CA to grill AFP chief on ‘enemies of the state’ list

Congressmen sitting in the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) will grill Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Efren Abu on the controversial list of so-called "enemies of the state" drawn up by the military’s intelligence service.

Representative Prospero Pichay Jr., of Surigao del Sur, Jardin Jesus Romualdo of Camiguin, Marcelino Libanan of Eastern Samar, Aurelio Umali of Nueva Ecija and Eduardo Veloso of Leyte said yesterday they would seek from Abu an explanation as to why the 32 organizations are on the list.

"He should tell us why the military is considering each of these groups as an ally or a potential ally of the Communist Party of the Philippines and therefore an enemy of the state," they said.

Pichay is CA vice chairman, while Romualdo chairs the commission’s defense committee that is conducting confirmation hearings on the AFP chief.

Romualdo said he would schedule a hearing soon so that Abu could present the controversial list that forms part of the "Know Your Enemy" compact disk and Powerpoint presentation that the AFP leadership had distributed to military camps.

He noted that military intelligence came up with the controversial petition under Abu’s watch.

Among the organizations that the AFP considers to be "enemies of the state" are the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Philippine Independent Church, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, the government workers’ group Courage, College Editors Guild of the Philippines, Free Legal Assistance Group, and several militant labor and peasant groups that the military has long suspected to be communist fronts. – Jess Diaz