CPP-NPA members ageing, declining in numbers: Palace

“Where in the past, they were able to mislead the best and the brightest amongst our youth, the latter has become more discernible,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement. (File Photo: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson/Facebook)

MANILA — Membership in the ranks of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) is now ageing and declining in numbers as they fail to recruit young ones “without coercion or intimidation”, Malacañang said on Thursday.

“Where in the past, they were able to mislead the best and the brightest amongst our youth, the latter has become more discernible,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo said the Palace is not surprised by CPP founder Jose Maria Sison’s statement that the CPP-NPA’s top priority in 2019 is ousting President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

Panelo called this a “dream, illusion, and fantasy”.

“The more Mr. Sison rants against the President, the more glaring his fantasies become. The more he makes predictions on the fall of the present government, the more believable is the suspicion that he is referring to the fall of the CPP/NPA/NDF (National Democratic Front),” he said.

Panelo said President Duterte has the support of a huge majority of Filipinos, making it impossible for an ouster plot to prosper.

“Mr. Sison claims that theirs is a revolution by the people but it is more of a wishful thinking, given that the very people he refers to is overwhelmingly supportive of the President,” he said.

The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that President Duterte enjoys the Filipinos’ support as 74 percent of them are satisfied with the performance of his administration.

Panelo dismissed Sison’s accusations of the President’s interference in the 2019 midterm elections and called it “illusory”.

He said President Duterte has no plans to stay in power longer.

“The President has already announced that there will be peaceful and orderly elections in May 2019, and he will stop any attempt to thwart it. PRRD pursues federalism because he believes that such system will improve governance in the local government units and accelerate economic growth and progress in the provinces. The President has repeatedly announced that he would step down from office once a federal form of government is established, showing his dislike to stay in power,” Panelo added.

Panelo also denied Sison’s allegations of “state terrorism” and stressed that the government is relentless in its fight against criminality.

“There is also no such thing as state terrorism, as maintained by Mr. Sison, but only state-applied measures to end the bloodshed and deaths of our fellow Filipinos engineered by the CPP/NPA/NDF,” he said.

Panelo further debunked Sison’s criticisms on the Duterte administration’s socio-economic policies.

“The President and this Administration have been implementing policies that elevate the social and economic situation of the country, and this year is no exception as socioeconomic policies benefitting our people are already in the burner,” he added.