THE National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) denounced the accusation that it is “legal front” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
A certain Mario Ludades, who claims to be a former ranking officer and founder of the CPP, accusing the NUJP of being one of the supposed “legal fronts” of the revolutionary movement.
In a statement, the national director stressed it was not the first time the NUJP has been the target of such lies.
The organization was also one of those identified as “enemies of the state” in the PowerPoint presentation “Knowing the Enemy” created in 2005 by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and which the military showed in schools and other venues, the statement said.
In the case of Ludades, who identifies himself as spokesman of the “No to Communist Terrorist Group Coalition” and an indigenous people’s leader in the Cordillera region, it does not take rocket science to guess who is behind him and the lies he spouts, it added.
“The charge of being a ‘legal front’ of the communists is so absurd it is tempting to dismiss it outright. Nevertheless, we are treating it seriously because it puts the organization, its officers and members in potential risk,” the statement said.
Also, websites of alternative media outfits Bulatlat and Kodao – which both house NUJP chapters – were taken down almost simultaneously before noon.
That these assaults on freedom of the press and expression took place on the 50th founding anniversary of the CPP is clearly no coincidence, it said.
The takedowns of Bulatlat and Kodao, which state security forces have also time and again accused of links to the revolutionary underground, bear similar signs as the attack that led to the shutting down of the NUJP in 2016.
The attack on the alternative media outfits happened soon after they posted stories about the CPP.
They also come after an incident last week when armed men in civilian clothes believed to be military or police operatives were seen in the vicinity of the office building that houses Kodao and a number of activist organizations that the government openly tags as “front organizations” of the communist revolutionary movement.
“We stress that the ‘alternative media’ are a legitimate part of the Philippine media community whose take on current events and issues broaden the national discourse and provide an invaluable contribution to the growth of democracy,” NUJP said.
Only those who seek to suppress freedom of thought and of expression would seek to silence them and, for that matter, independent media as a whole, it added.
“If Ludades and his handlers, and those behind the taking down of the Bulatlat and Kodao sites, couldn’t be more wrong if they think they can intimidate us with stupid stunts like these,” NUJP said.
“The NUJP and all independent Filipino journalists have not and will never be cowed into giving up the continued struggle for genuine freedom of the press and of expression in the country. This is not a boast. It is a fact,” it added.