The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) stressed Saturday that the Quezon City government has denounced communist terrorism under the Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 8189, Series of 2020, passed on March 16, 2020.
“Our records show that Quezon City passed the SP Resolution 8189 early this year which is entitled ‘A Resolution Strongly Condemning All Forms of Atrocities and Acts of Violence in Support of Executive Order No. 70, Series 2018’ during its 25th regular session. The resolution was approved by the Quezon City Council on March 16, 2020,” said DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.
But a DILG statement revealed that Mayor Joy Belmonte denied last Friday that the city government issued a resolution declaring the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (NDF) as persona non grata “after the DILG reported that QC (Quezon City) was among the 1,546 LGUs nationwide that issued such a resolution.”
“I never said this…We are an inclusive city, where people are free to express their views, so long as we all follow the rule of law and behave ourselves accordingly,” Belmonte texted an online newspaper when asked if Quezon City issued such a declaration.
But Malaya noted that the “resolution itself states that the Quezon City government supports the implementation of Executive Order (EO) No. 70 which created the National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and institutionalizes the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace in our country.’’
The DILG explained that EO 70, which was signed by President Duterte in 2018, created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and institutionalized a whole-of-nation approach in achieving inclusive and sustainable peace as a means to end the five-decade problem with communist-terrorists.
It noted the issuance of E.O. 70 shifts the fight against the CTGs and their front organizations from a military-centric approach where the AFP and the PNP are solely responsible to a whole-of-nation approach where all civilian national government agencies, local government units, and civil society organizations take an active part in ending the CTGs by addressing the root causes of the insurgency.
Malaya emphasized that the strong condemnation by the LGUs, including Quezon City, of the “atrocities of communist terrorist groups (CTGs) through Sanggunnian resolutions in effect declares them as persona non grata in their localities.’’
“That is the effect of an LGU’s condemnation of the violence and atrocities perpetrated by these communist terrorists. When a local government unit (LGU) denounces the acts of violence of the CTGs, would it still open its doors and welcome them into their localities? Of course not. That has no rhyme nor reason,” added Malaya.
Malaya explained that persona non grata is a generic term that includes all forms of condemnation against the CPP-NPA-NDF and its front organizations whether it is directed against its members of the CTGs or their acts of violence and atrocities.
“Just the same, it means that they are not welcome in the LGUs and they cannot use that LGU as a base to kill or ambush government forces or liquidate, kidnap, or extort from innocent civilians,” he explained.
Explaining further, Malaya said that the time has come for LGUs to make a stand against the end the reign of terror of the CTGs and express their support for democracy, for peace, and for the country.
Out of the 1,546 LGUs that have declared CTGs as persona non grata, the DILG reported that 64 provinces, 110 cities, and 1,372 municipalities have already passed resolutions while the remaining 169 LGUs are in various stages of deliberation in their respective provincial, city, and municipal councils.
In addition, the DILG noted that some 12,474 barangays nationwide have also declared the CPP-NPA-NDF as persona non grata in their respective localities.