From the Visayan Daily Star (Mar 4): ‘Harassment of
partylist groups still on’
The harassment and intimidation of progressive party-list groups by state
security forces have remained unabated, Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said
Saturday.
Casiño, an independent senatorial candidate of Makabayan (Makabayang
Koalisyon ng Mamamayan), said even he has not been spared from such
harassment.
Makabayan comprises party-list groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela Women's
Party, Kabataan, Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of
Government Employees, Migrante and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.
Despite harassments and intimidation, Casiño said they remain unfazed as they
continue to get support from the ordinary people.
A ranking official of ACT in Western Visayas was earlier linked to the
killing of 1Lt. Archie Polenzo, who died two years ago, in an encounter with
suspected New People’s Army rebels in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental.
Casiño, who recently held campaign sorties in Escalante City, Toboso and
Calatrava, Negros Occidental, earlier admitted he is a leftist, but not a
communist.
“I am not a communist and I am not a member of the Communist Party of the
Philippines. I am not receiving funding from them,” Casiño said.
Casiño, a three-term representative of Bayan Muna party-list, has asked the
Commission on Elections to provide an additional allowance of P2,000 for
teachers who will man the polling precincts in the May elections.
He said the measly P3,000 honorarium that each teacher receives for their
election duties is not enough to compensate for their sacrifices.
“Our teachers make a great contribution to our country. They not only teach
the youth and serve as their second parents, they also safeguard our votes,”
Casiño said in a statement.
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2013/March/04/topstory8.htm
There is little doubt that Makabayan and its member groups Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela Women's Party, Kabataan, Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees, Migrante and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers are all CPP sectoral and political front organizations.
ReplyDeleteThere are some in the Philippine military who do not differentiate between above ground legal front groups and the underground NDF/NPA. They tend to see the front groups as just an extension of the clandestine CPP infrastructure.