THE COMMUNIST Party of the Philippines (CPP) has vehemently dismissed recent remarks by Davao City First District Representative Paolo Duterte against the New People’s Army (NPA) as “garbage” and a “desperate attempt” to cover up alleged crimes of the Duterte family.
In a statement sent by “Ka Maybelle,” media liaison of the CPP Information Bureau to TIMES, the armed communist movement accused Rep. Duterte of attempting to divert public attention from “grave abuses and crimes of the Duterte family, especially his father.”
“Puno ng basura ang bunganga ni Pulong, na ibinubuga niya para pagtakpan ang maruming kasaysayan ng pamilyang Duterte,” ayon kay Marco Valbuena, punong upisyal sa impormasyon ng CPP.
“Kahiya-hiya at nakasusuklam ang pagpapanggap ni Duterte sa pananawagan niya sa diumano’y mga ‘biktima ng NPA at droga,’ gayong ang ama niya na si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang nasasakdal sa krimen laban sa sangkatauhan sa libu-libong pinatay sa ipinag-utos nitong ‘gera sa droga,’” said Marco Valbuena, chief information of the CPP.
The CPP particularly criticized Rep. Duterte’s call to alleged “victims of the NPA and drugs,” calling it “shameful and sickening.”
The group highlighted that former President Rodrigo Duterte, Paolo’s father, is currently facing charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, related to alleged crimes against humanity stemming from his “war on drugs” that resulted in thousands of deaths.
“Nakakulong ngayon si Rodrigo Duterte sa The Hague, Netherlands para humarap sa mga kasong nakasampa laban sa kanya sa International Criminal Court (ICC). Pilit pinagtatakpan ng mga Duterte at kanilang mga kasapakat ang malawakang kampanya ng extrajudicial killings, paglabag sa karapatang-tao, at kawalang-katarungan,” it said.
According to the CPP, the Dutertes and their allies are “desperately trying to cover up the widespread campaign of extrajudicial killings, human rights violations, and injustice.”
“Hindi ang NPA, kundi si Duterte, ang teroristang naghatid ng walang kapantay na sindak at troma sa milyun-milyong Pilipino, kapwa sa gera sa droga, at sa ginawa nitong malawakang pambobomba at panganganyon sa mga pamayanan sa kanayunan (It is not the NPA, but Duterte, who is the terrorist who brought unparalleled terror and trauma to millions of Filipinos, both in the war on drugs and in his widespread bombing and shelling of rural communities),” the CPP statement asserted.
The CPP noted in their statement that former President Rodrigo Duterte initiated his “fake war on drugs” in Davao before expanding it nationwide, and that he “ruled Davao City with an iron fist for almost four decades.”
Valbuena further questioned Rep. Duterte’s moral authority, stating, “Walang moral na awtoridad si Pulong na mangaral sa mga biktima ng karahasan, gayong siya nga ang nahuli na nananakit, nambubugbog at nagsasamantala sa kababaihan (Pulong has no moral authority to preach to victims of violence, when he himself has been caught hurting, beating, and exploiting women).”
The statement from the CPP comes as First District Rep. Paolo Z. Duterte issued a call for victims of illegal drugs and the New People’s Army (NPA) to break their silence and expose the “true cruelty and deception” of these groups.
In a public statement, Duterte emphasized that “the time has come for you not to remain silent. The time has come to expose the true cruelty and deception of criminals and rebel groups that continue to destroy our society.”
He unequivocally labeled the NPA as a “terrorist organization,” asserting that “they are not victims. They are the reason why thousands of Filipinos—soldiers, police, teachers, farmers, youth—have lost their lives, homes, and future.”
