Reds’ front groups scamming for donations: AFP official

EVIDENCE VS. LEFTISTS. Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Armed Forces of the Philippines deputy chief of staff for operations, presents to the media the bundle of evidence and books against leftist organizations that support the New People’s Army (NPA), during a press conference in Pasay City on Thursday (March 28, 2019). Also in photo are National Security Council Deputy Director Vicente Agdamag (left), and Jake Lanes, executive director of the Mindanao Indigenous People’s Council for Elders and Leaders. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA — Militant organizations, reportedly fronting for the communist terrorist groups, are exploiting Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and fabricating reports that paint a very dire human right situations in the Philippines which they will then use as a pretext for asking donations from foreign donors like the European Union (EU) and its member states.

This, according to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief-of-staff for civil-military operations, Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr., in a message to reporters Sunday.

“We are armed with the truth and nothing else. We are morally convinced that what this CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) organizations are doing is simply to exploit our IPs, project a very dire HR (human rights) situation in our country, vilify our government by fabricating reports to cast doubt on the efficiency of our government, and then what? Ask for donations,” Parlade said.

“This is a pattern they have established. A fake ‘Bakwit’ to ask EU funding. A fake advocacy to Save Our Schools and ask for more funding. Kill IPs and attribute it to government then ask for support to HR Watch,” he added.

The CPP-New People’s Army (NPA) is listed as terrorist organization by the United States and the EU.

In a letter sent by National Task Force To End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) vice chair and National Security Adviser, Hermogenes Esperon to EU Counter-Terrorism coordinator Gilles De Kerchove, the Belgian government, through different non-government organizations based in Belgium, has indirectly and unwittingly partnered with NGOs that act as legal front for the CPP-NPA.

The ‘list’

These Belgian NGOs include the SOLIDAGRO and Viva Salud and KIYO. It was also learned that the SOLIDAGRO has partnered with Philippine NGOs Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV); IBON Foundation (IBON); Karapatan; Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation, Inc. (MISFI); Salugpungan Ta’tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center Inc. (Salugpungan/STTICL; and, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP).

The Viva Salud, on the other hand, has partnered with the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW); Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU); Gabriela, IBON Foundation and ALCADEV. Lastly, KIYO has direct links with Gabriela, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), and Karapatan.

These information was gleaned from the Belgian government, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esperon said in the letter.

Parlade said RMP and the IBON Foundation partnered in the publication of subversive books being used by IP children in the Salugpungan and ALCADEV schools which are teaching IP children to become child warriors.

“We have to expose this because it is so unfair to the other lay workers and sisters whom we in AFP, PNP (Philippine National Police) and government partner with for our value formation and moral reforms,” he added.

Hiding under the cloak

These entities, he said, cannot continue to hide under the cloak of the church, of whatever faith, and then provide funds to the NPAs, and other CPP front organizations like Karapatan, Gabriela, ACT, KMU, Anakbayan, LFS, Bayan or what is called the Makabayan Bloc.

Majority of these organizations are members of the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS), which is also chaired by CPP founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison.

Parlade also gave special mention to RMP for directly supporting NPA members through its “Suporta sa Pamilya” (SUPAMIL).

“The RMP provide ‘SUPAMIL’ or Suporta sa Pamilya (Support to Family), of CPP and NPA cadres and fighters directly, and they cannot deny this. Those who will say this is a lie should be ready to refute this in a public debate,” he added.

CPP-NPA front groups, he said, put up programs like Literacy Numeracy (LITNUM) for IPs, Community-Based Health System for wounded rebels, Farmers Resource Centers and BREAD to feed communist fighters and their families, Sustainable Agri (SUS-AG), or Panday Bolig using disaster rehabilitation as cover.

He said all of these are programs supported by funds coming from EU and given to RMP-Northern Mindanao Region. This in turn provide support to the CPP-NPA.

“Deceit, lies, propaganda are what the CPP NPA have perfected over 50 years which have duped all of us, students, farmers, clergy, teachers, government workers, and international organizations like EU and UN,” he said. “How much longer can we tolerate this scam now amounting to billions of pesos, which could have been spent for the needs of the genuinely impoverished and neglected , instead of the NPA and ‘Joma’s minions?”