BACOLOD City – The City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) here is asking the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), as persona non grata.
In their meeting last week, the CPOC passed a joint resolution rebuking the communist insurgents following recommendations of the Philippine National Police and Department of Interior and Local Government.
Vice mayor El Cid Familiaran, who presided the meeting, said the declaration could be a bold but futile move against the NPAs.
“Why declare them (NPA), when they are already tagged as outlaws?” said Familiaran.
He added: “Magsiling ka persona non grata, wala mo na sila na welcome. Ti na welcome ta na sila halin sang una haw? Wala man.”
But since the CPOC approved the resolution, Familiaran said the proposal will be forwarded to the city council.
“It’s up for the SP members to act on the recommendation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade (303IB) based in Negros Occidental had stepped up their monitoring of NPA’s school recruitment ploy in the province.
Brigadier General Benedict Arevalo, 303IB commander, said they recently conducted a forum to some 2,000 students and faculty of the University of Saint La Salle-Bacolod on Aug. 24 in relation to the recruitment activities of leftist groups in schools.
“Sadly, statistics tell us that many youth who joined the NPAs only perished during encounters with the military,” Arevalo said.
He urged students to be critical in distinguishing activism from supporting terrorism.
“The government respects the academic freedom and allows the people to express what they want and critic the flaws they see in the society,” Arevalo said.
He added that when a person starts to take up arms or support terrorist organizations like the CPP-NPA, that is already against the law and the government will act upon it./PN
