Yes, we’re red-tagging Elago: ex-NPA officer

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 2, 2021): Yes, we’re red-tagging Elago: ex-NPA officer (By Lade Jean Kabagani) 

CASES FILED. Luisa Espina (left), the mother of missing activist Louvaine Erika whom she has not seen since 2018, gets support from fellow members of the Hands Off Our Children Movement Inc. during the filing of criminal cases against communist terrorist group leaders at the Department of Justice on Friday (Oct. 1, 2021). Espina called for an end to youth recruitment by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front through front organizations. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

Former rebels and cadres can best directly identify who are behind the operations of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

Jeffrey Celiz, also known as Ka Eric Almendras while with the NPA, slammed Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago for denying anew her ties with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

"Tigilan na ni CPP operative Sarah Elago ang playing victim and paawa effect na style nya. Hindi na ito bumibenta sa mamamayang Pilipino (CPP operative Sarah Elago should stop playing the victim. No one will believe her even if she craves for sympathy),” Celiz said in a statement on Saturday.

He said no one is red-tagging Elago and the rest of the Makabayan Bloc but former NPA members themselves.

"It is already the former rebels and former cadres who are directly identifying Elago and the CPP-NPA-NDF leaders for the various crimes of their evil conspiracy which these active CPP-NPA-NDF leaders and operatives like Elago continue to perpetuate, especially their complicity and conspiracy with the entire CPP-NPA-NDF party-list groups under what should be aptly tagged Kamatayan Bloc," Celiz said.

Criminal cases

Celiz, along with other former NPA members Joy James “Ka Amihan” Saguino, Daniel “Ka Steven" Castillo, Lady Desiree "Ka Shane" Miranda, Julius "Ka Virgo" Acyatan, and Kurt Russel "Ka Ugnay" Sosa, filed criminal cases against CPP founding chair Jose Marie "Joma" Sison, Elago and other communist terrorist group (CTG) leaders at the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday.

Luisa Espina, the mother of missing Polytechnic University of the Philippines Louvaine Erika, also filed raps against Sison, Elago, and their cohorts.

Louvaine Erika was recruited by militant group Anakbayan in 2016 when she was just 16 years old and has been missing since 2018.

They want Sison and other CTG leaders to be held accountable for violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.

Celiz said Elago cannot use an erroneous Philippine News Agency tweet on Friday that identified her as an Anakbayan representative to escape responsibility.

An erratum was promptly posted.

The tweet was a photo caption on the boxes with documentary evidence delivered by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to the DOJ.

"The flimsy play up of Elago that she was wrongly identified as Anakbayan party-list representative, instead of Kabataan party-list, does not diminish nor eliminate the validity of the criminal complaints filed against her at the DOJ, since these organizations, the Kabataan party-list and Anakbayan, are both CPP-created and CPP-led front organizations, in which Elago is responsible for leading these CPP-NPA-NDF fronts, in her capacity as a high ranking member of the CPP National Youth and Students Bureau," Celiz said.

Celiz said Elago cannot claim that the criminal complaints filed against her are bogus due to the erroneous tweet.

"Such arrogance of Elago only reinforces the correctness of her real status in the Philippine Congress: That she is a bogus representative of the Filipino youth, since her real representation in Congress is for the CPP-NPA-NDF and not for the interest and welfare of the youth and the Filipino people," he added.

Long overdue

Celiz said the filing of criminal charges against the Kabataan party-list, other CPP-NDF operatives, and NPA supporters should have been done a long time ago.

"This has been a long-overdue legal action that should have been undertaken by the government in order to bring Elago, together with Joma Sison and the rest of the leaders of the communist terrorist group CPP-NPA-NDF into the bar of justice, and make them accountable for their crimes against the Filipino youth, in particular, and the entire Filipino people, in general," he said.

The Philippines' Anti-Terrorism Council has designated the CPP, NPA, and NDF as terrorist groups.

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

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1155407