From politicians: Rebels demand pay of campaign permits

CEBU, Philippines - The AFP Central Command is now strictly monitoring areas in the provinces of Negros Oriental and Samar, based on information it received about some politicians in those areas being asked by communist rebels to pay permit to campaign and permit to win.

Lieutenant Col. Christopher Tampus, spokesman of the CentCom, said both strategies have been forms of extortion and unfair form of campaign which the military could not allow to happen.

“Dili ni maayo and we have to exert efforts nga mapugngan ang pagpanghasi pero wala pa mi specific number of politicians involved,” Tampus told The Freeman.

A permit to campaign is when a politician is being demanded to pay to the rebels before he or she can enter a particular mountain barangay to campaign there.

A permit to win, on the other hand, means that the rebels extort money from politicians by giving the latter an assurance of winning in a certain area.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the authorities have to implement the law and check areas where these forms of extortion are being carried out.

“Hindi natin pababayaan na ipagpatuloy nila ang ganyan. Gagawin natin ang dapat gawin,” Gazmin said, adding that using the soldiers for a politician's campaign would also be a violation to the Armed Forces.