AFP, CPP in word war over 'extortion' of candidates

The Philippine military on Friday called on candidates seeking elective posts in the May 10 elections to refrain from giving in to extortion activities being conducted by communist rebels. Instead of being intimidated, politicians should have the courage to report this illegal activity to the proper authorities for prompt action, the military said. "Nananawagan tayo sa kandidato na huwag magbayad. Kung may ganitong insidente nangongolekta sila sumbong nila agad sa amin (We are appealing to candidates not to pay. If there are extortion attempts, just report the matter to us)," military information chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. told dzXL radio in an interview. Brawner said prospective victims may also report the matter to the Commission on Elections. The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), however, branded as a "desperate psywar concoction" the AFP's claims that the NPA is charging fees for permits to campaign and permits to win. "There is no such thing as a 'permit to win' being issued by the NPA. This is nothing but the AFP's latest psywar ploy designed to denigrate the revolutionary forces as engaging in and benefiting from vote-buying through extortion," said the CPP on its website. "In its desperation, the AFP is being caught in a web of its own lies. Military officials claim that the NPA is already a spent force, but issues press releases implying that the NPA is in a position to require candidates to deal with it monetarily to ensure victory in the elections," it added. Fees range from P20K to P50K But Brawner maintained that so far, reports they received indicate the NPAs charge around P20,000 to P500,000 for permits to campaign in their territories. "Totoo yun, nangungulekta sila. This is one of their extortion activities during election time. Pinaigting natin ang security operation natin (It is true the NPA is collecting such fees. This is one of their extortion activities at election time. We have tightened security operations against this activity)," he said. Brawner said the military had arrested many NPAs collecting permit fees in Quezon and Samar provinces, but did not elaborate. "We can say epektibo ang ating kampanya against itong extortion activities ng NPA pero kailangan natin ng tulong ng mamamayan pagka nagsumbong sila nahuhuli natin ang gumagawa ng ganito (We can say our campaign against extortion is effective but we need citizens' help and information so we can catch them in the act)," he said. On Thursday, an official of the consortium in charge of the poll automation process disclosed that the presence of communist rebels in the provinces have been hampering their preparations for this year's elections. Gene Gregorio, a spokesperson for Smartmatic Corp.-Total Information Management (Smartmatic-TIM), said that in Masbate and Quezon provinces, the rebels have been extorting money from their site surveyors. "They [NPA] have been sending feelers that we should do like what candidates do. They tell us we should cooperate," Gregorio said. NPA rebels are known to collect "permit-to-campaign taxes" from candidates, especially at the local level, during the election season. The national government has discouraged local politicians from giving in to the insurgents’ demands. Revolutionary policies On the other hand, the CPP said candidates who wish to campaign within revolutionary areas are required to strictly follow policies of the revolutionary authorities "to ensure peace and order, avoid 'dirty' electoral practices, and uphold the interests of the masses in the area." The CPP said the policies to be followed in its supposed territories are prohibiting the use of "dirty money," vote-buying and other "dirty politicking." "Revolutionary police powers will be applied to prevent such practices," it said. "Definitely, candidates and their parties who are armed or accompanied by armed personnel will be prohibited from entering revolutionary areas." It also said candidates who have been involved in serious crimes against the revolutionary movement and the people may even be arrested if there are standing warrants against them. - RSJ, GMANews.TV