CPP says Duterte HK trip ‘vomit-inducing,’ AFP’s Red October ‘fairy tale’ a flop

From GMA News (Oct 13): CPP says Duterte HK trip ‘vomit-inducing,’ AFP’s Red October ‘fairy tale’ a flop

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has slammed President Rodrigo Duterte's recent "shopping spree" in Hong Kong, saying it showed "cruel indifference" to Filipinos' affected by the rising prices of commodities.

In a statement posted on the Facebook page of its founding chairman Jose Maria "Joma" Sison, the group claimed Duterte further "inflamed" the public's desire for his ouster when he traveled to Hong Kong with his common-law-wife Honeylet Avanceña — who the communist leader referred to as a "mistress" — and their daughter to shop for clothes.

"Amid destitution of millions upon millions of Filipinos, Duterte's Hongkong shopping-spree was a vomit-inducing and rage-provoking show of extravagance. He has self-demolished his pro-poor façade," the CPP said.

"Duterte showed cruel indifference to the millions upon millions of Filipinos who are suffering from skyrocketing prices of rice and fuel, low wages, widespread joblessness and general deterioration of social conditions," it added, saying the public should demand the administration how much the President spent for the entire trip.

The communist party said compared to Duterte's Hong Kong shopping, the Armed Forces of the Philippines' "Red October fairy tale" — about the communists' alleged plan to unseat Duterte this month — was a "flop."

The CPP said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana made himself look "stupid: by claiming that the AFP has successfully foiled "Red October," a plot which the communist group insisted was invented by the military.

The CPP also criticized the military for going on a "Red-baiting frenzy," by tagging students to the supposed ouster plot, something their schools have already denied.

"Even now, reports abound of activists in urban areas across the country being subjected to surveillance and threats, and charged with trumped-up criminal cases," the group said in a separate statement on Saturday.

"In the rural areas, thousands of AFP troops continue to occupy communities and commit grave abuses against the people. Cases of extrajudicial killings, abductions, torture, illegal arrests and other abuses are on the rise," it added.

The CPP said the AFP may have ended its "Red October fairy tale" but the struggle of the Filipino people to oust the Duterte regime continues.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/671140/cpp-says-duterte-hk-trip-vomit-inducing-afp-s-red-october-fairy-tale-a-flop/story/