The Chadli Molintas Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) has disclosed that the military is gearing for massive electoral fraud to ensure the victory of administration candidates as Philippine Military Academy (PMA) officials deny the existence of the said order dubbed as Oplan Mercury Rising.

BY ACE ALEGRE
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
ELECTION WATCH
Vol. VII, No. 14 May 13-19, 2007

The Chadli Molintas Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) has disclosed that the military is gearing for massive electoral fraud to ensure the victory of administration candidates as Philippine Military Academy (PMA) officials deny the existence of the said order dubbed as Oplan Mercury Rising.

Martin Montana, spokesman of the said NPA command claims that “sympathetic and conscienticized” junior military officers revealed that they have been ordered to exert all efforts to prevent progressive party-lists and candidates from winning and ensure victory for the administration coalition Team Unity and pro-military candidates in the region.

Montana further said that the military in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions are preparing to use all sorts of dirty tricks to disenfranchise the people of their right to vote that includes ballot substitution, ballot box switching, flying voters, harassment and intimidation of progressive candidates and party list groups, and destruction of campaign posters of anti-Arroyo candidates, and others.

“This comes as no surprise, as Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV had earlier exposed similar information,” Montana said. “His comrades informed him that AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon had ordered ground troops to cheat for the 12 administration senatorial bets.”

Montana also cited military officers admitting on national television that ground troops were openly campaigning for Dato Arroyo and against progressive party-list groups such as Bayan Muna (People First)in Camarines Sur. He added the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been actively campaigning for the party-list group Bantay (The True Marcos Loyalist), which has as its first nominee retired Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr., who earned notoriety for the spate of human rights violations in his areas of command.

Montana also said army soldiers and Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) members in Davao Oriental also admitted to the media that they were instructed to vote for pro-administration candidates and party-list groups.

Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz who appeared on national media said teachers in Pangasinan were offered from P50,000 to P100,000 ($1,059 to $2,119 at an exchange rate of $1=P37.175) to undertake dagdag-bawas (vote-shaving and vote-padding). Same reports said opposition parties and candidates are being harassed – including Trillanes, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, Jonjon Villanueva, and even former President Cory Aquino.

“These are not isolated incidents,” Montana said. “There is an obvious pattern of national conspiracy to ensure that Arroyo loyalists remain in power and rivals are cheated. From north to south, in far-flung barrios where there is little monitoring and even in vote-rich areas such as urban poor communities in Metro Manila, the military has been deliberately deployed and ordered to commit electoral fraud in favor of the Arroyo clique and against all anti-Arroyo forces, in the guise of voter’s education and peace-keeping.”

“The AFP generals’ standard reply is simply to deny any charges of fraud through the mass media because in the end, they go scot-free and will even be rewarded, just as Esperon was promoted to chief of staff for ensuring Arroyo’s victory through dagdag-bawas,” Montana said.

“There is yet hope, however, with the growing disenchantment among conscienticized, honorable, and incorruptible military officers, especially the younger ones, who can no longer stomach the Arroyo regime’s depravity,” Montana added. “The more that Arroyo and her generals lust for power, the farther will they drive the people towards the path of revolution. The revolutionary movement and the New People’s Army (NPA) will exhaust all means to frustrate the Arroyo regime’s nefarious schemes at every step of the way.”

The Chadli Molintas Command calls on all enlightened junior officers of the AFP and PNP to further expose and oppose the rotten plot of the Arroyo regime to rig the coming elections.

Indeed, a text message from a brigade commander – an Army lieutenant-colonel based in Northern Luzon – received by this writer shows he is actively campaigning for UNI-MAD, one of the alleged Malacañang-funded partylist groups. His message read: “Iboto natin UNI-MAD na partylist, pantapat at panlaban sa front ng CPP-NPA (Let us vote for UNI-MAD party-list against Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA fronts). Please pass to all ur fam, relatives n frens and ask them to pass 8 on. Sugpuin ang communista (Defeat communists). GODBLESS.”

PMA superintendent Major Gen. Leopoldo Maligalig insisted, “if there would be (any electoral fraud), it is definitely not at the PMA.”

Maligalig said the PMA is “leaving politics to the politicians,” as he pointed out that the PMA cadets are now “more insulated” against partisan politics, “although not completely isolated from the outside world because cadets, even officers, are exposed to the media, and other mediums like the electronic media.”

PMA spokesman Air Force Capt. Dennis Solomon also said that although cadets and officers in the PMA have their own political choices and own candidates, they keep it to themselves. He denied there was a radio message ordering all AFP personnel a 12-0 win in favor of the administration ticket, although he admitted he heard of such “rumor” from the supposed whistle blowers that included even former army generals who are also PMA alumni. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

 Save as PDF