Badoy says she will resign if Makabayan bloc condemns NPA atrocities

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy on Friday said she is only willing to resign if the six progressive lawmakers denounce the communist rebels’ atrocities, among other conditions.

Members of the House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc called for Badoy’s resignation for red-tagging them without basis.

In a Facebook post, Badoy said she would only resign if the lawmakers condemn all the atrocities linked to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front (NDF), to which they deny any connections.

https://www.facebook.com/lorraine.badoy/posts/10158600904149834?__tn__=K-R

“Mangangakong magmula ngayon, maninindigan kayo kasama ng gobyerno at bayan at magtatrabaho kayo para mawala na ang salot at pahirap sa bayan natin na CPP NPA NDF,” Badoy said.

(Promise that from now on, you will stand with the government and the nation and that you will work against CPP NPA NDF that is plaguing our country.)

“Manawagan na magsurrender sila Joma Sison at mga kasama nila na may mga warrants of arrest at harapin ang mga kaso nila dito. Tutal ang sabi nyo wala naman kayong koneksyon sa founder ng teroristang CPP NPA NDF,” she went on.

(Call for the surrender of Joma Sison and his colleagues who have warrants of arrest and face their cases here. Since you said you have no connection with the founder of terrorists CPP NPA NDF.)

PCOO’s budget hearing was stalled after the lawmakers denounced Badoy for accusing the Makabayan bloc as terrorists.

Badoy, spokesperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), called the lawmakers as “high-ranking officials” of the CPP-NPA-NDF in a previous Facebook post.

“Mga ma’ams at sirs, pag ginawa nyo yan, agaran akong hihingi ng paumanhin sa inyo at ihahayag ko sa publiko na nagkamali ako sa pagbintang na mga high ranking party members kayo ng CPP NPA NDF,” Badoy said, adding that she will remove her posts linking them to the communist rebels.

(Ma’ams, sirs, if you do these, I will apologize and tell the public that I was wrong for accusing you of being high ranking party members of the CPP NPA NDF.)

“At wala pang isang minuto na ginawa nyo yan, iaabot ko ang sulat ng pagbibitiw ko sa aking appointing officer, ang ating Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte, bilang Undersecretary ng Presidential Communications Operations Office,” she went on.

(Not even a minute after you do these, I will send my letter of resignation as PCOO Undersecretary to my appointing officer and President Rodrigo Duterte.)

Meanwhile, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar distanced himself from the issue, saying the agency does not have the same stand as the NTF-ELCAC’s. He also noted that Badoy used her own Facebook page for her posts and not that of the PCOO’s.

/MUF