The Defense department downplayed the moves by the Communist Party of the Philippines which called for an unholy alliance with groups opposed to the government to topple President Rodrigo Duterte from power.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the latest move by the CPP was published through its official publication, calling on its cadres to work towards the downfall of President Duterte and build an alliance with anti-Duterte groups.
“The CPP’s call for an unholy alliance with all groups opposed to the government to bring down the President, “even those with the biggest contradiction with the revolutionary forces,” brings to light their bankrupt ideology,” Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana said the CPP’s plan is to launch campaigns, “both armed and unarmed to deal serious blows to the regime and weaken it until it falls.”
“This latest statement of the CPP-NPA once again shows how far these communist-terrorist are from the truth and how years of propagating lies have deluded their sense of reality,” the defense chief said.
However, Lorenzana assured that the defense and military institutions will protect President Duterte and every Filipinos as well as defend the institutions from the wicked-minded ideology of the CPP-NPA.
Lorenzana said that Duterte is far from being “increasingly isolated” from the Filipino people after garnering a high 82-percent approval and trust rating in the latest survey.
“Our countrymen can be rest assured that your Defenders will do our utmost duty to protect everyone, especially the duly elected President of our country from the likes of the terrorist CPP-NPA,” he said.
“We will guard the institutions which are sacred to our democratic way of life and not let any group destroy the ideals which our nation’s forefathers fought and died for,” Lorenzana said.
He said that the CPP’s plan of action manifests desperation since the movement is now crumbling from within.
“They have already lost their mass-based support and their members are returning to the folds of the law as their motives and criminal acts have already been exposed to their former cadres and the entire Filipino nation,” Lorenzana said.
The military, meanwhile said it has significantly reduced the NPA’s strength along with its armaments and its influence in the countryside has dwindled in two years of anti-insurgency operations across the country.
“For 2016 and 2017, we have been successful as we were able to significantly reduce their strength to include their firearms and affected barangays,” said Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Gen. Rey Guerrero.
Guerrero said they intend to reduce further the NPA forces by half in 2018 which is at present is placed at about 3,700 cadres.