The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has once again displayed its utter insensitivity by squandering public funds in its relentless counter-insurgency campaign in Mountain Province amid the Covid-19 crisis.

This was the reaction of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to information about the military flying helicopters to drop propaganda leaflets in the residential communities in Sagada and Besao towns last Sunday.

According to reports, the military employed two UH1J helicopters to drop leaflets placed inside clear plastic wrappers with one piece of candy each. The leaflets urged “NPA fighters” to surrender and maliciously accused the revolutionary movement of exploiting the public health crisis.

“The very action of the AFP, however, proves that it is the one guilty of its own accusation,” said CPP Chief Information Officer Marco L. Valbuena. “The military has not relented in its costly counterinsurgency campaign even when there is an acute lack of funds for strengthening the health system and providing aid to millions of people displaced by the lockdown,” he added.

The military spends about P110,000/hour in operating these one UH1J Huey helicopters.

“Flying these helicopters for counterinsurgency show complete contempt for the plight of Cordillerans amid the pandemic. Recently, tons of vegetables were left to rot and dumped in Mountain Province as farmers are unable to sell their produce due to the Duterte regime’s restrictive lockdown.