The Philippine Army yesterday challenged priest-turned-rebel Frank Fernandez to prove his claims of being pro-people, by doing good for Negrenses, and not by propagating violence.
This was the response of Col. Jon Aying, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, to the claims of Fernandez, spokesman of the National Democratic Front-Negros, that the “Marching for Peace, Serving the Countryside” initiative of the Provincial Peace Integration and Development Unit, of which the military and police are among its members, is part of the Oplan Bayanihan psy-war efforts to dismantle NPA guerilla units in Negros island.
Aying said Fernandez and the CPP-NPA in Negros should help uplift the lives of the people, and not destroy their lives.
In a statement issued by the NDF, Fernandez said that “Marching for Peace” is a grandiose display of terrorism in the 5th district, stressing that it failed to destroy a guerilla front in northern Negros, where a similar activity was held last year.
Organizers of the peace and development activities in the 1st and 5th districts of Negros Occidental had described as “successful” the Pro-PIDU initiatives in their conflict-affected communities.
But Fernandez said the transfer of the “Marching for Peace, Serving the Countryside” activities from the 1st to the 5th district of Negros Occidental is a desperate attempt of Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Aying to give foreign capitalists and investors a free hand in pushing their business interests in the area.
Aying invited the NPA rebels who are already tired of the armed struggle to join the government in providing solutions to the poverty problem, which cannot be solved through violent means.
In Negros Occidental alone, more than 100 rebels have already surrendered to the government since 2012, military records show.
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