President Rodrigo R. Duterte strongly pointed out that the government is not red-tagging progressive groups but merely disclosing their connection with the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
“Itong mga legal fronts ng komunista, lahat ‘yan Makabayan, Bayan, they are all legal fronts, Gabriela. Hindi ‘yan sila — we are not red-tagging you. We are identifying you as members in a grand conspiracy comprising all the legal fronts that you have organized headed by NDF tapos ‘yung — sagol ang New People’s Army, NDF at Communist Party of the Philippines. (These communist legal fronts, all of them, Makabayan, Bayan, they are all legal fronts, Gabriela. It’s not that, we are not red-tagging you. We are identifying you as members in a grand conspiracy comprising all the legal fronts that you have organized headed by NDF then the NPA, and CPP.)”
The President has also supported the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s response on the matter. He stated that the communist’s trickery is unacceptable since many Lumads and marginalized Filipinos are affected by the terrorist group’s actions. The said group does not have any ideology.
Meanwhile, the Makabayan Bloc has condemned the statement of the President and denied that it is a member of the CPP-NPA-NDF. The party list called the statement of the Chief Executive as a diversionary tactic to distract the public from the government’s lack of response on the pandemic and calamities. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio and Mela Lesmoras
