RTF ELCAC to reach out to victims of CPP-NPA extortion

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 10, 2021): RTF ELCAC to reach out to victims of CPP-NPA extortion (By Perla Lena)

SUPPORT. Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Debold Sinas receives arrival honors during his visit to Police Regional Office 6 headquarters on Monday (Feb. 8, 2021). Sinas assured the support of the PNP to the advocacies of the RTF ELCAC, said associate provincial prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, chairperson of the task force’s Legal Cooperation Cluster. (PNA photo courtesy of PRO 6 FB page)

ILOILO CITY – The Western Visayas Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (WV RTF ELCAC) will reach out to sectors victimized by the revolutionary taxation of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA).

“This will be the first concerted effort to reach out to victims of extortion activities of NPA,” said associate provincial prosecutor Flosemer Chris Gonzales, chairperson of the Legal Cooperation Cluster (LCC) of the task force in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Gonzales said during their meeting with Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Debold Sinas on Feb. 8, they also updated him on cases filed against communist terrorist groups (CTGs) and the task force’s advocacies in universities.

The specific coordination will be done by a concerned government agency such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for businesses and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for contractors.

Gonzales said they would like to assure those who have been victims of the extortion activities of the NPA of their security.

Sinas, he said, has committed that the PNP will be at the disposal of the task force to support its advocacies.

“So there is an assurance that the PNP is onboard, including their community relations division to assist RTF ELCAC in our advocacies,” Gonzales said.

Meanwhile, in term of cases against CTGs, he said there are cases pending with the prosecutor’s office while some are already filed in court.

The CPP-NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

Sinas visited the regional headquarters of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO6) in Camp Martin Delgado on Monday after leading the groundbreaking ceremony of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) on Negros Occidental.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1130208