Anti-terror law ‘only weapon’ vs. NPA’s ‘senseless ideologies’

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 9, 2021): Anti-terror law ‘only weapon’ vs. NPA’s ‘senseless ideologies’ (By Lade Jean Kabagani)

SUPPORT ANTI-TERROR LAW. Members of the League of Parents of the Philippines and Liga Independencia Pilipinas hold a peace rally to express their support for the Anti-Terror Law in front of the Supreme Court in Manila City on Tuesday (Feb. 9, 2021). The groups urged the Supreme Court and the government to act on the termination of Joma Sison's asylum status in the Netherlands. (Contributed photo)

The Anti-Terror Law is the “only weapon of those who are silently going against the senseless ideologies” of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA), a leader of an anti-communist organization said on Tuesday.

Remy Rosadio, League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) chair, maintained the necessity of the law anew to end the long-standing violence of communist terrorist groups and other terrorist organizations in the country.

"For us parents, the anti-terror law is our only hope of providing security to our children against illegal recruitment, deceptions, and brainwashing activities of the CPP-NPA," Rosadio said. "For 52 years, the CPP-NPA-NDF has been deceiving us, victimizing our children for their senseless cause."

Members of LPP and Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI), alongside parents of student activists who were reportedly recruited by various militant groups, gathered in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday to voice out their support for the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 or the Anti-Terror Law.

During the resumption of the oral arguments on the 37 petitions against the law at the high court, anti-communist groups protested against the atrocities perpetrated by NPA, the CPP's armed wing, as well as the alleged recruitment of child warriors by its supposed legal-front organizations.

They also railed against unscrupulous exploitation and abuses by NPA rebels of vulnerable sectors such as indigenous peoples (IP).

The groups also urged the Supreme Court and high-ranking government officials to act on the revocation of CPP founding chair Jose Maria Sison's asylum status in the Netherlands.

Manipulating vulnerable sectors

Rosadio cited the abuses suffered by women and children in the hands of NPA rebels in remote areas of the country.

NPA rebels are also manipulating marginalized sectors to overthrow the government, she added.

"We were silent before because some were afraid to go against the tyranny of the terrorist CPP-NPA and in some remote areas within provinces, the NPA repeatedly abusing poor families and children--and using them to fight against the government," Rosadio said.

Meanwhile, LIPI Secretary-General Jose Antonio “Ka Pep” Goitia said the law will free the country from terrorism.

“It is the policy of the State to protect life, liberty, and property from terrorism, to condemn terrorism as inimical and dangerous to the national security of the country and to the welfare of the people, and to make terrorism a crime against humanity and against The Law of Nations," Goitia said. "The State shall uphold the basic rights and fundamental liberties of the people as enshrined in the Constitution."

During the protest, anti-communist groups burned Sison’s effigy, as they called on the government and the Supreme court to exert more efforts in sending back Sison to the Philippines "so that he can fairly face the filed raps against him."

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1130163