By Priam Nepomuceno/PNA
MANILA — Outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff, Gen. Carlito Galvez said the Salugpungan Community Learning Center and ALCADEV Lumad School are being used as breeding grounds of the New People’s Army (NPA).
This was emphasized by the military chief in an interview with reporters shortly after flag-raising ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Monday.
“What we saw in Talaingod (Davao del Norte) is how Salugpungan and ALCADEV are used as breeding ground for the NPA. What they (former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo et al.) do is they bring the children here in Manila, an exposure. The five who surrendered in the north came from ALCADEV and from indigenous communities and this only proves that ACT-Teacher Partylist Rep. France Castro and Satur Ocampo as active members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), ” he said.
Galvez also said this claim is already attested by Lumad leaders.
“So ngayon, nakikita natin ang last bastion na lang ng CPP-NPA is yung IPs kasi yung mga Indigenous People ito na lang ang pinaka-vulnerable sector na kaya nilang lokohin (Now, we see that the last bastion of the CPP-NPA is the IPs because the Indigenous People are the most vulnerable sector whom they can deceive),” he added.
Ocampo, Castro and several others were accused of violating Republic Act 10364 or The Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 and Article 270 of the Revised Penal Code which defines and provides penalty on the offense of kidnapping and failure to return a minor.
Ocampo and Castro claimed they are part of a humanitarian mission in Talaingod, Davao del Norte due to reports that students of these Lumad schools were fleeing the area following their closure.
