Anti-com leader says NPA behind text messages

The anti-communist leader and chairman of the Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy, Pastor "Jun" Alcover, has suspected that the New People's Army was responsible in sending text messages to Camp Crame about the alleged plan to kill prominent personalities in Cebu.

In an interview over dyDD Bantay Radyo, Alcover just laughed at the report that he and his men, Inayagan, Naga barangay captain Narciso Boy Tablate and Boy Calderon have planned to kill Police Regional Office-7 director, C/Supt. Silverio Alarcio Jr., Mayor Tomas Osmeña, National Bureau of Investigation-7 director Medardo Delimos and Naga Mayor Valdemar Chiong.

Alcover said that it is a clear propaganda of the communist group, which he used to fight for, but now his so-called number one enemy.

Alcover was once a member of the communist group, but left and joined the government side and campaigned against communism which may have angered the rebels.

Alarcio learned about the threat when Tablate appeared in his office to clear his name last Monday morning.

PNP text hotline 2927, based Camp Crame, received the first set of text messages last May 18, the day when Alarcio took over as PRO-7 director. Almost the same set of text messages were again sent to the same text hotline on June 22. These text messages were then referred by Camp Crame to PRO-7 last Friday to validate the report.

In a related development, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday signed Executive Order No. 10, series of 2006, providing for the creation of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Insurgency Task Force.

This is to give teeth and substance to the all-out-war declaration made by the governor against communist terrorists, especially those that are operating in the Province of Cebu.

The executive order explained that the creation of the task force is supported by the Local Government Code, which empowers the province of Cebu, as a local government unit, to enact, implement measures for the promotion of the general welfare of its constituent

"There is now a need for the Province of Cebu to take the lead and have an active part in confronting the said alarming situation in all fronts for the eradication of insurgency not only in the Province of Cebu, but also throughout the entire country," the executive order read.

The task force is composed of the governor as the chairman; the Cebu Provincial Police director, Regional Mobile Group director, and the battalion commander/s of the Philippine Army units actually deployed in the province as co-chairpersons; the chairman of the Sangguniang Panglungsod committee on peace and order, chairman of the Intelligence Task Group in the region, chief of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division of the PRO-7, chief of the Regional Intelligence Office, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7, and chairman of the legal division of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Insurgency Task Force and its members.

Sitting as special consultants are PRO-7 deputy regional director for administration Senior Supt. Ronald Roderos and deputy regional director for operations Senior Supt. Lani-o Nerez.

The order further provides two duties and responsibilities of the task force: to study, map out and implement, in coordination with the national government, programs, activities and the courses of action for the attainment of its primary objective, which is the eradication of insurgency in the province of Cebu; and to perform such other duties and functions in relation to and in furtherance with its aforementioned and primary objective. -Gregg M. Rubio and Cristina C. Birondo