Major General Antonio Parlade, Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations
MANILA -- An official of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said there is no reason to conduct peace negotiations with communist rebels in view of the group’s plan to supplant the government even when a compromise is reached.
This was the reaction of Major Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. to the latest overtures of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair Jose Maria "Joma" Sison who is now based in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Sison, in a statement Sunday, urged President Rodrigo Duterte to mend his ways and resume serious and sincere peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) through duly-authorized negotiating panels within the framework of The Hague Joint Declaration.
Parlade, who is also Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief-of-Staff for Civil-Military Operations, said he finds Sison's request "strange" after accusing the government of "being treasonous, tyrannical, murderous, corrupt, and swindling?" or things the communist rebels and their allies are known to do in furtherance of their ideology.
"Joma is obviously referring to the Comprehensive Agreement on Social Economic Reforms (CASER) and Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms (CAPCR) which are two of the four substantive agenda of the NDFP. But do we know that in this framework, there is nothing there that says that if the government signs the final peace agreement, the CPP NDFP have no plan to demobilize and disarm their NPAs (New People's Army)," he added.
Deactivation of government forces
What the communist rebels plan to do, he said, is to "demobilize the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) military" instead.
Parlade said this provision can be found in the Bayan-USA publication CASER Article VIII, NDFP Proposed CASER: A Pro-People Alternative to Neo-Liberation. Article VIII - Role of Demobilized GRP Military.
"Check their Bayan USA website for yourself and tell your government if this is propaganda," Parlade said.
"Come to think of it, Joma wants the government to capitulate and bow to their wishes. Will any patriotic Filipino agree with this? So is (this) not that the treason that Joma is talking about?" he added.
Also, on the tyranny accusation, Parlade said it is the communist rebels who espouse tyranny as stated in their CPP Constitution and Program of 2016, Article 3 Section 7 which states that all members of CPP "adhere to the principles of proletarian dictatorship."
"Check their website again and see that it's not propaganda. Isn't this tyranny in the severest degree? This is what Pol Pot (a Cambodian revolutionary) did during his reign," he added.
Parlade also bared that with the advent of "proletarian dictatorship", the CPP will purge Philippine society of all its intellectuals, professionals, businessmen engaged in the so-called "capitalist regime".
"Isn't that murderous? That’s the future. What about the recent killings of IPs (Indigenous Peoples') former rebels, civilians, and attacks of peace settlements for the RPA ABB (Revolutionary Proletarian Army Alex Boncayao Brigade)? What does Joma call all these? Justice?" he added.
And for the extortion part, Parlade cited as an example the collection of funds by front organizations of the CPP-NPA from foreign governments and donors.
Swindling front organizations
He also chided communist-front organizations for having the gall to collect money even when their registrations are cancelled by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"Is not that swindling in the highest degree?" Parlade said.
The NTF ELCAC official was referring to the following organizations with alleged links to the CPP-NPA, which the SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department last week said have revoked registrations.
*Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA), whose registration was ordered revoked on September 30, 2003, for non-filing of reports from 1997 to 2002;
*Karapatan (full name KARAPATAN: Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights) with revoked registration since October 25, 2005;
*Concerned Artists of the Philippines, whose registration had been revoked on July 8, 2003, for non-filing of reportorial requirements from 1997 to 2002;
*Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas, with registration, ordered revoked on August 20, 2003, for non-filing of reports from 1997 to 2002; *Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay), Inc., whose registration was revoked on June 27, 2006, for failure to submit reports from 2001 to 2005; and
*Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) in Northern Mindanao, with registration suspended on December 21, 2017.
Also, the SEC Company Registration and Monitoring Department issued a certification showing the non-registration as a corporation or partnership of the League of Filipino Students, Suara Bangsamoro, ANAKPAWIS, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), New Patriotic Alliance, and May First Movement Labor Center, all alleged legal front organizations of the CPP-NPA.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
Parlade said Sison's call for the resumption of peace talks can be attested by the fact that groups allied with the CPP-NPA, including the Makabayan bloc, are all close to extinction due to to the government's incessant efforts to unmask their deception and lies, and massive surrenders by their fighters and allies.
"To date, 5,800 also of Joma's armed minions have surrendered to the folds of the law. Clearly, Joma is afraid of these continuing trend and the sustained efforts of the government to expose them some more," he added. (PNA)
