By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The Apolinario Gatmaitan Command of the New People’s Army (AGC-NPA) in Negros Island on Monday decried that the P87-million budget of the Negros Occidental Provincial Government for peace and order is actually meant for intelligence and psychological warfare (psy-war) operations.
On Feb 11, the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) approved the P87-million budget for projects, programs and activities in Negros Occidental on top of the P26.1-million intelligence fund.
AGC-NPA spokesperson Ka Juanito Magbanua said that in 2020, the Provincial Government through the PPOC, will be spending P41.1 million or P3.425M per month in support of intelligence operations “apart from its other budget for deception.”
“Intelligence funds do not go through audit, really it is a means for plunderers in government and the AFP/PNP to cover-up the real situation of the people and corrupt the people’s coffers,” he said.
Magbanua said this is the actual implementation of Executive Order 70 or the whole-of-nation approach and the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) “where people’s money is used to militarize the services of the local government which is a civilian agency to destroy the revolutionary movement.”
“With this purpose, instead of allotting the money for basic social services, it will only intensify widespread terror among the people, worsen human rights abuses and add to the burdens of the broad masses of the people,” he said.
Magbanua said this so-called peace effort is futile and a waste of money and time saying further that it does not solve the root causes of poverty, joblessness, high prices of basic commodities and low wages; and does not implement genuine land reform and national industrialization.
“Whatever efforts of the reactionary government with their lackeys in the AFP/PNP, they will fail because they only bring harm to the people,” he said.
