The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) yesterday refuted allegations by Sen. Ping Lacson that a win by presidential candidate Leni Robredo will lead to a “coalition government with the communists.”

“For the record, neither the CPP nor the NDFP has forged any agreement with any of the political parties running in the May 2022 elections,” said Marco Valbuena, CPP’s chief information officer. “Nor are the CPP or NDFP concerned with discussing a ‘coalition government’ at this time,” he added.

Lacson denies being a red-tagger but then immediately red-tags the various mass organizations affiliated with the Makabayan coalition whose presence in the Robredo rallies, Lacson claims, is evidence of cooperation with the CPP. Valbuena said by resorting to red-tagging, Lacson is serving as a Duterte’s “attack dog” against Robredo and hopes to break up the broad unity against Duterte and the Marcos-Duterte tandem being generated by Robredo’s campaign.

The NDFP, together with various peace advocates, have only publicly expressed hopes that the people will support a candidate that will resume peace negotiations with the NDFP in order to discuss the socioeconomic and political roots of the current civil war.

The CPP has previously noted that the way to resuming the NDFP-GRP peace negotiations is to affirm all past agreements and do away with impediments such as NTF-Elcac and the “terrorist designation” of the CPP, New People’s Army and the NDFP and its allied organizations under the draconian “Anti-Terror Law.”

“Several presidential candidates, including Robredo and Lacson, have declared openness to “peace talks,” Valbuena said, but noted that this can only be “election talk.”

He noted that, so far, “none of the candidates have been explicit in declaring plans to resume the suspended peace negotiations with the NDFP and recognize all past agreements as basis for moving forward.” (CPP Information Bureau)