Cebu-based militant groups lie along Colon Street during a protest against President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address in this July 24, 2017 file photo.
MILITANT leftist groups based in Cebu said “they were unafraid” of President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to crack down on groups suspected of supporting the communist rebels.
“In previous administrations, they said the same thing. So that is not new to us,” said Jaime Paglinawan, Bayan Central Visayas chairman.
President Duterte said last Saturday that he was fed up with the violence wrought by the communist New People’s Army (NPA) which included the death of an infant in a recent encounter with troops.
He warned of a possible crackdown on left-wing groups such as Bayan that he said were conspiring with the communist rebels.
But Paglinawan said the president’s pronouncement is intended to demoralize their group and the public.
Paglinawan said it is clear that the president wants a “dictatorship” and his administration is conditioning the public to accept his plan for a “revolutionary government.”
He said their group will hold a rally on November 30 to denounce the president’s statements.
The military’s Central Command told reporters that they have yet to receive a directive from Camp Aguinaldo to crack down on suspected supporters of the NPA.