Allegations of NPA involvement in poll violence are untrue

Fr. Santiago "Sanny" Salas
Spokesperson in Eastern Visayas
National Democratic Front of the Philippines
May 14, 2004

For confirmation, contact:
Roy Santos
NDF-EV Media Liaison Office
Cellphone No. 0918-3112138
E-mail: [email protected]

The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas assures the public that the revolutionary movement is not involved in present reports of poll violence in the region. In particular, the NDF-EV firmly denies that the New People's Army is behind the current disappearance of two pollwatchers of mayoralty candidate Imelda Bacay in Motiong, Samar, and the May 11 ballot-snatching incident in Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar.

We would like to point out that election-related violence is commonly perpetrated by political warlords in league with their henchmen in the military and police. Moreover, even before the elections, the rabid anti-communists led by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and the Armed Forces of the Philippines were murderously disenfranchising the progressive parties of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela Women's Party, Anak ng Bayan, Migrante and Suara Bangsa Moro.

Various field units of the NPA are now reporting that the 8th Infantry Division is sowing terror and attempting to influence the election outcome in the region. During and after the casting of ballots on May 10, soldiers turned out to harass the voters and manipulate the poll results in Samar and Leyte. Reports have come in from the NPA citing heavy military presence in the hinterland villages of the Samar towns of Matuguinao, Gandara, San Jorge, Motiong, Paranas, Pinabacdao, Basey, and Borongan. The military also barred voters from 80 families in the town of Tabango, Leyte.

The NDF-EV strongly condemns the martial law law tactics and election fraud done by the 8th Infantry Division. These confirm the information that the violence and corruption in the current polls are the worst since the 1986 snap elections during the Marcos fascist dictatorship. All the sweet pretensions of democracy under the ruling system are in the end harshly swept away by those who have the most guns, goons and gold to rule the reactionary elections as in the past.

The incidents attributed to the NPA, but done by warlord groups and the biggest reactionary armed group-the AFP-in fact only reinforce the belief of the revolutionary movement that the reactionary elections dupe and victimize the people and do not offer the recourse for genuine change. We urge the people to expose and oppose the intimidation and fraud instigated by the military in the polls and to remain vigilant against continuing violence and cheating. ###

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