COMMUNIST leader Jose Maria “Joma” Sison raised the possibility of “patriotic” soldiers joining forces with New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which he founded, for the ouster of the administration of President Duterte.
The military dismissed Sison’s warning.
“He is into drugs, I think,” said Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade, chief of the military’s Southern Luzon Command and spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Sison, chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines who has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since the late 80s, issued the statement on Monday night, a week before the President delivers his state of the nation address.
Over the past years, Sison has been spreading talk about plots to overthrow the Duterte administration. In February, he said pro-US military officers were “determined” to oust Duterte for terminating the Visiting Forces Agreement.
Parlade asked why soldiers would even think about linking up with communist rebels to oust Duterte when the military “has gained so much in terms of professionalism, benefits, modern equipment, and above all, respect from their Commander-in-Chief.”
Parlade also asked why soldiers would join forces with a “proven terrorist,” referring to Sison who he said masterminded atrocities in the past, including the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971.
