BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A former cadre of the Communist Party of the Philippines in Western Visayas claimed that there are still churches and religious organizations being infiltrated by the CPP and its armed wing, New People’s Army.
Ex-CPP cadre Jeffrey Celis, alias Ka Eric, revealed this during a “Transparency Forum”, which was sponsored by the Janiuay Evangelical Church in Iloilo on December 23, as he even further claimed that some high-ranking officials of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBC) alleged to have been financially supporting the CPP-NPA through “development ministry.”
In the virtual forum on December 23, which was joined by representatives of various government intelligence agencies and some members of the media, Celis claimed that his testimonial evidence has been certified in a judicial affidavit, which is now with the Anti-Terrorism Council and the Anti Money Laundering Council.
He also further alleged other church groups infiltrated by the CPP-NPA include the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan, and even the Roman Catholic Church.
On the other hand, the CPP, which marked yesterday its 53rd anniversary, brought nothing but suffering to the country and its people, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
“As we celebrate the Christmas season, we are also reminded of the national cancer that continues to ravage our country — the Communist Party of the Philippines. For more than five decades, the CPP has brought nothing but misery, loss of lives, destruction of property, and denial of a bright future for many Filipinos,” Lorenzana said in a statement.
He said the organization’s long years of futile resistance should be more than enough for it to realize that it will never succeed in forcing its unchristian ideology and communist principle on the people.
“The influence of the CPP will continue to diminish as the government implements a whole-of-nation approach.”
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Andres Centino said the CPP has suffered irreversible damage as government troops continue to gain tactical and strategic victories against the terrorist group.
“The CPP has nothing to celebrate on its December 26 anniversary. The year 2021 was the most successful period in our fight against insurgency. Our campaign has proven to be effective with the employment of the whole of nation approach involving instrumentalities of government in addressing the root causes of conflict that are at the center of the CPP’s manipulation and exploitation scheme,” he added.*
