The League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) and Liga Independencia picket in front of the Netherlands Embassy in the Philippines in Paseo de Roxas, Makati City on Tuesday (Sept. 17, 2019). An effigy of Sison was burned during the rally, signifying their desire to put an end to the long-running communist insurgency in the Philippines. (PNA photo by Christine Cudis)
MANILA -- Relentless in their call to bring Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison back home, independent groups on Tuesday staged a rally anew in front of the Dutch embassy.
The League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) and Liga Independencia picketed in front of the Dutch Embassy in the Philippines on Paseo de Roxas, Makati City, urging the embassy to cooperate in bringing Sison back to the country.
LPP spokesperson Remy Rosadio said Sison and the rest of the founding members of CPP have made Utrecht, The Netherlands their safe haven for too long.
“Mula sa Netherlands at Europe, isang remote-controlled na digmaan ang kanilang ginagawa. Samantalang mistulang exempted sila sa pananagutang legal at moral sa mga kahayupang ginawa nila (They operate a remote-controlled war from Netherlands and Europe without having to face legal and moral accountability from all the things they do),” Rosadio said.
The group handed a written plea to the Dutch Embassy during their rally, which the office acknowledged and signed.
An effigy of Sison was also burned during the rally, expressing the groups' desire to put an end to the long-running communist insurgency in the Philippines.
The protesters said the insurgency has not only placed the country’s development at a halt but corrupted the hearts and minds of young people who were deceived into recruitment by communist front groups
In an nterview, LPP member Relissa Lucena has called on her daughter, who was recruited into the leftist youth movement, to return home.
“Anak, naniniwala ako na hindi pa ito ang time para maging radical ka at ma expose ka sa ganitong bagay. Ang trabaho mo ngayon ay matuto, alamin ang pasikut-sikot ng mundo. (My child, I believe this is not the time for you to be radical and be exposed to things like these. You should be in school studying now, understanding the ways of the world),” Lucena said.
“Wala naman akong ibang iniisip kung hindi ang kapakanan mo, kaligtasan mo, hahayaan naman kita eh. Pero mag aral ka muna, hintayin mo mag mature ang utak mo. Magkaroon ka ng pagsusuri sa totoong pangyayari hindi lang puro ideology kasi yung tinatawag ng wisdom nakukuha yan sa experience. Evaluated na experience, ganon ka matututo. (I’m only thinking about what’s good for you, your safety. I will let you be, but please finish school first, let your mind mature. Get a grasp of realities, do not isolate yourself with just that [CPP-NPA’s] ideology. The thing they call wisdom? You get that with experience, evaluated experience. That is how you will learn),” Lucena added.
The group has lined up a series of activities organized for the rest of the year aimed at calling on the youth to resist involvement in leftist activities.
They also hold seminars with parents and guardians of young students entering universities to be wary of groups preying on their children’s innocence.
No trash left
On the other hand, the groups also managed to finish their protest without leaving a mess.
In an interview, Liga Independencia spokesperson Nolan Tionco said they cleaned up after holding the protest actions, leaving no trace of disturbance to the public as well as to the commercial establishments in the area.
“It is an organized rally-- from the gathering, during the actual event, until the dispersal. Because we do not want to be a nuisance to other people, we just want to express our cause, we just want to spread awareness,” Tionco said. (PNA)
