NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — Hermogenes Esperon Jr., deputy head of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), said an election period does not suspend the operation of a legitimate arm of government, especially in ensuring peace and order.

This comes as the body’s 12 cluster heads signed and filed counter-affidavits on Wednesday in response to the Makabayan Bloc and its allies’ Omnibus Election Code complaints filed against them on March 25.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the 1987 Constitution entrusts the state with maintaining peace and order, protecting life, liberty, and property, and promoting the general welfare. An election period neither suspends the operation of a legitimate arm of government like the National Task Force-ELCAC, nor the government’s function in carrying out the whole-of-nation and whole-of-government approach in combating the communist-terrorist group known as the CPP-N.”

Esperon, who is also the National Security Adviser, claimed that the state’s function is not suspended during election season and that public personnel is not rendered useless in carrying out and proclaiming the President’s view, attitude, and direction.

“During an election season, the performance of public employees in their obligation to communicate the official attitude of the President and the administration is even more important,” he added.

“Neither a ban on public officers’ right to freely express their opinions and views, nor a refuge for candidates, parties, and groups to be shielded from any expression, statement, or action of a public officer, especially if done in the performance of their duty under the orders and mandate of the President of the Philippines,” Esperon added.

The vice-chair of the NTF-ELCAC stated that the Omnibus Election Code should be harmonized with other new and relevant legislation and should not be utilized to punish public officials who simply execute, comply with, or repeat the President’s policy and words.

“Most importantly, it is the height of irony and injustice when individuals or groups cry red-tagging as an election offense when the complaint that they filed is based on imaginative speculation that all public officers of the NTF-ELCAC are automatically guilty of partisan political activity by their mere association with the NTF-ELCAC,” he continued.

Esperon also stated that the complainants’ selective handpicking of NTF-ELCAC public officers as respondents in this case, all without any basis and without any allegation or proof of the respondents’ participation in the overt act alleged, betrays their biased prejudice and harassment against the state’s duly constituted authorities.

“The complainants’ bucket of shallow complaint affidavit, beyond simple media hype and cooked up claims, needs to be junked and dismissed outright by the Honorable Commission on Elections, the Law Department thereof,” he added.

Esperon had previously indicated his support for the anti-insurgency body’s 12 cluster leaders, who had been sued by the Makabayan Bloc and its allies for allegedly breaking several provisions of the Omnibus Election Code.

The following are the NTF-ELCAC cluster heads:

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, Cluster Head Undersecretary for Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support (PLEDS); Reynaldo B. Mapagu, Cluster Head Undersecretary for E-CLIP and Amnesty Program (EAP); Cesar B. Yano, Cluster Head Undersecretary for Peace, Law Enforcement, and Development Support (PLEDS); Cesar B. Yano, Cluster Head Undersecretary for E-CLIP and Amnesty Program (EAP); Cesar B.

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.”

The United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines have all designated the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

The Anti-Terrorism Council formally recognized the NDF as a terrorist group on June 23, 2021, identifying it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA, which was established in April 1973.

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