Leni: Red-tagging campaign to make presidential bid stronger

Efforts linking her and her supporters to communists will only make her presidential campaign stronger, Vice President Leni Robredo said on Monday.

Robredo made the remarks as the National Task Force to End the Local Armed Conflict released a statement alleging that the Communist Party of the Philippines had expressed support for Robredo's bid for the presidency.

"Itong red-tagging, walang pinagmulan eh. Nagpapasalamat nga ako kay Senator Sonny [Trillanes] na unang sumagot na hindi ito totoo. Of all people, hindi siya papayag na mag infiltrate kami [sa communists]. Hindi kami makikipag-coalesce sa CPP-NPA. Kaya kailangan namin i-call out," Robredo said at a press conference.

[This red-tagging is baseless, and I thank Senator Sonny for saying that it is not true. Of all people, he won't allow us to be infiltrated by communists. We are not coalescing with CPP-NPA. That is why we need to call out fake news.]

"Kapag hindi mo kasi sinasagot head on iyong fake news, sila ang namamayagpag e. Pero taumbayan na rin ang sumasagot. Hindi ako ie-endorse ng mga professional organizations,mga teachers, United Nations workers, economists, universities, kung naniniwala sila roon," she added.

(If you stay silent on fake news, it will fester. But the people are also belying these claims. Professional organizations, teachers, UN workers, economists, universities won't endorse my [residential bid if they believe that lie claiming I am coalescing with communists.)

Robredo also called out the defacing of the mural supporting her bid painted by her supporters and was painted over by white paint in Las Piñas on Sunday, saying that such petty antics only makes supporters more willing to reach out and expand their base.

"They should have learned their lesson in Echague [Isabela] na sobrang liit ng wall na pininturahan ng mga bata [tapos pininturahan ng puti]. Ito iyong nag-iignite sa puso ng mga tao, na iyong mga dating silent o neutral eh lumalaban [na]," Robredo said.

(Such action will only ignite the desire of people to fight back.)

"Nangyari ito sa Cavite, nangyari ito sa Bacolod. Lalo mong nilalagyan ng balakid, lalong nagtitrigger ang mga tao. Lalo lang umiinit ang puso ng volunteers na sabihin na hindi nila ito gusto at hindi ito dapat na ginagawa sa kanila," she added.

(This happened in Cavite, Bacolod. The more you stop them, the more they are triggered, it lights up a fire in their heart to resist moves done to them which are unacceptable.)

The government’s anti-insurgency task force on Monday slammed presidential candidate Vice President Leni Robredo for her alleged association with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

In a statement, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) cited the supposed endorsement of CPP founder Joma Sison for Robredo’s presidential bid.

“VP Leni Robredo’s camp should stop insulting the intelligence of the Filipino people by pretending they have not made a pact with the devil, the communist terrorist CPP NPA NDF,” NTF-ELCAC spokesperson Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy said.

“The mere fact that no less than the founder of the this terrorist organization, Joma Sison tweeted his official endorsement of her is proof positive that this marriage made in the bowels of hell has been consummated,” she added.

Badoy said that the Makabayan Bloc had also endorsed Robredo for presidency. For Badoy, this support was an endorsement by the CPP. —NB, GMA News