BANGUED, Abra – The unfied Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) strongly denounced some alleged impostors and federalism advocates for alleged lying just to convince people in the hinterlands to support their failed cause just to gain the sympathy of concerned government agencies to support their plight.
Unified CPLA chairman and Vice Governor Ronald Balao-as claimed it is improper for some purported CPLA leaders to give false promises to their supposed recruits in the rural areas that once the country will shift to federal form of government, the CPLA members will remain as a security force in the provinces where they are situated to compliment the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
“We do not agree and support the misinformation being done by ousted CPLA officers and members who continue to misrepresent the unified group. We succeeded in our cleansing process to rid the group of bad eggs that is why are saddened that there are disgruntled individuals who continue to use the CPLA for their own personal and political interests,” Balao-as stressed.
The unified CPLA official underscored that those who are doing the misinformation campaign are former CPLA leaders who have been declared persona non grata in some parts of the region while some have questionable integrity and credibility because of their doubtful transactions with concerned individuals and government agencies in the past.
According to him, the unified CPLA supports the stand of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera which is autonomy towards federalism and not what is espoused by this group of disgruntled CPLA officers.
Balao-as remains positive that the people of the Cordillera have learned their lesson when they bestowed their trust and confidence to ousted former CPLA officials but who took advantage of them by advancing their own political and personal interests, and thus, they should trust the unified CPLA leadership in advance their cause as they will do the same with utmost transparency and sincerity.
He also called on the PNP and the AFP to continue respecting the outcome of the Manabu peace agreement because the CPLA never violated the same and it intends to uphold it until autonomy is achieved.
He emphasized that the unified CPLA members intend to help the government in the implementation of peace and order initiatives, especially in the remote areas of the region and thus given the utmost support for contributing to the realization of lasting peace in the countryside.
Balao-as underscored that the group will continue to lobby with concerned government agencies to gain proper recognition as peacekeepers in the countryside.
By HENT
