By Col Dencio Acop (Ret)
Some government personalities, here and abroad, have recently been hyping up a supposed link between presidential aspirant Leni Robredo and the exiled CPP chairman Jose Maria Sison living in the Netherlands. To which the Robredo camp and the Vice President herself responded and called it as fake news with Robredo threatening to file a lawsuit. Of course the case is politically motivated. The number two official has been harassed by some in the current administration from day one despite her sterling public service performance attested to by the Commission on Audit among others. The massive turnout of support for her political campaign has only made her a more focused target by an administration hell-bent on having a successor who will sustain its pivot to Communist China: the BBM-Sara tandem. China’s incursions in Philippine waters and government affairs have always been a hot foreign and defense policy issue. The China issue has certainly divided the nation. But while officials are keen on emphasizing the decades-old local communist insurgency as a threat (no surprise there), they are usually silent on the Duterte administration’s pivot to China. Which is puzzling since a ‘red scare’ from the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) but not from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) simply does not make much sense at all. Communist China for years has been violating the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic and Maritime Zones extracting resources from Philippine waters despite an international maritime arbitration ruling (2016) that upheld the Philippine claim based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
It is only Leni Robredo’s political opponents who keep on insisting upon her supposed link to Joma like possessed demons. We the millions who support her know and believe that she is not. What an arrogant and shallow accusation by those who see nothing wrong with Communist China invading us but keep on portraying the local insurgency as the larger threat when it is Communist China that is. If we are really afraid of the Red Scare, then the greater focus should be on Red China. The insurgents are Filipinos too and must be won by winning their hearts and minds but not through political persecutions disguised as patriotic. There is nothing that is more patriotic than fighting Communist China’s aggression against our national sovereignty. The local anti-insurgency campaign is merely secondary to this more serious threat. It is hypocritical to be overzealous against fellow Filipinos who cannot topple us but say and do nothing against our officials who merely give kid glove’s treatment when it comes to Communist China’s blatant aggression and corruption of our officials.
Finally, it is the mandate of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, being the protector of the people and the State, to uphold national sovereignty, support the Constitution, and defend the territory of the Republic of the Philippines against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Both the CCP/PLA and CPP/NPA are threats to Philippine national security and interest. Both are communist threats because they threaten the country’s democratic way of life and system. But between the two threats, the much larger threat is the CCP/PLA. While both entities are armed and dangerous, the bigger threat is the CCP/PLA. While both have capabilities, the CCP/PLA can topple the RP government but the CPP/NPA cannot. While the CCP/PLA threatens from without invading our natural resources, the local insurgents are Filipino rebels. While the CPP/NPA has limited resources, the CCP/PLA has almost unlimited resources being a regional power compared to RP. The defense and intelligence communities have always been aware of the imperialistic goals and objectives of Communist China. How it overwhelms small nations to advance its national interest in ways unknown to the western world’s rule of law. Politically, a BBM administration will continue to deliver RP on a silver platter to Communist China while a Robredo administration will not. That is the real score. So where is the Red Scare? Really?