Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) OIC-Secretary Eduardo M. Año assures the public that the Philippine National Police (PNP) and all the uniformed personnel of the DILG are professional officers and will not allow themselves to be used for “adventurism or destabilization”amidst reports that that there has been initial recruitment of soldiers for the Red October plot.
“As DILG Chief, I categorically state that the loyalty of the PNP and all the uniformed members of our attached agencies are to the Constitution and the rule of law and we will not be a party to any illegal move to topple down the Duterte administration,” says Año.
Among the attached agencies of the DILG are the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Año says he remains confident that police personnel will not entertain the idea of getting involved in the so-called “Red October” plot because the morale of the PNP is high and the administration has always been supportive of the uniformed services.
“Mataas ang morale ng kapulisan at sila ay nakatutok sa pagsugpo ng droga at kriminalidad. Wala silang oras para sa mga destabilization na yan,” he says.
Año says it is only under the term of President Duterte that the police got solid backing in its anti-criminality and anti-illegal drugs campaign.This, he adds, is aside from the huge increase in the salary and allowances of the police starting January this year.
While giving assurances that the DILG’s uniformed members will not be involved in ouster plots, he says the Department is currently monitoring and validating reports that there were attempts to recruit police officers to the Red October plot uncovered by the AFP.
“We received information on initial recruitments for the Red October plot early this month. Thus, I am still reminding all PNP personnel to stay non-partisan and be loyal to the constitution and duly constituted authorities,” he says.
According to Año, the ouster plot is part of the Red October Project of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its allied and front organizations, a grand scheme to foment labor unrest and agitation among urban poor and peasant communities, as well as to form alliances with other opposition groups.
The CPP is using its legal organizations like its labor and student movements to agitate unrest through Oplan Aklasan in coordination with opposition groups.
“I don’t understand why the CPP is denying Oplan Red October when they have been trying to topple every administration since 1968,” says the former Armed Forces chief of staff.
He says that Oplan Red October is the CPP’s last quarter campaign for 2018 aligned with its 50th founding anniversary in November. —DILGCO
