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Philippine president declares Maoist rebel NPA a terrorist group
[ARABNEWS] The Philippine military can now address the communist threat in the country without hesitation after President Rodrigo R. Duterte designated the Maoist New People's Army (NPA) a terror organization."This will certainly ensure that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) can now fully execute and perform its mandate without reservation and restrictions," Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, the AFP front man, said. On Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced that Duterte had signed a proclamation "declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) as a designated identified terrorist organization under Republic Act 10168 (RA 10168), otherwise known as "The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012." Duterte's official residence Malacañang, however, notes that declaring the CPP-NPA a designated/identified terrorist organization is nothing new. On Aug. 2, 2002, the US designated the CPP-NPA as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and to date continues to include the local communist movement in its list of FTOs. In his proclamation, the president directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to publish the designation of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization. The Department of Justice was likewise ordered to immediately file the necessary application for the proscription or declaration of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization with the appropriate regional trial court. After the Palace announcement, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana welcomed Duterte's proclamation. "We have long since maintained that the CPP-NPA is a blight to the Filipino people, with its members engaging in constant criminal activities and wanton acts of terror," he said, adding that the government has walked the extra mile to accommodate them by resuming the talks. The communists, however, have imposed unreasonable conditions and continued their criminal acts. Posted by: Fred 2017-12-06 |
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