PCOO premieres anti-terrorism docu ‘CTG’

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 28, 2021): PCOO premieres anti-terrorism docu ‘CTG’

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) premiered Sunday an in-depth documentary focusing on the gains and challenges of our government in eradicating the New People’s Army (NPA) and their acts of terrorism against the Filipino people.

"Aside from the intensive campaign against illegal drugs, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has also strongly pushed for ending the communist armed conflict nationwide," PCOO Secretary Martin M. Andanar said.

Andanar said the 52 years of existence of the communist terrorist group has been a major contributor to the disruption of peace and security in the whole country.

"As time goes by, the communist armed struggle has had extremely negative effects not only in the economy but also in attaining peace and security for our country," he said.

He added that for decades, the Filipino people have experienced brutal abuses, fraud, and bloody violence that have hampered our collective development as a nation.

The full-length documentary explains the organizational structure of the movement as told by former rebels who are now working with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Viewers will also learn about the tragic stories of the victims of atrocities committed by the communist terrorist groups (CTGs).

The late Ka Ruben Guevarra, former Central Committee member and Military Commission of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), said he had to leave his loved ones and go to the mountains to serve the terrorist group.

Meanwhile, according to Lola Agnes, a former rebel who was the first female commander of the NPA in the Bicol region, she once embraced the ideology of the terrorist group. Later on, she realized she was deceived. She recalled that they recruit by taking advantage of the poor people.

One of those who lost faith in the movement was Louie. He shared that the sacrifices he made while he was still a member of the NPA were all for naught.

Now, the former rebels only hope for one thing – that no one gets to be deceived by the NPA anymore.

The “CTG” documentary shows a group of former rebels in Bukidnon, trained to recruit back the people they once deceived and help them return to the folds of the government.

It also follows the untold stories of our modern heroes – the valiant members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) who are at the forefront of our battle against the terrorist group.

Meanwhile, National Security Adviser and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) Vice-Chair, Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., said the over five decades of government intervention to dismantle the Communist Party of the Philippines - NPA - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) has resulted in 113,000 casualties. There were 100,000 deaths recorded related to the CPP-NPA-NDF's terror attacks on civilians and uniformed personnel.

"Ang number one political security threat ay ang Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) dahil gusto nilang pataubin, patalsikin ang gobyerno, upang sila ang mamuno sa Pilipinas at ginagawa nila ito ng 52 years na (The number one political security threat is the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), because they want to topple the government, so they can take over the leadership in the Philippines and they have been doing this for 52 years)," Esperon said.

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

The “CTG: An Anti-terrorism Documentary" was aired at 9:30 pm on PTV-4 and IBC-13. It was also live-streamed on the Presidential Communications Operations Office and other government-affiliated social media pages.

Media outlets are free to share and use the video materials and short documentaries. For inquiries, please e-mail pcooglobalmedia@pco.gov.ph.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1135166