Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong (Screengrab)
MANILA – Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong refuses to ally with the Communist terrorist groups or with a legal front organization affiliated with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
In a media briefing on Tuesday evening, Magalong said he was invited to an activity by a youth group identified with the left, but his presence does not mean he is forming an alliance with them.
“I was there to educate the children, to enable the voters to choose the right leader,” Magalong said. “Some party lists are coming to my office and want to paint a picture with the mayor, that happens every day.”
Magalong refers to photos of him along with the Kabataan party list circulating on social media, which netizens urged to ask him.
On Monday, the League of the Parents of the Philippines issued a statement expressing alarm over Magalong’s friendly attitude towards the Kabataan party list.
The parent group also questioned Magalong’s directive banning the publication of so-called red-tagging posters in Tarpaulins in the city of Baguio.
Magalong said he was doing this only to achieve good governance, which he believed was the best way to defeat the insurgency.
He said he had already sent an SMS to National Security Adviser Secretary Hermogenes Esperon as well as to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to ask for a face-to-face meeting with those who accused him.
Magalong assured that he would never be on the side of the communist terrorist groups.
“It’s a good thing (Not us who sacrificed), we were wounded in Abra, for so many years, 1982 to 2005 nakikipaglaban kami (we fought), our lives risk so much time and effort to fight insurgents, “he said.
Before entering politics, Magalong served in the Philippine Constabulary and the Philippine National Police (PNP). He was the former head of the Cordillera Regional Police Office, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management.
Magalong, a graduate of the 1984 Philippine Military Academy Class, is currently the Vice President of the Regional Task Force for Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) in the Cordillera region, he said. can affirm its integrity and passion in the fight against communist terrorists.
NTF-ELCAC Infinite Performance
Magalong, a member of the 1984 Philippine Military Academy class, also expressed extreme respect for President Rodrigo R. Duterte and NTF-ELCAC for their achievements in the fight against insurgency in the country.
“I was participating in ELCAC because I believe in the program, infinitely yung Achievements dunn eh I myself can confirm this because I’ve been fighting the insurgents since I was deputy, You can no longer speak united ang Government, it is a whole government approach to really fight the communist terror group bei Kung Titingnan Mo Yung mga Achievements chat (their achievements are unclear and I can confirm that because I have been fighting the insurgents since I was deputy. I have seen how the government unites, it is a whole government approach to really fight against the CTGs, and if you look at their achievements) it has never happened before, the whole government is moving in one direction, “said Magalong.
He said that his determination to fight the Communists had not diminished and assured that he would continue to fight for what is right to protect the government and the country from the communist insurgency.
He also expressed the hope that the next administration will continue the NTF-ELCAC and its programs.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.
The Anti-Terrorism Council also formally designated the NDF as a terrorist organization on 23 June 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA established in April 1973. (PNA)
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