CPP-NPA always trying to oust gov’t: Lorenzana

MANILA -- The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) has always been trying to topple the government since 1968.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana made the remarks when asked to comment on CPP-NPA claims that the “Red October” ouster plot is only a fiction invented by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“Their plot to oust the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is true. Deny na sila kasi nabuking (They are now denying it because it was revealed now). Our troops captured documents in November 2016 after their plenum in Northern Mindanao. The peace talks with them was ongoing during this period but the CPPNPA were not confident it would last. They started to fully implement the plan called OUST DUTERTE in February 2017 after the President cancelled the peace talks,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Lorenzana added that the ouster calls were supposed to culminate this October as the CPP-NPA strongly believes that a new president would be more willing to resume the peace talks with them.

“The plan calls for mass actions all over the country and they hope it will snowball like the EDSA People Power. It was their hope that other groups would join to create the desired snowball. There were rallies staged in the recent past. However, they woefully failed to attract people to join except their usual paid rallyists. But what else is new? The CPP-NPA has been trying to topple administration after another since 1968. They can deny all they want but we know otherwise by their actions,” he said.

Earlier, AFP assistant deputy chief-of-staff for operations, Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade, said there are plans to oust Duterte and the government, dubbed “Red October”, by next month.

The ouster plan coincides with the international celebration for Marxism and the Indigenous People. Allegedly, participants would be coming from a grand coalition and a broad united front.