Sunday, February 10, 2008 Reds ridicule Arroyo's visit
THE National Democratic Front (NDF) and its armed wing, New Peoples Army, ridiculed the visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Davao Region to attend a gathering of police, military, and civilian officials Friday.
In a statement, NDF spokesman Rubi del Mundo said the President's attendance to the Local Peace and Security Assembly (LPSA) in Tagum City, Davao del Norte just showed how desperate Arroyo is in "securing" her regime.
"After instigating a maelstrom at the House of Representatives, Mrs. Gloria M. Arroyo is now wooing local bureaucrats, politicians and the military in a bid to consolidate her fragile hold to power," the statement read.
The NDF said the LPSA last Friday was merely part of the orchestra to hide the series of military losses in the region and elsewhere.
"Because what makes the assembly so urgent as to compel the Commander-In-Chief to attend what could be a regular gathering of the Regional Peace and Order Council? Arroyo, above everything else, needs to boost the morale of the AFP and the PNP in the wake of the crippling tactical offensives of the New People's Army. The 46 casualties inflicted on the AFP and PNP in less than two weeks as stated by the Merardo Arce Command Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command of the NPA are no mediocre blows for the Arroyo regime to be complacent" the rebel group said.
Arroyo arrived and left in the region without much ado. In her arrival at the Davao International Airport, no local official was seen welcoming her as she immediately boarded to a waiting helicopter at the tarmac and flew to Kapalong for the inauguration of a road project.
The President flew after to Tagum City to attend the LPSA and stayed there for only 15 minutes. She then flew back to the DIA for Manila. (BOT)
