RTF 6-ELCAC slams party-list justification of Masbate killing

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 11, 2021): RTF 6-ELCAC slams party-list justification of Masbate killing (By Perla Lena)

NO JUSTIFICATION. Associate Provincial Prosecutor Flosemer Chris I. Gonzales in a statement on Thursday (June 10, 2021) challenges the Kabataan party-list to get real. He said that they should stop giving first-aid to the image of the CPP-NPA. (PNA file photo)

The justification provided by the Kabataan Party-list to the gruesome killing perpetrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) on the Absalon cousins in Masbate translates into a "bigger tragedy".

This, according to Associate Prosecutor Flosemer Chris I. Gonzales, the spokesperson for the Western Visayas Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF 6-ELCAC), on Thursday following the statement of the party-list blaming the government for the CPP-NPA's use of arms in the killings of Far Eastern University football player Kieth Absalon and his cousin Nolven Absalon.

"Para sa tagapagsalita ng Kabataan Party-list, hindi mo puedeng ibaling sa gobyerno ang ginawang pagpaslang ng mga pulang mandirigma ng NPA sa magpinsang Absalon (To the spokesperson of the Kabataan Party-list, you cannot blame the government for the act of murder committed by the red fighters of the NPA to the Absalon cousins)," Gonzales said in a statement furnished to the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Gonzales said the party-list has been very diligent in attempting to divert the issue and transfer the blame to the government to cushion the impact of the negative reaction of the public towards the CPP-NPA.

He challenged the group to stop giving "first-aid" to its image as the public is already aware of the real nature of the terrorist group.

"Sila ay mga huwad na rebolusyonaryo at mga teroristang pumapatay ng mga sibilyan (They are fake revolutionaries and they are terrorists who kill civilians)," he said.

He challenged the party-list to "get real" otherwise they only acted as the spokesperson backing up the CPP-NPA.

He added that they can simply condemn the atrocities but instead justified the violent incident.

Gonzales said the senseless killing of the Absalon cousins deserved no justification.

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

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1143309