ILOILO City – Thirty-two elected local officials in Western Visayas enjoyed the support of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the May midterm elections, according to the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6). Are these officials now paying the rebels back with support, too?
The rebels campaigned for them, said PRO-6 spokesperson Police Lieutenant Joem Malong, citing intelligence reports.
Of these 32 officials, 11 were elected mayor and six were elected vice mayor, she added.
In Iloilo province, the rebels supported five mayors, two vice mayors and nine municipal councilors while in Capiz, they campaigned for four mayors, two vice mayors and three town councilors, said Malong.
“We are monitoring them,” she said.
In Negros Occidental, two elected mayors, two vice mayors, two municipal councilors, and a provincial board member enjoyed the backing of the NPA, said Malong.
“We have identified them,” according to the PRO-6 spokesperson but she declined to name them.
During elections, NPA rebels are known to impose “permit to campaign fees” on candidates intending to enter rebel-influenced areas.
Malong acknowledged it would be difficult to prove that these local officials are now paying the insurgents back with monetary or logistical support unless witnesses surface.
“We need physical evidence to pin them down,” said Malong.
Local officials proven to be supportive of rebels face criminal and administrative charges.
“We are warning these local officials to stop supporting rebels,” said Malong.
The figures of the PRO-6 were not far from those of the Philippine Army.
The 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) monitored 37 candidates who financially supported the NPA, according to Lieutenant Colonel Joel Benedict Batara, battalion commander.
Fifteen of these candidates won either as mayors or members of the Sangguniang Bayan in Iloilo and Capiz, said Batara.
In the months leading to the May polls, certain candidates were “consistently monitored to be giving support to the NPA, including some candidates who gave in on the rebels’ ‘permit to win’ and ‘permit to campaign’ (fees),” Batara said.
“If we have gathered enough concrete evidence, appropriate charges would be filed against them,” including for terrorism, Batara said.
Under Republic Act (RA) 10168, terrorism is considered inimical and dangerous to the country’s national security. Terrorism is, thus, condemned, including those who support and finance acts of terrorism.
The same law further criminalizes the financing of terrorism. In particular, it freezes and forfeits the property or funds of those designated terrorists or terrorist organizations. This is done in order to prevent and suppress terrorist activities.
Under Section 4 of RA 10168, persons found guilty of terrorist financing “shall suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal in its maximum period to reclusion perpetua” and be made to pay a fine of not less than P500,000 nor more than P1 million.
Furthermore, Batara said, local government units (LGUs), particularly the local chief executives, should spearhead efforts to end the insurgency problem.
The United States and European Union have labeled the NPA and its political body, the Communist Party of the Philippines, as an international terror organization. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
