Palace: Hypocritical for CPP-NPA to say they have no ‘legal fronts’

MANILA, Philippines — It cannot be denied that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, New People’s Army (NPA), have so-called legal front organizations, Malacañang said Tuesday.

“Bagamat ang sinabi ni [Defense] Secretary [Delfin] Lorenzana na ang polisiya natin talaga na kung walang ebidensya, dapat manahimik at huwag mag red-tagging eh hindi naman po ibig sabihin no’n na walang organisasyon na talagang kasapi at kabahagi ng CPP-NPA,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.

(Although Secretary Lorenzana said that the policy is if there is no evidence, they should keep quiet and stop red-tagging, it does not mean that there are no organizations that are part of the CPP-NPA.)

Lorenzana earlier advised security forces to just keep quiet if they have no evidence against people they believe are part of the communist movement.

READ: Just keep quiet if you have no evidence, Lorenzana tells Parlade, military

“Ang CPP-NPA po talagang meron silang revolutionary arm struggle, ‘yan po ‘yung NPA, at meron silang political. Kasama sa political ay ‘yung mga tinatawag nilang organisasyon na ‘di umano’y legal dahil hindi naman sila humahawak ng baril,” Roque said.

(CPP-NPA has a revolutionary arm struggle, that’s the NPA, and they have the political arm. Part of the political arm is supposedly those what they call legal organizations because they don’t take up arms.)

“Pero kabahagi pa rin po ng CPP-NPA. At hindi po made-deny ‘yan. Kaplastikan po ng CPP-NPA kung sasabihin nila na wala silang mga legal fronts na tinatawag,” he added.

(However, they are still part of the CPP-NPA. That cannot be denied. It is deceitful for the CPP-NPA to say that they don’t have what they call legal fronts.)

Roque, however, did not name any organization that is supposedly a legal front of the CPP-NPA.

Earlier Tuesday, a Senate panel started an investigation on the alleged red-tagging activities of military officials against celebrities and groups.

Prior to this, Armed Forces of the Philippines -Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. drew flak after warning actress Liza Soberano from engaging in women’s group Gabriela, which he claimed is a terrorist front.

KGA