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Saturday, December 20, 2003
CPP gets hi-tech in extortion activities: Army
By Fred Roxas
CAMP AQUINO, Tarlac City -- Rebels have new tactic in avoiding detection when collecting "permits to campaign fee" from candidates participating in the local and national elections, and authorities are having difficulty stopping them.
Lt. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, commander of the army's Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), said members of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) are now using automated teller machines to avoid detection in raising P1 billion in extortion fees from candidates seeking "permits to campaign" in rebel areas.
Dominguez said CPP now requires candidates and "revolutionary tax" payers to do online transactions through credit card payments and bank-to-bank money transfers.
He said Gregorio Rosal, alias Ka Roger, New People's Army (NPA) spokesman, declared that candidates seeking to campaign in rebel areas for the May elections must secure "permits to campaign" from the NPA.
According to Dominguez, Rosal said reactionary politicos and political parties, including their party-list tails, must also pay the corresponding fees, which the military says is plain extortion.
Dominguez said President Arroyo has ordered the military and police "to put an end to the taxation and other forms of extortion activities of the NPA."
The military official urged politicians and candidates to report to authorities the extortion activities of NPAs.
He added that the imposition of revolutionary taxes and collection of election permit fees are "a manifestation of terrorism."
Dominguez and Chief Supt. Vidal Querol, regional director of the Central Luzon PNP office, assured politicians, candidates and businessmen that the army and police have been closely coordinating to extend protection to those terrorized by NPAs.
They also called on the public to immediately report to authorities any extortion activity of the rebels.
Dominguez and Querol added that necessary protection would be extended to candidates campaigning in known rebel-influenced territories.
However, Dominguez admitted that it has become difficult for authorities, including the police, to stop NPA extortion activities because of "modern technology."
Rosal earlier belittled Arroyo's order for the military and police to stop rebels from imposing permit-to-campaign fees from politicians.
"In reality, Arroyo and her military and police have no effective way of halting the collection of election campaign fees in widespread areas effectively controlled by the NPA," said Rosal.
He also revealed that most of Arroyo's partymates and political allies, who are running for local and national positions, have already submitted applications for PTCs.
Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said last week the NPA was stepping up its extortion "to make up for lost contributions coming from abroad".
The US, European Union, Australia and Canada have pledged to freeze the NPA's assets, he said. The United States has declared the group a "foreign terrorist organization."
Ermita said the NPA ordered candidates contesting for seats in Congress to pay them half a million pesos if they campaigned in their areas of influence. Gubernatorial bets have been asked to pay 300,000 pesos and mayoral candidates 50,000 pesos.
In the past, candidates without rebel passes have been ambushed.
(December 20, 2003 issue)
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