Members of the Liga Independencia Filipina peace group chant "Do not vote for #ShamefulNine" during a rally in Mendiola, Manila on Wednesday (April 24, 2019). (Photo by Christine Cudis)
MANILA -- Former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, who are now members of the peace group Liga Independencia Filipina, urged the public to refrain from supporting candidates who are “allies” of communist terrorist groups.
Members of the peace group made this call as they staged a rally at the Mendiola Bridge on Wednesday, condemning opposition senatorial candidates and other politicians being endorsed by the Makabayan Bloc, which is branded as a legal front of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA).
“Hindi naman lingid sa kaalaman ng #ShamefulNine na ang Makabayan Bloc ay isang legal front ng National Democratic Front (NDF). Sa milyun-milyong pera muli nilang binigyan ang NDF ng tulong na maghasik ng terorismo sa bansa (It’s no longer a secret to the #ShamefulNine that the Makabayan Bloc is a legal front of NDF. With millions of cash paid in exchange for their endorsement, they seemed to support NDF in sowing terror),” Liga Independencia Filipina spokesperson, Ka Dario Bolivar, said in an interview.
The peace group is referring to Otso Diretso opposition bets Mar Roxas, Bam Aquino, Chel Diokno, Samira Gutoc, Erin Tañada, along with Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, Serge Osmena III and Neri Colmenares as the #ShamefulNine.
Bolivar explained that the Makabayan Bloc has long deceived Filipinos by claiming that it has been fighting against poverty yet its members are the ones working to prolong it to make way for the 50-year old revolution, which he claims is generating huge money from local politicians and overseas sponsors.
“Ano ba ang mahalaga sa #ShamefulNine, bayan o pansariling interes? Wala silang pakialam sa pagiging outcome ng pagtanggap nila ng endorsement sa kilusan (Which is really important for the #ShamefulNine? The country or their personal interests? They do not seem to care for the outcome of financing the revolution),” Bolivar said.
“Huwag natin silang iboto kasama ng mga kaalyado nilang partylists (Let’s not vote for them and their party-list allies),” he added.
Protesters wear masks of Neri Colmenares, Mar Roxas and other opposition bets during a rally in Mendiola, Manila on Wednesday (April 24, 2019).
The group also said the NPA only impedes the country’s progress, as they urged Filipinos to be "one with the government" instead.
The CPP-NPA is listed as terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
In previous reports, Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año had already warned candidates not to yield to the extortion demand of communist rebels.
Año said supporting these candidates and party-list groups would only make the government efforts of ending the insurgency more difficult to attain.
Año stressed though that the information was not enough to file the necessary cases against them.
“We now have a watch list, we know you. So if you are supporting communist rebels in any way, you ascertain yourself as a supporter of terrorism and an enemy of the state, you establish yourself as an accomplice to their cause,” Año told a news briefing at the Philippine National Police national headquarters in Camp Crame. (PNA)
