By CPP Information Bureau
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today declared that the New People's Army (NPA) has not been targetting PCOS (Precint Count Optical Scan) machines in its tactical offensives against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). However, the CPP advised the Commission on Elections (Comelec) not to use the AFP to transport these and other election paraphernalia so as to prevent these from being inadvertently affected in NPA tactical offensives.
The CPP issued the statement in reaction to claims by the AFP that recent ambuscades launched by the NPA in Mindoro, Masbate and Catanduanes had the objective of seizing PCOS machines being transported by military units. In all these incidents, the NPA units did not seize any of the machines. "It was only incidental that the military units ambushed by concerned NPA units were transporting the said PCOS machines. The ambushes were carried out in accordance with prevailing rules of war."
"The revolutionary forces do not have an objective of sabotaging the conduct of the May 10 elections through the use of force or by any means" said the CPP. "As it is turning out, the revolutionary forces do not even need to do anything for the reactionary elections to fail or become utterly incredulous, as is now being portended by the series of anomalies and glitches that are now coming out of the rotten woodwork of the government election body and its automation contractor."
"However, as the reactionary elections proceed, the revolutionary movement will continue to enforce policies to ensure the peaceful conduct of election-related activities in revolutionary areas and protect the rights of the people," said the CPP. "The revolutionary political authorities will continue to exercise its powers to prevent coercive electioneering and other acts of violence against the people."
The CPP pointed out that "revolutionary forces in the countryside have been able to achieve a large measure of success in enforcing the policies of the People's Democratic Government concerning the conduct of the reactionary elections within its territory."
"In the past several weeks, NPA units were able to confiscate at least 50 firearms from private armed escorts, as well as police and military escorts of warlord-politicos who have violated the policies of revolutionary authorities, such as the prohibition of carrying arms and taking along armed escorts in areas covered by the authority of the people's revolutionary government," added the CPP. "Through these actions, the NPA succeeded in reducing outbreaks of electoral violence which are often perpetrated by these warlord-politicos."
