Army says candidates pay permit to campaign fees in Eastern Visayas

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 12): Army says candidates pay permit to campaign fees in Eastern Visayas

An official of the Philippine Army has confirmed that some local candidates in Eastern Visayas have started to pay their permit to campaign (PTC) fees in order to have access to areas controlled by the New People’s Army (NPA).

Capt. Gene R. Orense, spokesperson of the 8th Infanty Battalion based in Catbalogan City in Samar, said the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee (EVRPC) and its armed group, the NPA, are currently intensifying their extortion activities by way of collecting initial amount for PTC from local candidates.

“Down payments ranging from P50,000 to P100,000 have been paid by some local candidates,” Capt. Orense said.

Orense however refused to identify the candidates but most of them were from Samar and Eastern Samar, where some areas remain to be under the influence of the NPA.

“We are making an appeal to all local candidates for the May 2013 elections to refuse any offer of PTC and PTW fees by the NPAs. Instead let us work together through the spirit of ‘bayanihan’ in ensuring a secured and fair election,” Orense added.

Communist rebels reportedly are cashing in on the 2013 elections by imposing PTC and PTW fees of up to P5 million on political candidates.

Orense said that from successive military operations since 2011, the military recovered subversive documents revealing that one of the NPA plans in the region is to implement the PTC and PTW scheme to all local candidates for the May 2013 elections.

Based on NPA documents recovered by military troops, the NPA in Eastern Visayas is collecting PTC/PTW fees ranging from P50,000 to P5 million.

A candidate for congressman is asked P500,000; while governor and vice-governor are supposed to pay P5 million and P500,000, respectively.

A board member and a mayoralty aspirant is asked P100,000; vice-mayor, P75,000; and councilor, P50,000.

Orense said that aside from the PTC and PTW fees, the NPA is also extorting high powered firearms or an equivalent amount of P180,000 per candidate.

“In the said document, it disclosed that during the previous local elections, the NPA was able to collect PTC and PTW fees coming from the local candidates in the region,” Orense said.

In a recent operation, the military recovered documents which revealed that the extortion scheme by the NPA shall be implemented in three levels.

“The leadership of local communist movement and their armed group focuses in the conduct of discreet local communist movement and their armed group focuses in the conduct of discreet discussions with politicians on the political line, supporting the legal left organizations and direct benefits to their sympathizers,” Orense said.

The second and third levels include the discussing cooperation in the platform ticket, campaign, vote watch, finances and resources for the campaign; and the sympathizers, engaging the negotiations with the politicians regarding the direct benefits they will receive once they pay the so-called permit to campaign and win fees.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Eastern Visayas said there is no such thing as “PTC and PTW fees.”

Rebel priest Santiago Salas, spokesperson of the NDF, said the malicious imputation against the revolutionary organization is part of the Army’s counter-revolutionary propaganda.

“The 8th ID seeks to divert attention away from the fact that the reactionary elections are undemocratic and are used along with state violence to keep the oppressive and exploitative system,” Salas said in a press statement.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515898