Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong slammed on Monday, Jan. 16, “unfounded and baseless” tirades that linked him to the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), saying that he was gravely insulted.
Magalong said he was disappointed with preacher Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Confict (NTF-ELCAC) spokesperson Lorraine Marie Badoy-Pertosa, and a certain Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz who introduces himself as a former communist rebel for allegedly “destroying my reputation as a public servant.”
“To be accused that I have turned my back on my lifelong commitment against the CPP-NPA is a grave insult that sweeps aside my lengthy and loyal service to the Philippines,” Magalong said in a statement.
“In relation to the above-mentioned personalities who have acquired the habit of incessantly defaming people without an iota of evidence, be reminded that NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW,” he added.
Accordingly, Quiboloy, Badoy, and Celiz branded Magalong as a “traitor” and “a person of no principles” as they accused the latter of being a part of the CPP-NPA in a program on Sonshine Media Network, Inc. (SMNI), which is owned by the controversial church leader.
The trio also urged Magalong to condemn the CPP-NPA as they claimed that failure to do so would “prove” his connection to the underground movement of the communist groups.
This was not the first time that Badoy has accused Magalong of ties to the CPP-NPA.
Magalong, a retired Philippine National Police (PNP) general, was suspected by Badoy of having connections to communist groups when he ordered the removal of posters in Baguio City that red-tagged youth activists in March 2022. At the time, Badoy was a spokesperson for the NTF-ELCAC.
“I am safeguarding our young constituents from being subjected to unnecessary vilification by striving to ensure that our youth activists – not communists – in Baguio are safe from persecution and harassment. Youthful activism does not necessarily mean espousing a communist ideology,” Magalong said.
He then stressed that if his actions as the head of the Baguio City local government are under question, “let due process be sternly observed.”
“By all means, take all the necessary steps that I be sanctioned, in accordance with procedures in place, without having to be publicly scorned over a non-issue,” Magalong said.