Read this in the Manila Times digital edition.

THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) supports and has mobilized its forces to support the presidential candidacy of Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, according to my sources.

They confirmed Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s revelations last week that Communist legal fronts have infiltrated Robredo’s campaign organization.

Lacson also claimed that his intelligence sources reported that the Communists asked their mass base to join recent rallies of the Robredo-Kiko Pangilinan group, unexpectedly swelling their ranks. A senior Cavite government official told me, “All of our leaders have reported that many of those who have joined the Gen[eneral] The Triassic gathering came from the CPP network in southern Luzon.”

Rather foolishly, a statement by the CPP’s director of information, Marco Valbuena, published on the insurgency’s website, cpp.ph, which sought to deny allegations by Lacson – whom he called “the attack dog of Duterte” – was quite commendable for Robredo; indeed, confirming his support for the vice-president:

“The Robredo-Pangilinan campaign is proving to be the most formidable electoral challenge for the ruling Duterte clique. So far, it is the Robredo campaign and rallies that have succeeded in bringing together the widest range of democratic forces. “

However, the CPP press release specifies that “neither the CPP nor the NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) have reached an agreement” with the Robredo camp. My sources claimed that the statement is accurate, as the CPP and Robredo’s inner circles are still negotiating how much the CPP should be “reimbursed” for its costs of mobilizing its forces for Robredo. Ironically, according to the sources, Robredo’s camp is trying to secure such funding from an anti-Duterte Filipino American in New York as well as entities known to fund anti-Duterte news sites like Rappler, Vera Files, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and the Center for Media Freedom and Accountability.

The CPP also demands that the Robredo camp publish an official statement in which it undertakes to open peace talks with the Communists as soon as it takes power.

The CPP had in fact made an earlier statement that only falls a short way from qualifying Robredo as the ideal president for the county, which he therefore supports. The March 7 editorial of the party newspaper Ang Bayan said: “As the election campaign heats up, large rallies supporting Leni Robredo are gaining momentum across the country, rallying the people’s anger against fascism, corruption and the betrayal of the Duterte regime.

Strong

Indeed, rallies have been the Communists’ forte, for over 40 years and the CPP’s statement is its message to Robredo, that they have much to contribute to his tactic now of portraying that more and more Filipinos la support.

Another communist highlight – getting a small group of executives from an organization to issue a statement supposedly by the entire organization, when most “signatories” simply accepted the manifesto and hadn’t really studied it – recently tagged Robredo’s campaign, such as “Economists for Leni”, “Students and graduates of Pisay for Leni”, “Students of Ateneo for Leni” which was mocked by posting on Facebook a photo of posters of Robredo in a cemetery, with the caption “Mga Bangkay para ok Leni.” I doubt, however, that the Pinks post on Facebook: “Mga Komunista para kay Leni.”

However, I don’t think communist support for Robredo will increase his votes. The two party lists most identified with the Communists – Bayan Muna and Anakpawis – got only 606,566 and 367,376 votes in the 2016 elections, and not all supporters of these organizations are likely to vote for Robredo, if they are. -even fans of Ferdinand “Bongbong”. Marcos Jr. Communist support would likely backfire on Robredo, with most Filipinos familiar with the bloody toll of the Communist insurgency in the country.

Robredo actually has a most unholy alliance behind her: a faction of the Catholic Church; the atheistic and violent Communist Party; the number one enemy of the communists as declared in its constitution and its program of action, American imperialism; and a business class section.

Faction

A faction of the Catholic Church since the 1970s had been heavily infiltrated by communists under the guise of crusaders of Latin American-style “liberation theology” (the main proponent having been Edicio de la Torre, now a harmless NGO official) and has therefore been unconditional anti-Marcos activists. They see Duterte as the ideological heir to Marcos, with the son, of course, a resurrection of the father.

The United States is determined to prevent a Marcos presidency right now, mainly because it desperately needs the Philippines to be its puppet and pawn to counter China’s rise as a superpower in the region, a role that President Rodrigo Duterte ably rejected. The communists by dogma are virulently anti-Marcos, towards the father and the son.

Part of the business elite prefers a malleable president – ​​as Benigno Aquino 3e was – rather than a willful president who knows exactly where he will lead the Philippines. There are growing suspicions that the Indonesian group First Pacific led by Manuel Pangilinan backs Robredo, as her longtime manager Albert del Rosario openly backs her and ever since she was officially declared a presidential candidate by this conference outfit of 1Sambayanan press that he was an organizer of. Media coverage of the conglomerate-owned Philippine Star has also become distinctly pro-Robredo in recent months.

bump

I don’t think Robredo’s unholy alliance would hurt Marcos Jr.’s formidable 56-day lead to the May 9 election. 63% will vote for Marcos against 17% for Robredo. The fact that Robredo is hated by Filipinos is confirmed in some way by the social weather station poll conducted from December 12 to 16, which revealed that 40% of Filipinos were unhappy with Robredo’s performance as a deputy. President, a sharp increase from her 27% in September. .

Many communist activists don’t really like the new roles given to them as Robredo activists. “Reds, we’re told to be Pinks. I hate that,” one said.

I challenge Robredo to deny the claims of these columns, by simply issuing a statement, along the following lines:

“The Communist Party and its New People’s Army for more than 50 years have been trying to violently overthrow our democratic system, killing more than 50,000 of our men in uniform and defenseless civilians. Their existence is one of the causes of the poverty of the country, since the anarchy they have created in the areas they have operated cannot create the conditions of peace and security necessary for the government to provide services to its citizens and for businesses to operate , I reject any form of cooperation with the communists in my campaign to win the presidency.”

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