Antonio Toledo: ‘I am not a terrorist’
“I AM not a terrorist.”
This was Antonio Toledo’s pointed response to the personal narrative of his daughter Andrea “Drei” Toledo, published as a series by TheManila Times this week.
In an hour-long phone interview, Toledo, a Baha’i Faith adherent and network marketer based in Cagayan de Oro City, debunked his daughter’s claims that he led a secret life as a communist leader for years, and that he had an affair with another woman who was also part of the Maoist rebellion.
“First, I am not a terrorist. Secondly, I am not with the New People’s Army or NPA…I am not a part of a communist group. I never was,” he said.
“It was very disturbing. That is a public statement in a national newspaper. It is patently false,” Toledo added.
Toledo disputed his daughter’s claim that he had ordered the communist “Sparrow” hit squad to kill her.
“I am not with the CPP-NPA or NDF. I cannot order to anyone in the CPP
Toledo said his daughter must have developed the notion that he was part of the communist movement because of their conversations about the political situation in the country.
“We talked about anoba`yangmga pinaglalabanng National Democratic Front (NDF), itong NPA, gaanokatagal `yungkanilang insurgency. Kasama `yansamgapinag-uusapannamin, so sigurona- impress siyana,‘Uyang
damingalamni papa (We talked about what the National Democratic Front, the insurgency has been. Those were among the things we talked about, so maybe she was impressed that her father knew a lot of things)…That is my opinion. It is not a sure thing,” he said.
Toledo, however, did not deny that he was an activist in college. He said he even joined discussion groups to know more about the Left.
Toledo said he left the discussion groups because he felt “uncomfortable” writing documents using offensive terms like “pig” and “imperialist dog.”
‘Malicious profiling’
Toledo said he found ridiculous his alleged CPP-NPA nomdeguerre, “Ka Tonyo Lim.” Such a moniker would make him easy to trace as it is almost like his real name, he said.
He also denied owning covert antennas to intercept communications from the military camp near his home in Cagayan de Oro.
“Naku,grabenaman.Sosumasagap akong info ng military? Grabenaman. (That’s too much. So I’m intercepting information from the military?) It is not true what they are saying, that I have that facility, I have that capability. Anona’ngnangyayarisakanila (What is happening to them)? That is malicious
Toledo explained why his water tower seemed too high.
It was built like that “for proper velocity downward,” to have a “nice shower”
in the house, he said. The bars covering the tower are mere decoration.
As for the supposedly unlicensed “bravo antenna,” he said: “I don’t know if you really have a picture because of the Photoshop and everything…Look at it, is there really an antenna?”
Network marketing
Toledo said that contrary to his daughter’s claim that he was jobless, he said he was involved in a network marketing company called Forever Healthy Product Inc. He said that he even used some of his products on Drei when she was sick.
“I am a senior citizen. I’m 64 years old and I am into networking with Forever Healthy Product Inc. That includes what I used to help Drei recover when she got sick in Marawi,” he said.
Toledo revealed that his daughter had been diagnosed with bipolar condition when she was a student at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman.
Drei, Toledo said, saw a doctor, who gave her medication. But she became like a “zombie,” he claimed.
Military intel
Toledo also claimed that years later, his daughter admitted to being part of the military intelligence. “Yes, she is...By her own account to me,” he said.
The military could be manipulating her, he said, by keeping his daughter “on edge” and making her “continuously excited” by making her believe that his father is part of the CPP-NPA.
“This is a conjecture, what I’m about to say: It can be part of what the military intelligence is doing and other intelligence networks of our country to keep up the intelligence network,” he said.
Toledo said his daughter brought home two people from the military: “Troy Marcos,” a short, dark-skinned person; and a female soldier who supposedly led Drei to the frontlines of the Marawi siege last year.
Toledo said the female soldier asked permission to sleep overnight in their house. He said he consented.
About ‘Linda’
Toledo also denied having an affair with a woman named “Linda.”
“The allegation that I have another wife named ‘Linda’ is false, untrue, a mere concoction… I love my wife, Virginia, my son Quddus, and my daughter Andrea,” he said.
For Toledo, the story of “Linda” came from Marcos, who claimed to have found the alleged mistress through psychic powers.
He admitted to having had misunderstandings with his late wife Virginia, - cially exploited her.
interpretation. In my perspective, I was not doing that. We were doing things as a couple. Sometimes I had income, sometimes she had income, and then there were times when we had misunderstandings. We fought. Show me a couple who did not have a misunderstanding...She’s putting one
piece of information and another piece of information together and making a narrative,” he said.
It was Drei who psychologically bothered her mother, according to Toledo. This, he said, led to his decision to ban Drei’s presence when her mother was sick.
Genuine faith
The most hurtful accusation, said Toledo, was that he was using the Baha’i Faith as cover for his rebel activities.
“I was hurt that I was accused of using the Baha’i Faith as cover. Andrea is also part of the Baha’i Faith…It is genuine. It is my belief,” he said.
Toledo said the Baha’i Faith was the “grounding” of his “well-made family.”
“In general, we were a very well-made family because the grounding was with the Baha’i Faith. We value family a lot consolation,” he said.
Toledo, who has been with of the Baha’i Faith since 1980, is part of the local spiritual assembly of the Baha’i in Cagayan de Oro. The local spiritual assembly, he explained, is composed of nine members who are elected annually.
Despite all the accusations, Toledo said he was hopeful he could still help Drei.
a wrongly opinionated young lady. She’s very capable. She has many assets. I really care for her. I want her to be okay. To be loving again. For us to be a good family again,” he said.