COPC: Cagayan de Oro journalist not a communist

BARAS, RIZAL — The Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC) has refuted allegation that journalist Cong Corrales, a member of its board, is a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

In a statement released by its board of directors, the COPC said that Leonardo Vicente “Cong” Corrales, an associate editor of Mindanao Gold Star Daily, a local daily with a Mindanao-wide circulation, has been an active member of the local media community and that they were standing by him.

The COPC issued the statement after a document listing23 people tagged as CPP members circulated during a press conference in one of the hotels in Cagayan de Oro City.

Aside from Corrales, his wife and son were also among the 23 personalities tagged as CPP members.

“Let it be known that we will stand by Board Member Corrales as we call on the authorities to investigate this red-tagging and ensure that media personalities be spared from this accusation,”  COPC said in a statement.

According to the human rights group Karapatan, a man wearing sunglasses arrived at the hotel around 10:30 a.m. on Friday in the middle of a press conference with victims of Martial Law in Mindanao.

“A suspected military agent approached the security guard of the hotel and handed him two brown envelopes. Each envelope contained 13 copies of flyers listing  youth and teachers organizations, as well as names of church workers, lawyers, rights advocates and a journalist tagged as “terrorist members of the New People’s Army and Communist Party of the Philippines.” /ee