NextGen Day

MANILA – Vice-chair Hermogenes Esperon Jr. of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) expressed support for the 12 anti-insurgency body’s cluster heads who were previously sued by the Makabayan Bloc and its allies for allegedly violating various provisions of the Omnibus Election Code.

“I am expressing my support for the twelve national clusters leaders of the Task Force as the National Security Adviser and Vice-Chair of the NTF-ELCAC. The NTF-ELCAC has been properly upholding its mandate of protecting the Republic from dangers posed by the Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) through its appropriate cluster heads “In a statement released on Wednesday, he stated.

Esperon was referring to the cluster chiefs of the NTF-ELCAC, namely:

Lorraine Marie T. Badoy, Undersecretary for Strategic Communication (StratCom);

*Undersecretary Marlo L. Iringan, Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building, and Empowerment (SUCBEM), Localized Peace Engagement (LPE), Basic Services (BS), and Local Government Empowerment (LGE) Clusters Head

*Alex Paul I. Monteagudo, Director General of the Situational Awareness and Knowledge Management (SAKM) Cluster;

*Deputy Director-General Gabriel Luis R. Quisumbing, Cluster Head for Poverty Reduction, Livelihood, and Employment (PRLE);

*IRM Cluster Head Undersecretary Maximo L. Carvajal and Assistant Secretary Nonita S. Caguioa; IRM Cluster Head Undersecretary Maximo L. Carvajal and Assistant Secretary Nonita S. Caguioa; IRM Cluster Head Undersecretary Maximo L. Carvajal and Assistant Secretary Nonita S. Caguioa

Cesar B. Yano, Undersecretary of State for Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support (PLEDS);

Reynaldo B. Mapagu, E-CLIP and Amnesty Program (EAP) Cluster Head Undersecretary;

Brigido J. Dulay, Undersecretary of State for International Engagement (IE); and

Justice Angelita V. Miranda is the head of the Legal Cooperation (LC) Cluster.

Makabayan Bloc and its party lists have accused the officials of violating Section 261 paragraphs E, I, and O of the Omnibus Election Code.

Bayan Muna, Kabataan Party, Gabriela Women’s Party, Anakpawis, and Act Teachers Party are among the party lists.

The following are the specific provisions:

“Electoral Offenses. – The following shall be considered election offenses:

Threats, intimidation, terrorism, the use of deceptive devices, or other forms of compulsion…

i. Public officials and employees intervene…

o. Using public funds, money held in trust, government-owned or controlled equipment, or facilities for an election campaign.”

“I’d want to use this opportunity to clarify categorically that the NTF-ELCAC is not in the red-tagging or red-baiting business. We consider this as an useless attempt at deceit and disinformation against a lawful state entity charged with preserving the national interest “Esperon remarked.

“However, I am aware that these party lists are the subject of existing and continuing proceedings before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court. Gabriela, Gabriela, Inc., and Gabriela Women’s Party List utilized their identities interchangeably, according to reports from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and Gabriela is receiving Belgian financial backing through Belgian certified non-governmental organizations (NGOs) “Added he.

These Belgian NGOs were also subjected to an external financial audit by an international accounting firm hired by the Belgian government to audit or evaluate the Programs 2014-2016 and 2017-2021, according to the NTF-ELCAC vice-chair.

“This is an obvious violation of Section 2 paragraph 5, Article 9(C) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which states that political parties that receive financial aid from foreign governments and their agents may have their Comelec registrations revoked. Receiving support from any foreign government is also one of the grounds for the revocation of any political party’s registration, according to Rule 32 Section 8 (D) of the Comelec Rules of Procedure “Added he.

Esperon also claimed that the Kabataan Party is facing a Comelec complaint about violating Rule 32 Section 8 (D) of the Comelec Rules of Procedure.

As a result, the party-list infringed on Section 6 (2) of Republic Act No. 7941, generally known as the Party-list System Act, which stipulates, “It supports violence or unlawful measures to achieve its aim,” according to the report.

“Any organized group of persons seeking registration as a national or regional political party may file with the Commission a verified petition attaching thereto its constitution and by-laws, platform or program of government, and such other relevant information as the Commission may require…”, according to Esperon.

He went on to say that the prosecution against Kabataan Party was based on the testimony of former New People’s Army (NPA) members who testified to the nefarious techniques used by these front groups to fund their cause.

“The Makabayan Bloc once again demonstrates its duplicity by bending the law to their will. They use the same legal system to bring charges against the NTF-ELCAC in order to obscure their own legal burdens, despite the fact that they knowingly and frequently violate the laws regulating organizations. We’re not blind to the irony “Esperon remarked.

He went on to say that he welcomes the Makabayan Bloc’s falsified claims against the NTF-ELCAC, as the organization looks forward to refuting the Makabayan Bloc’s false accusations in court.

This, according to Esperon, will be very valuable since it will expose the dishonesty and hypocrisy that these party-list organizations are known for.

These NTF-ELCAC cluster chiefs signed and filed their counter-affidavits to the charge brought against them on Wednesday.

The United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines have all designated the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA as a terrorist group.

On June 23, 2021, the Anti-Terrorism Council formally recognized the National Democratic Front as a terrorist organization, claiming it as “an integral and inseparable member” of the CPP-NPA formed in April 1973.

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