ID spokesperson, Capt. Jerry Lamosao, echoed Balagtey's statement, saying, “We pledge our loyalty to the Constitution.”
Lamosao said the ground forces are also stepping up their intelligence monitoring against groups that are trying to sow chaos in the military and its leadership.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin Madrigal, Eastmincom commander, said the objective of the communist insurgents from the start has been to "overthrow the democratic government and replace it with an authoritarian socialist form."

“And ever since, this threat has pulled down our country’s growth and development,” Madrigal said in a press statement released on Wednesday. “It aims to foment continuing unrest by way of agitation among the urban poor and rural peasant communities.”

Losing leaders

Madrigal said the New People’s Army (NPA) in Eastern Mindanao has been "losing leaders, elements, supporters, and firearms because of the relentless Focused Military Operations and Community Support Programs."

The Eastmincom reported that since January this year, 659 NPA regulars, 910 members of the Milisya ng Bayan, and 285 members of the Sangay ng Partido sa Lokalidad have surrendered to the government, while 7,294 members of the NPA's underground mass organizations have withdrawn their support from the rebel movement.

From January 2017 to Sept 23 this year, Eastmincom recorded 256 NPA tribal members who have surrendered and enrolled in the Enhanced Comprehensive Localized Integration Program (E-CLIP) of the government.

Madrigal said several former CPP/NPA leaders have returned to the folds of the law, while in the past two weeks, three ranking NPA members were neutralized in Eastern Mindanao.

He cited the commander of the Pulang Bagani Command 3 identified only as alias Ivy, who was killed in an encounter in Cabarisan, Sibulan, Toril, Davao City, on September 16.

On Sept. 24, the front secretary of Guerilla Front 73 was arrested in Surallah, South Cotabato. (Lilian C Mellejor/PNA)