NPA - The biggest illegal armed group

EDITORIAL - The biggest illegal armed group
(The Philippine Star) Updated January 15, 2010 12:00 AM

From P20,000 to P500,000: those are the going rates this year, according to military officials, if candidates want freedom from harassment by communist rebels during the campaign period. The “permit-to-campaign fee” collected by the New People’s Army is not new; the rebels have extorted protection money from candidates in previous elections, as they have extorted “revolutionary taxes” from even micro entrepreneurs across the country.

While the rebels may not have the firepower of the Ampatuans, who built up an extensive private arsenal from state resources, the NPA has more members and is the largest illegal armed group in the country. And while the NPA has not committed an election-related atrocity on the scale of the Maguindanao massacre, the rebels’ extortion activities and intimidation of candidates also undermine elections and must be stopped.

Army officials reported recovering from a suspected rebel slain in Sorsogon a list of extortion victims. Candidates for vice mayor, the Army said, were asked to pay P20,000 each as permit-to-campaign fee; for councilor and board member, P30,000 each; for vice governor, P50,000; and for governor or a congressional seat, P500,000. A rebel spokesman denied specifying amounts and said they merely issued “access permits” to candidates.

A military solution will not end the insurgency and NPA fund-raising through extortion, but there are ways of discouraging the harassment of candidates. The election gun ban must be strictly enforced. Candidates must be given incentives to refuse payment and report to authorities NPA extortion attempts, including protection from retaliation.

A study conducted in the Bicol Region by the Commission on Human Rights found that during the 2007 midterm elections, communist rebels prevented people mostly in remote villages from voting. In Legazpi City, according to the CHR report, armed groups prevented at least 20,000 people from voting. With the renewed focus on dismantling private armed groups, the government must also intensify its campaign to prevent the NPA from undermining the forthcoming elections.