Esperon presses perjury raps vs. Red front groups

FILE: National security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., vice chairperson of NTF – ELCAC, in a press conference, explains the government’s Whole-of – Nation approach in ending local communist armed conflict in the country that generally aims to bring in development and progress ln every community in the country. (CCD/PIA CAR)

MANILA — National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon on Thursday personally appeared before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office at the hearing of the perjury charges he filed against groups which initiated the writ of amparo petitions against him, President Rodrigo Duterte and other officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which were subsequently dismissed by the Court of Appeals (CA).

City Senior Prosecutor Nilo Peñaflor gave the respondents until August 15 to answer the perjury complaint filed by Esperon against Karapatan, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) and Gabriela.

“(Dinemanda) nila ang President, ako and seven others eh di nakita na ang mga papel nila ay peke. That’s clear perjury, (They sued the President, me and seven others and so it was discovered that their documentation is fake and that’s clear perjury,” Esperon told newsmen in a chance interview after the hearing.

In the case of RMP which runs the 55 Salugpungan Ta’tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center Inc. (Salugpungan) whose operations were earlier ordered suspended by the Department of Education, Esperon said their registration was “revoked in 2003”.

“(K)ung di sila duly registered, bakit sila tumatanggap ng donations (If they are not duly registered, why are they accepting donations?” he said.

Esperon, citing reports of the military and police on the ground and the testimonies of the Mindanao Indigenous People’s Counsel elders and leaders, said there was an unmistakable pattern of training anti-government armed rebels by these schools.

As an example, Esperon said these schools have a different “national” anthem which they teach to students.

Students are also taught assembly and disassembly of firearms and learn the alphabets with different anti-government slogans starting with “A for armas (weapon)”.

More importantly, Esperon said the schools do not issue credentials to students which would allow their wards to take further studies.

“(A)ng nakakapagtaka, bakit di sila nagbibigay ng (What is puzzling is they do not give) learners’ reference number (LRN). Kung wala kangLRN paano ka mag-move on sa (If you do not have an LRN, how do you move to the) next higher level of education. Paano ka makaka-transfer sa ibang (How will you be able to transfer to another) school. In other words, di na-recognize for all the years and time that you will stay in that school, ‘yun pala di recognized ng ibang (The years and time of your stay in that school will not be recognized by other) DepEd schools. Eh di ano mangyayari sa mga (What will happen to the) students, they will remain at their mercy,” he added.