AFP official unmasks CPP fronts, networks
A military official revealed that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed units are masking themselves as humanitarian non- government organizations ( NGOs) to get funds,
which they reportedly use for terrorist activities in the Philippines, from international donors.
In his speech at the Milipol AsiaPacific 2019 Conference in Singapore Thursday, Major General Antonio Parlade Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines ( AFP) Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil Military Operations, disclosed that the CPP has already established an international network called the International Department consisting of some 252 member- organizations based in 39 countries.
According to Parlade, the CPP was able to establish 16 chapters abroad through the International League of Peoples’ Struggle ( ILPS) headed by CPP founding chair Jose Maria Sison.
Sison, who founded the CPP 50 years ago, is a recognized political refugee in The Netherlands and enjoys the protection of the Refugee Convention and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“We foresee that this problem, if not checked, can turn out to be a hybrid scheme that can be a transnational crime problem," Parlade told homeland security authorities of Asia-Pacific countries, seeking cooperation to combat a wide international network of communist-infiltrated front organizations.
"The purpose of this presentation is to make you aware that there is such a thing, and because of how intricate these international funding is being done. It may not be in our radar,” he added.
Parlade named local organizations such as IBON Foundation, General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action (GABRIELA), Alliance of Concerned Teachers ( ACT), Karapatan, National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) as affiliates of ILPS.
Parlade said these organizations conduct international solidarity missions where they reportedly publish inaccurate reports to portray a tyrant and oppressive Philippine government.
“At the same time, they lobby for funds from foreign institutions claiming that they will be used for projects to solve the fabricated issues, but will rather be used to fund terrorist activities,” the military official told security experts.
Fabricated reports
Parlade also disclosed that CPPinfiltrated organizations publish inaccurate information such as weak employment generation, and bloated figures on displaced indigenous communities in order to discredit the government.
“They've been fabricating reports, they've been tweaking, distorting reports so that the Philippine government will be perceived as incompetent, inefficient,” Parlade said.
“They submit all these reports, false and fabricated reports, to the European Union, United Nations, and other governments, again for funding,” he added.