Dissent, destabilization are the same — Citizen National Guard

MANILA, Philippines — The newly-formed group Citizen National Guard claimed that the country is under siege from the “enemies of the state” who are out to destabilize the government and oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

As far as the CNG is concerned, their so-called “enemies of the state” do not differ from legitimate political dissenters.

“If you are a political opponent, why don’t you stand up categorically and say we are not pushing for regime change? Don’t say that we’re not destabilizers. You say it is our interest and the interest of the country that Mr. Duterte continues as the president for the rest of his term,” CNG founder Antonio Valdes said on ANC’s “Headstart.”

Valdes said it is not enough that people say they are not out to oust the president.

“A denial of being a destabilizer and somebody who’s working for a regime change, it’s like admitting you’re already seditious,” he said.

The former Department of Education undersecretary added: “They should be president if they think they can handle it differently.”

Former Department of National Defense director Horacio Gonzalez said chaos is the objective of the so-called “enemies of the state.”

“Once there’s no strong leader, all of these other sectors will be able to achieve what they want to achieve. The terrorists will be able to forcibly take positions, areas. The same thing with the CPP-NPA, the same thing with the drugs, the same thing with everybody,” Gonzalez said.

“Conspiracy to oust the president [is something that] you can see that on the papers, you can see that on the television, you can hear that on radio. It’s everywhere,” Valdes said.

Although he welcomes criticisms targeted at the president, Gonzalez said critics should let Duterte do his job then file charges after his term.

READ: Aguirre, Acosta back new group against state 'enemies'

Citizen National Guard

CNG is a newly-created group seeking to defend the country, protect the people and support the president.

CNG aims to protect the government from its perceived enemies, namely: ISIS-inspired terrorism, Communist Party of the Philippines-New People Army, drug cartels, seditious political oppositions labeled as “Yellowtards” and foreign intelligence agencies generating international support for regime change.

Valdes clarified that CNG is not a government-sponsored organization but a group that supports Duterte.

“This was born out of people who got together, discussed the problem of the country and because of their love for the country decided together,” Valdes said.

“We believe that the Filipinos are basically soldiers of the country. We are here to protect our country, the land of our birth. Nobody else can do it and we can’t say we can depend on the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police,” Gonzalez said.

He added: “If we stand together as one with the Filipino spirit of nationalism and patriotism then sure the problem of the president won’t be that much.”

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persido Acosta attended the launch of CNG on October 3.

READ: Group alarmed by creation of 'citizens guard' against enemies of state

Progressive group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or BAYAN slammed Aguirre and Acosta over their show of support to CNG.

“This is a dangerous move, as it appears to be an endorsement of armed violence, or a threat thereof, aimed at Duterte critics. That this group has the backing of the DOJ Secretary aims to give it a cloak of legality, no matter how vague the composition and objectives of the group are," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said.

Last week, Duterte accused the Liberal Party of conspiring with the Communist Party of the Philippines to oust him from office.

“But what is really very clear is ‘yung Left, pati ang kaalyado ng Left… ‘yung mga dilaw. Gusto nila ako paalisin dito sa Malacañang (even the Left, the ally of the Left is the yellows. They want me out of Malacañang),” the president said, referring to LP’s color.

Instead of persecuting dissenters, the government should allow people to air their criticisms without fear of retribution, Sen. Bam Aquino said.

READ: Duterte's ouster claim ‘fake, floated to deflect issues’