Electioneering raps aimed to silence gov’t officials: Parlade

Parlade was reacting to complaints filed by party-list groups before the Commission on Elections alleging that the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines are engaging in partisan political activities by urging the public not to vote for their candidates. (PCOO file photo via PNA)

MANILA — Electioneering charges filed by partly-list groups against ranking defense and military officials are meant to silence these officials from exposing alleged links of these organizations to the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

This was bared by Major Gen. Antonio Parlade, Jr. of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in a message to reporters Saturday.

“The Kamatayan Bloc simply wants to silence our officials from exposing them some more. They are running for public office and the voting public have the right to know who and what kind of people they are voting for,” he said referring to militant Makabayan groups in Congress.

Parlade was reacting to complaints filed by party-list groups before the Commission on Elections alleging that the Department of National Defense and Armed Forces of the Philippines are engaging in partisan political activities by urging the public not to vote for their candidates.

“In the case of the party-list, the voting public have the right to know what kind of people these PLs are trying to represent, if they are really people. But if it is the devil that they are trying to represent, the whole nation must know and understand how it came to be that way,” the NTF ELCAC official explained.

Parlade also scored the CPP for hiding under its democratic fronts and deceiving the public.

“Their duplicity or their revolutionary dual tactics has allowed them to participate in the electoral process, representing themselves as sheeps. But look at how they devour our children? Let them comment on the children killed by NPAs during attacks and they are quiet. Let them comment on young students recruited by the NPA and killed in encounter and their mouth is sealed. Ask them to join the congressional inquiry about the Salugpungan schools that have been radicalizing our IPs (Indigenous Peoples) and they skirt around it, ” he said.

Parlade added that these groups seem to be very afraid of the truth as proven by fresh efforts to silence defense and military officials.

“What are they so afraid of that they want us to be silenced anyway? The truth. That’s the only thing that scares them. That’s the reason they cannot face us on TV and see for themselves what evidence we have about their 50 years of involvement in these bloody conflicts,” he added.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

“They cry of harassment and attacks by government forces. When? Where? How come they are still on the streets? When do we let the people know about their true nature? When do we let their European donors know about this fraud?

Yes, at the end of the day it’s all about the money they’re getting from foreign NGOs (non-government organizations). It’s summer and money will soon dry up for them,” Parlade said.