MANILA, Philippines–The military on Monday appealed to political candidates not to give in to rebels’ extorting activities as campaign period for the upcoming midterm elections begins on Tuesday.
“They should immediately coordinate with the nearest PNP and AFP authorities when they receive mga demand or extortion letter coming from the New People’s Army and we have asked not to give into their demands because forever magiging beholden lang tayo dun sa kanila, magdedepend na lang tayo dun and they will be extorting money all the time,” Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. told reporters in a press briefing.
The rebels demand poll permit fees, or called “permit to campaign” fees to political candidates in their areas of jurisdiction to generate funds for their group.
Burgos said that giving in to the extortion demands of the NPAs would only strengthen their means to conduct terrorist activities.
The spokesman also assured the public that the political candidates will not be harmed by the rebels if they refused to the extortion demands.
He added that it would be best to coordinate with the AFP to insure they would not be harmed by the NPA when the candidates go there because we know what places are safe and what are not safe),” Burgos said.
Last month, the Army in Eastern Visayas revealed that NPAs in the area were planning to extort fees ranging from P5,000 to P500,000 to local candidates, based on documents they have recovered.