The Negros chapter of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), recently released a statement calling for the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte, calling it a “democratic and patriotic obligation of every Filipino.”

NDF-Negros spokesperson Ka Frank Fernandez claimed the president has no more legitimacy and called on religious leaders, particularly the Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the island, to protest the Duterte administration and demand the president be removed from office.

He questioned the administration’s policies on economics, politics, foreign relations, culture, and military.

Duterte earlier labelled the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) a terror organization.

Fernandez went on to condemn the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao as an “all-out war” on the NPA, claiming the government’s actions are suppressing the rights of people.

The spokesperson was also critical of the administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program, which is currently prioritizing four Western Visayas infrastructure projects, including the Panay-Negros-Guimaras bridges and improvements to Bacolod-Silay Airport, claiming it is causing suffering to “the poorest of the poor.”

He also blamed Duterte for the declining domestic sugar industry, which is said to be crippled by low sugar prices and the continued practice of contractualization../DGB, WDJ