Commies claim it still has people’s support

By Jigger J. Jerusalem
Correspondent .

DESPITE being declared as unwelcomed by some municipalities in Misamis Oriental, the New People’s Army (NPA) has maintained that they still have the support of the people.

“The people remain warm in accommodating the Party and Red armies in their communities,” said Ka Norsen Manggubat, of the Communist Party of the Philippines-North Central Mindanao Region, in a statement forwarded to reporters last Thursday.

“Their trust and confidence remained firm that the revolutionary movement will ultimately resolve their plights of landlessness, inadequate livelihood, lack of access to social services, and, most of all, will fight to attain justice over the crimes committed by the regime,” Manggubat said.

He said the state still needs to threaten the residents and the local government officials in order to sham that the CPP and NPA are detested.

Just recently, the provincial government of Misams Oriental has announced 16 of its 24 cities and municipalities, or 200 out of 424 barangays, have rejected the CPP-NPA and declared them and their affiliated organizations persona non grata, indicating that the communist rebels are not welcome in their localities.

Those who signified their support to the provincial government are Alubijid, Balingasag, Binuangan, Claveria, Initao, Jasaan, Lagonglong, Libertad, Magsaysay, Manticao, Medina, Opol, Tagoloan, Talisayan, Laguindingan, and El Salvador City.

These local governments, a report from the Philippine Information Agency said, are “fed up with the incessant atrocities perpetrated by the CPP-NPA against civilians and destruction of civilian properties.”

The NPA said this action by the local governments showed that the administration of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and the security forces “display their desperation through propagating” that the 16 municipalities in Misamis Oriental and other areas have declared the insurgents as unwelcome.

“The CPP is certain that this is only among Duterte’s underhanded tactics so he could hastily install the local Joint Task Force for his Oplan Kapanatagan,” Manggubat said.

“Imperatively, this will crack down anyone who would criticize or resist Duterte’s programs and policies, such as red-tagging legal mass organizations as communist or communist supporter,” he added.