by Priam Nepomuceno/PNA
Efforts are now underway to restrict New People’s Army (NPA) rebels from accessing funds they have acquired abroad.
This was disclosed by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato when asked on whether the government is doing something to stop the rebels from receiving funding abroad.
“Yes, including foreign funds they are receiving by deceiving the (foreign) donors and diverting the money to further their terroristic activities with the ultimate aim of toppling down the government and changing our way of life,” he said in a message to the Philippine News Agency late Monday.
The military official earlier said only a unified and whole-of-government approach will defeat the NPA, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
“We have identified so many factors to eradicate the communist terrorists (and these are) prevent them from accessing funds, counter their mass base recruitment and front organizations,” Detoyato said.
And they can only be neutralized effectively if the government will synchronize its efforts to counter them and the threats they pose.
“We can only do this effectively if the whole government will synchronize their efforts towards a common goal (which is aimed at containing these factors that responsible for the continued operation of the NPA movement),” the AFP official added.
Once this is done, Detoyato expressed confidence that the ideology espoused by Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison and his “blind followers” will be defeated once and for all.
