PNP: Rizal farm raid not linked to ‘Red October’

The Philippine National Police has echoed the National Bureau of Investigation’s denial that the suspects of a raid in a farm in Teresa, Rizal, which yielded high-powered firearms, were linked to the “Red October” ouster plot claim of the military.

It was discovered during the raid that some police officers were working for one of the suspects, but PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde belied that these police officers were part of a plot to oust the President.

‘Moonlighting’

“No less than the NBI had said [the suspects] had nothing to do with the so-called Red October … These police were just ‘moonlighting’ [as private guards] … They allegedly received P8,500 each … But their alleged involvement in Red October is unlikely.”

Albayalde assured the policemen would face administrative charges for “moonlighting.”

In a statement on Friday, Interior  Secretary Eduardo Año denied that any police are linked to the ouster plot.

“As DILG Chief, I categorically state that the loyalty of the PNP and all the uniformed members of our attached agencies are to the Constitution and the rule of law, and we will not be a party to any illegal move to topple down the Duterte administration,” said Año.

“The morale of the police is high and they are focused on the war on drugs and criminality. They have no time to get involved in any destabilization,” he added.

Año, however, confirmed the existence of an ouster plot:  “We received information on initial recruitments for the Red October plot early this month. Thus, I am still reminding all PNP personnel to stay nonpartisan and be loyal to the Constitution and duly constituted authorities,” he said

Año said the ouster plot is part of the Red October project of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which attempts to “forment labor unrest and agitation among urban poor and peasant communities, as well as to form alliances with other opposition groups.”

He said the plot was “aligned” with the CPP’s 50th founding anniversary in November.

‘Elaborate drama’

“I don’t understand why the CPP is denying Oplan Red October when they have been trying to topple every administration since 1968,” Año said.

The New People’s Army (NPA), however, on Friday dismissed as an “elaborate drama” the claims made by the Philippine Army that the farm served as the rebels’ “safehouse” for the supposed “Red October”  attack.

Macario Liwanag, spokesperson of NPA-Rizal, denied that the communist rebels had anything to do with the arms cache recovered from the farm in Teresa, Rizal, on Sept. 25.

‘Petty squabble’

In a statement, Liwanag said the NPA was being linked to what was supposed to be just a “petty squabble” between the Bellos, a family of Filipino-Chinese businessmen, and the farm owner identified as Ke Be or Lily Ong.

“They made it big and dramatic so the supposed ouster plot against Duterte will be blamed on the revolutionary movement,” the rebels said.

But Maj. Gen. Rhoderick Parayno, commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, stood by their claim that top NPA leaders in Southern Tagalog, particularly Tirso Alcantara, stayed in the farm.

“Alcantara was seen eating there. One of those arrested said some of the guns belonged to [Alcantara],” Parayno said in a phone interview.

Aside from the firearms, the Army said they recovered subversive documents and “war materials.”

Parayno said the NPA leaders’ presence in Teresa, Rizal, given its proximity to Manila, was an “indicator” that they were preparing to overthrow the government in the so-called Red October destabilization plot.

He said soldiers were led to the farm based on the intelligence gathered from recent military operations in Barangay Umiray in Gen. Nakar, Quezon.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said the Sept. 25 raid was done after months of intelligence operations against communist guerillas in the area.

NPA safe house

The statement quoted Brig. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., commander of the 202nd Infantry Brigade, who had provided backup to the NBI, as saying the farm, owned by arrested suspect Chinese businesswoman Be, provided “a safe house” for top NPA leaders in southern Tagalog.

The NBI, which filed charges of illegal possession of firearms against Be and six others, said it had not yet established any link between the raid and the alleged ouster plot.

“We found the opportunity because they (NBI) were doing a [similar] investigation,” Parayno said when asked why the Army linked up with the NBI instead of the PNP in that operation.

The municipal government of Teresa, meanwhile, issued a statement, saying that the farm was already a part of Barangay Maybangcal in Morong town. It also said the property belonged to a certain Artemio Cruz based on the land registry records.