‘Sworn duty’ to protect: AFP cites danger that Liza Soberano will be ‘used’ by groups linked to Red

MANILA— While affirming its respect for women and their rights, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) rose up on Saturday in apparent defense of a general whose statements linking celebrities to the communist movement have drawn strong criticism for the red labels, citing concerns that it could be “used” by those linked to the underground.

Marine Corps Major General Edgard Arévalo, the military spokesman, also named the students killed in the rebels’ encounters with the army, saying that communist recruitment in schools “is not propaganda.”

“The AFP has the highest respect for women and women’s rights which are also defended by Ms. Soberano and Ms. Gray. We even awarded military honors to the former Miss Universe in August 2019 for bringing prestige to Filipino women and for its defenders, “said Arevalo.

He was referring to actress Liza Soberano and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, the subject of recent and controversial comments by Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr., an official of the government’s National Task Force to end the local communist armed conflict (NTF-ELCAC ). Parlade’s comments allegedly linked them to the underground for their recent comments in support of women’s rights.

This has drawn criticism from lawmakers, rights groups, and even Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana himself, who said allegations of communist ties should not be made without evidence.

But Arevalo, who also heads the AFP’s Education, Training and Doctrine Command, said that communist recruitment among the youth and popular people is not an invention, and said that this was the root of the Hands Off Our Children initiative, a group of parents whose children have joined the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the communist party.

The group made headlines recently as one of the organizations whose Facebook pages were shut down for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”

“The recruitment by the CTG (communist-terrorist group) among students, youth leaders and influential is not propaganda, it is real. The student leaders Lapira, Manalo and others, who appeared and died during armed encounters with soldiers, were testimonies from This Deadly Trail. The fact that Hands Off Our Children emerged is a truth to tell, “he said, referring to the murdered student activists linked to the rebel group.

For Arevalo, protecting people from recruitment by what the military calls a communist terrorist group is part of AFP’s sworn duty. The army has been waging a protracted war against the long-standing communist insurgency in the country, with so far futile attempts to negotiate peace.

“We at AFP have a solemn obligation to fight and defeat communist terrorists, which means the death of both sides. But before we get to that point, we continue our focus on prevention. Hence the effort to inform the Ms. Sovereign and educate netizens. ” he said.

“We are not saying that Ms. Soberano is a member of the NPA, but we are concerned that she and her genuine defenses may be used by some sectors with reported links to underground movements in recruiting for the CTG due to her popularity,” he said. additional.

Arevalo said AFP cannot renounce its duty to “know the stories of many young and idealistic student leaders who were drawn into the ranks of the CTG and faced their untimely death for a worthless cause.”