Joma denies LP-Reds-gov’t soldiers conspiracy to oust Duterte

LUCENA CITY – Exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison mocked President Duterte for claiming there was now a conspiracy between the political oppositions, communist rebels, and disgruntled government soldiers to topple down the Duterte administration.

“He (Duterte) is becoming desperate and afraid of his own shadow,” Sison said in an online interview from his base in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Sison said the so-called Red Revolution plot was “a figment of Duterte’s imagination.”

But Sison maintained that the broad united front of Filipino people that opposed the Duterte government “is open to the support and participation of the military opposed to Duterte.”

“But there is no conspiracy among them, the LP (Liberal Party) and the CPP-NPA,” Sison stressed.

He claimed that there were military officers and foot soldiers who opposed President Duterte for various reasons like “encouraging unlawful acts against civilians, giving corruptive rewards for fake surrenderers and fake encounters, trying to trick the military by issuing the proclamation to revoke the amnesty of Trillanes, favoritism in promotions, corruption of highest civil and military officers who are Duterte favorites and sympathy for the people who suffer from the deteriorating economic and social conditions like poverty, unemployment, low income and soaring prices of prime commodities.”

In a statement, the CPP strongly denied that the revolutionary movement was in cahoots with the political oppositions to bring down President Duterte from power.

“This so-called Red October plot is nothing but an AFP invention. Like the rest of the AFP’s fakery, it is a poorly concocted story,” the CPP said in a statement issued Tuesday.

It added: “Neither Duterte nor the AFP could show the public proof of their claims.”

Though the CPP admitted that a broad united front of democratic forces – progressive and patriotic forces, as well as various strands of politicians, religious and business groups – has emerged in both formal and informal alliances to oppose Duterte./lb