MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Prospero Nograles said he would not allow himself to be terrorized by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao City.
“I will not be terrorized. I will fight using my solid platform of government and my commitment to reform Davao City. This is my only weapon to defeat these terrorists and extortionists,” he said.
Nograles is running for city mayor against Vice Mayor Sarah Duterte, daughter of incumbent Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who in turn is running as his daughter’s vice mayoral candidate.
Nograles urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the military to deploy more soldiers in areas in Davao City where NPA rebels led by Leoncio Pitao, alias Kumander Parago, are operating.
“The Comelec and the military should assert their presence in these areas to ensure clean, honest and peaceful elections. They should not allow NPA rebels to terrorize these communities and force them to submit to their will,” he said.
He lamented that despite spending P800 million a year in peace and order funds, the city government has not been able to establish peace in rebel-infested areas.
Nograles said the city government should have spent billions for infrastructure and other social projects in communities where the NPA thrives.
He said if the lives of the poor improve, they would reject whatever brainwashing the rebels do to win their support.
Nograles expressed suspicion that some city officials might be in cahoots with Parago and his group, which he said are responsible for some media killings and harassment in Davao City.
“It is truly unfortunate that some government officials will go to the extent of providing enemies of the state the means and capability to attack our own soldiers and our citizens just to stay in power. You cannot run a city with terror,” he said.
Last Friday, an Army soldier was killed and three colleagues were wounded by a roadside bomb set off by NPA rebels in Barangay Paquibato in Davao City.
The soldiers were dispatched after rebels waylaid and robbed two members of Nograles’ campaign staff. – With Delon Porcalla