Partylist
rebukes
military intel info
Gabriela
and Kabataan-Bohol condemn the government's intelligence report linking their
organizations to the Communist Terrorist Movement (CTM).
As
they consider it a form of harassment, Martina Bisaya of Gabriela and Alvin Cortanesa
of Kabataan-Bohol threatened to resort to legal action against the military intelligence
unit.
This
is in reaction to the news article about the report from the intelligence unit
of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne),
SOCOM of the Philippine Army based in barangay Riverside, municipality of Bilar
that saw print on the January 31 issue of the Chronicle.
In
the joint meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) Provincial
Development Council (PDC) and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) on February 3,
Major Jose Laplap - executive officer of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion reported
that "the party-list groups (PLGs) and their candidates will strengthen their
political machineries by establishing their respective provincial, municipal and
barangay chapters in the province of Bohol to assure victory in the so-called
electoral struggle".
The
statement is also part of the intelligence information that Bisaya and Cortanesa
refuted.
Bisaya
said they will elevate the matter to their national office by sending the published
news item through email.
| | | TShe
said the issuance of the said statement is a form of harassment as it will discourage
their members to pursue their cause.
Bisaya
and Cortanesa denied that their party-list groups are mainstream connections of
the CTM.
As
she admitted having held meetings, Bisaya explained that they were just conducting
information campaign on how to cast their votes, especially with the poll automation,
and part of their advocacy is women's rights and women's empowerment. |
For transparency,
she said, they made it a point that before they conducted the meetings, they asked
permission from the barangay captains.
On
this, Bisaya said the intelligence unit of the military should research further
on the veracity of their information, especially that none of their members were
carrying any firearm.
Instead
of watching them, the military should rather focus on the reports about the alleged
entry of Kuratong Baleleng and incidents of illegal gambling, carnapping, and
the problem on illegal drugs, she said.
Cortanesa,
for his part, pointed out that the fact that the Comelec recognized their organization
as a legitimate party-list group indicates that it is a legal entity that must
have no connection with any illegal or underground movement like the CTM.
He
said the semblance of the terrorist is different from that of a party-list like
theirs.
He
also explained that Kabataan-Bohol is not a redundancy of the Sangguniang Kabataan,
although both groups are carrying the voice and concerns of the youth.
It
is just that Kabataan-Bohol is engaging in election matters, and that they are
just protecting the youth from being used by politicians, he said.
He
further explained that their representative in Congress, Mong Palatino, has already
facilitated bills that aim to strengthen the youth through unity and by raising
their concerns. Cortanesa, however, could not elaborate on what particular bills
were these.
Bisaya
and Cortanesa were reacting to reports that the military keep their eyes on the
reported effort of the CTM to regain lost mass bases for the "revival of
armed struggle in the province of Bohol".
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