MANILA – Malacañang on Friday belittled the leftist groups’ latest call for President Rodrigo Duterte to resign amid alleged violence being committed by the military.
“There is nothing new and surprising about the leftist group’s latest call for the President to step down. It has called for the very government’s ouster since time immemorial anyway,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a press statement.
Last Oct. 22, the militant groups Kilusang Mayo Uno and Makabayan held protest rally by blocking a national highway in Barangay Lasang, Bunawan in Davao City and sought the resignation of Duterte.
Panelo desribed the leftists’ demand as “merely part of the continuing propaganda war” waged by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its founding chairman Jose Maria Sison against the Duterte administration.
“In actual fact, it is Mr. Sison’s armed comrades who are inflicting violence throughout the country and threatening the safety of our people,” Panelo said.
Panelo said suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members have wreaked havoc in the past months in several parts of the country.
He was referring to the ambush of a government convoy in Camarines Sur that killed three policemen as well as the attack of a municipal police station in Northern Samar, torching heavy equipment in three barangays in Davao City and burning a logging company’s equipment in Isabela province over refusal to pay “revolutionary taxes”, among other more deplorable crimes.
“It is very clear to us and to our people who the adversaries of this nation are. This administration is firmly devoted to protecting the security of all Filipinos and ensuring peace and order in our communities,” Panelo said.
“If someone should be blamed for promoting violence in the country, perhaps the CPP-NPA should point the finger at themselves,” he added. ( Jelly Musico/PNA)
