Military: ‘Red October gone but plot vs Duterte still on’

MANILA, Philippines – While the reported “Red October” plan has fizzled out, the communist destabilization plot against the Duterte government is still on, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said yesterday.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo claimed the communist leadership is planning to unleash it in time for the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)’s golden anniversary on Dec. 26.

“We described this destabilization plot as rolling as the communist leadership intends to sustain their  anti-government moves this October, November and until their December founding anniversary celebration,” Arevalo said.

This is the reason why the military, he said, is not letting its guard down and is intensifying its combat, civil-military and intelligence operations all aimed at weakening the communists’ organizational structure.

Arevalo attributed the arrest of four suspected New People’s Army (NPA) amazons identified as Yolanda Diamsay, Eulalia Pangkaliwangan Ladesma, Rachel Acana  Galario and Elaine Ezdel Amocling to the military’s sustained anti-insurgency campaign across the country.

Army and police troops cornered the four, reportedly while on a recruitment mission, at Sitio 32, Barangay Agbannawag, Rizal, Nueva Ecija last Saturday afternoon.

Of the four, Amocling turned out to be a student of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, one of 18 colleges and universities that the military has tagged as the NPA’s recruitment hubs.

Earlier, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that the military has already neutralized the Red October plot, an alleged move hatched by anti-government groups against the Duterte administration.

With the neutralization of the Red October plot, Lorenzana said the Filipino people can look forward to celebrating a  white Christmas.

Code of Ethics

Amid talks of the continuing destabilization against the Duterte administration, AFP chief Gen. Carlito Galvez led soldiers in the renewal of their oath to abide by the AFP Code of Ethics in yesterday’s traditional flag-raising ceremony.

Military officers and enlisted personnel from the different branches of services assigned at Camp Aguinaldo renewed their pledge to abide by the Code of Conduct and Ethnical Standard for Military Personnel in the AFP.

“We should not seek for our personal interests and instead, we should always focus on the betterment of the organization as we fulfill our mandate in serving the state,” Galvez told the troops.

The Code of Ethics reminds soldiers to obey the chain of command and follow the core values and traditions of valor, duty, honor, solidarity and loyalty to the Constitution.

Slay plot vs Trump

The presence of heads of state means the threat level is always high, according to Philippine National Police chief Director General Oscar Albayalde, as he revealed reports that the United States Secret Service exposed a plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump while the latter was in Manila late last year.

Ripe for rejection

Meanwhile, President Duterte’s candidates are ripe for rejection because of his regime’s aggravation of problems like high prices of basic commodities and the deterioration of Philippine economy, according to CPP founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison.

In a statement posted on the National Democratic Front (NDF) website on Saturday, Sison said Duterte is culpable for the aggravation of all the foregoing problems of his regime and has no solution to offer.

“Therefore, the regime will stink further from month to month and will ripen for rejection in the May 2019 elections or for ouster sooner than later,” Sison said.

It is fine that Duterte has admitted lately that tough economic times are ahead for the Filipino people now reeling from the inflationary conditions, Sison said.

The NDF’s chief political consultant added that Duterte contradicted his previous declaration in Bali, Indonesia that the Philippine economy is on an upward trajectory.

“But he holds the narrow and deceptive view that rising oil prices is the only cause of the rising prices of basic goods and services in the Philippines. By this, he absolves himself from his culpabilities for the following: TRAIN 1 and 2, which cut back the taxes on corporations and the wealthy and imposes the tax burden on the consuming public in the form of excise and value-added taxes,” Sison said, referring to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion.

Duterte is also culpable for the corruption in huge discretionary funds of the President and pork barrel corruption among members of Congress, according to Sison. – With Jose Rodel Clapano, Cecille Suerte Felipe