After Iloilo City Police Office director, Police Colonel Martin E. Defensor, Jr., submitted a letter to the Iloilo City Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) seeking a ‘persona non grata’ declaration against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA); however, the local legislative body rejected the move.
“Congress could not even declare them as terrorists, why should the city council pass a resolution declaring CPP/NPA persona non-grata?” asked City Councilor Plaridel Nava. “There are no incidents that show criminalities are actually committed by the CPP/NPA.”
Defensor argued, “Terrorism has many faces and is a significant threat to peace and security.”
“There are already some local government units in the areas of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao that declared the CPP-NPA persona non grata,” he added.
Last April, Negros Oriental declared the NPA ‘persona non grata.’
A resolution by the Negros Oriental Provincial Peace and Order Council, which is chaired by Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, called actions by the NPA a “manifestation of betrayal of achieving peace, thus, disrupting the peace and order situation of the province.”
In addition, Philippine Army 302nd Infantry Brigade, headed by Brigadier General Ignacio Madriaga, said atrocities committed by the NPA hindered progress, especially attempts by local government units to uplift the lives of people residing in the countryside.
In addition, the European Union earlier declared the CPP-NPA a foreign terror organization./WDJ