LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines – Communist rebels in Bicol collect between P20,000 and P500,000 from politicians to allow them to campaign in areas under their control, the military said yesterday.
Quoting a list recovered from a slain New People’s Army (NPA) rebel, Maj. Harold Cabunoc, spokesman of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division based in Bicol, told The STAR candidates for Congress and governor are charged half a million pesos each; P50,000 for vice governor; P30,000 each for councilor and board member; and P20,000 for a vice mayoralty candidate.
“We will try to make some more in-depth investigation on this matter. Of course we don’t expect any politician to be easily admitting to securing this so-called permit-to-campaign,” he said.
Troops found a small notebook containing the list from the backpack of a dead NPA rebel following an encounter in Magallanes, Sorsogon where two rebels were killed and two soldiers wounded, he added.
However, Greg Bañares, National Democratic Front spokesman in Bicol, denied that the NPA is demanding money from politicians as permit-to-campaign fees.
“It is not true that we are issuing permit-to-campaign in exchange for such amounts that will allow these politicians to campaign in the rebel-influenced or controlled areas,” he told Bombo Radyo Legazpi in Filipino.
Bañares said the rebels are issuing “access permit” to candidates friendly to them, but denied demanding money, saying they “just give in-kind help to us.”