EDITORIAL - No pay, no campaign

Will you vote for candidates who pay in order to campaign in rebel strongholds?

The National Democratic Front (NDF) recently announced that candidates for the May 2016 elections who want to campaign in rebel-controlled areas should pay up for a permit to campaign or PTC. NDF Far South Mindanao spokesman Ka Efren said the group has earned the right to collect fees and revolutionary taxes having established parallel governments in different areas in the country, claiming, too, that the group has increased its strength by 20 percent.

It is a given that money is a strong driver in Philippine elections. Candidates with more resources, more money, have strong chances of getting the government position they are aiming for. The electorate, especially those in depressed areas and those in the provinces, expect to get some monetary concessions from candidates. Some even demand it. It is common knowledge that there are candidates who would give fare money and or travel allowance so that those who work in urban centers would go home to their provinces to vote. Whether it is P2,000 or P150, money really does a lot of talking during elections in the country.

This demand for payment by the NDF, however, is different.

The rebel group wants candidates to pay for PTCs or revolutionary taxes in exchange for a chance to campaign in rebel strongholds because the group wants to assert authority in the areas where they have created parallel governments. "Parallel governments" that are against most, if not all of the rules and policies of the Philippine government, the government that candidates in the coming elections want to be part of.

And we have not even touched on the atrocities that these rebels have committed against the Philippine Army, the Philippine National Police and the citizens of the country!

Isn't it ironic for a candidate for governor, congressman, senator, vice president or even president to pay in order to campaign in an area controlled by a group that is considered an enemy of the government they will be joining if and when they win in the elections? Isn't paying up to the demands of the rebels an acknowledgement of rebel authority?