NTF ELCAC RESPONSE TO WALDEN BELLO’S STATEMENT
Out of the 12 clusters of the NTF ELCAC, the AFP can be found in just one cluster of the organizational structure of the Task Force.
This mirrors the core principle of the task force as spelled out to us by the Task Force Chair, President Rodrigo Duterte: what will end this 53 year communist terrorist scourge is GOOD GOVERNANCE- not the purely military approach that we’ve been employing for the past 5 decades that didn’t work.
As a result of this, the NTF ELCAC has clocked unprecedented gains: 24,000 peaceful surrenders: that’s 24,000 Filipinos no longer killing fellow Filipinos and who have laid down their arms because they now experience government’s care and protection - not just in words that seem to be the only contribution and expertise of Bello and his allies but with REAL farm to market roads, schools, health centers, livelihood programs, free irrigation etc.
Whole guerilla fronts have also been dismantled- again, unprecedented. Out of 14 regions that used to be active killing fields of these communist terrorists before the creation of the task force, there now remains only 3 regions with MINIMAL CPP NPA NDF activity in it.
And in these 3 remaining regions, the strength of these communist terrorists have been significantly reduced so that it is reasonable to expect that when the President steps down on June 30, they will be virtually non existent.
In Region 12 for instance, out of the 10 guerilla fronts and 18 platoons that existed in 2016, there now remain only 2 weakened GFs that are on their way to being totally dismantled and just 3 platoons that are on their way to complete annihilation as well.
We therefore view with amusement Walden Bello’s anachronistic statement that “In the military mind, every protest is a terrorist act.”
It makes us understand why Bello and people like him who are so stuck in the 70s are on the tail end of this political race. (The statistically and politically insignificant 0.1% for Bello.)
This view that our soldiers are fascists is the lie foisted on us by the CPP NPA NDF and their allies and this no longer hold water with our countrymen who have made the AFP the most trusted agency in our government- which is far more than anyone can say about politicians like Bello.
The Filipino people have experienced the faithful defense and protection of our real heroes and heroines: our men and women in uniform.
And even better to us is seeing our people wake up to the Truth about the fronts of the CPP NPA NDF and their deep infiltration of ALL sectors of Philippine society and have joined us in fighting to end this 53 year communist terrorist scourge.
Bello is also wrong in asking for the scrapping of the Anti Terrorism Law- this beautiful piece of legislation that has recently been declared constitutional by our Supreme Court despite the numerous objections to it by the CPP NPA NDF and its fronts and allies.
This Law has the full capacity to defend and protect our country and our people from terrorists who are, naturally, the proponents of so much disinformation about it.
To answer the students’ question: yes, please join progressive groups.
Just make sure the groups you join are truly progressive and not just those who proclaim themselves to be progressive in order to reel you in and once in, lead you to radicalization then recruitment into the terrorist NPA.
To be clearer about this, terrorist fronts like KABAG are not progressive but regressive, irrelevant and obsolete.
Terrorism and activism are diametrically opposed from each other. And any group that lies to you about who they truly are - like CPP fronts : KABATAAN, ACT, BAYAN MUNA, ANAKPAWIS and GABRIELA does —so that they can recruit you to be NPAs are regressive as hell.
Please STAY AWAY from groups the NTF ELCAC has clearly identified as CPP NPA NDF.
Our country is moving forward and the peace that has eluded us for so long is now here.
We only need to stand together and remember what our President said, “…they are really legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Para hindi ninyo makalimutan ang KABAG ng tiyan: KABATAAN, K, ANAKPAWIS, A, BAYAN MUNA, B, ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TEACHERS ACT, A, GABRIELA, G.”
Magtulungan tayo.
Undersecretary Lorraine Marie T. Badoy
NTF ELCAC Spokesperson for Sectoral Concerns