Duterte tagged ‘accessory’ of rebs

MALACAÑANG YESTERDAY censured presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte for standing on stage with members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and policemen who were taken captive by the communist rebels in the city’s Paquibato district, saying it was tantamount to “mocking” the state’s security forces.

In a statement, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. also said the public should be wary of the policies that Duterte is offering should he be President and Commander in Chief.

Duterte is the leading presidential candidate in popularity surveys with less than two weeks before the May 9 elections.

“Why allow oneself to be an instrument of those who mock our forces?” Coloma said.

The Inquirer ran a front-page photo of Duterte speaking on stage while two communist rebels sat behind him. Five policemen, wearing white T-shirts with “POW” or “prisoners of war” printed on them, were also on stage.

Coloma, in a statement, took note that there were flags of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) “prominently displayed in the background.”

The NPA released the policemen to Duterte.

“Freedom-loving citizens would find sufficient cause to be alarmed at the picture…,” Coloma said.

“This picture … should lead us to think seriously and be concerned,” Coloma added.

Lawyer Martin Loon, who specializes in national security laws, said in an interview that although Duterte helped negotiate the policemen’s release, “given the facts available, it can strongly be argued that Mayor Duterte can be charged as an accessory to the crime.”

Loon said Duterte might have violated the Human Security Act of 2007 for not ordering the arrest of the communist rebels.

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