By Tara Yap
mb.com.ph
29 February 2012
ILOILO CITY, Iloilo – There is no truth to the news that Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison has arrived in the country and is in Iloilo.
Reports from two newspapers cited an anonymous military intelligence officer claiming Sison, who sought asylum in the Netherlands, arrived in the country last January and is being coddled by politicians in Iloilo.
It also quoted the military officer saying Sison arrived in Iloilo onboard a plane from Hong Kong. However, the new Iloilo Airport has no international flights.
Capt. Reylan Java, 3ID spokesman, disclosed that no information has reached its intelligence unit.
He also said there was no confirmation from the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) about such report.
“It would be impossible for the military not to know given it involves a high-profiled personality,” Java emphasized.
He also said this may be another case of unreliable information from an unreliable source.
Java cited the incident last September 2011 when there were reports on the alleged presence of a special unit of the New People’s Army (NPA), the CPP’s armed group, in Iloilo City.
S/Supt. Marietto Valerio, city police director, claimed that a special partisan unit (SPARU) was targeting politicians and businessmen.
“It later turned out the information was from a retired military officer,” Java said.
From the DAILY GUARDIAN, WESTERN VISAYAS PHILIPPINES
Joma Sison in Iloilo? Not true, says Army By: Tara Yap
THERE IS no truth to the news that Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison has arrived in the country and is in Iloilo.
“Apparently, Joma was interviewed by DZRH while in the Netherlands,” said Maj. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr., commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID).
Reports from national newspapers Business Mirror and Manila Standard Today cited an anonymous military intelligence officer claiming that Sison, who sought asylum in the Netherlands, arrived in the country last January and is being coddled by politicians in Iloilo.
It also quoted the military officer saying Sison arrived in Iloilo onboard a plane from Hong Kong. However, the new Iloilo Airport has no international flights.
Capt. Reylan Java, 3ID spokesman, disclosed that no information has reached its intelligence unit.
There was also no confirmation from the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP).
“It would be impossible for the military not to know given it involves a high-profiled personality,” Java emphasized.
Java also said that this may be another case of unreliable information from an unreliable source.
Java cited the incident last September 2011 when there were reports on the alleged presence of a special unit of the New People’s Army (NPA), the CPP’s armed group, in Iloilo City. S/Supt. Marietto Valerio, city police director, claimed that a special partisan unit (SPARU) was targeting politicians and businessmen.
“It later turned out the information was from a retired military officer,” Java said. Sison serves as the chief consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the negotiating group of the CPP-NPA.
The government peacetalks with the CPP-NPA-NDF came to a halt last February 2011. NDF accused the government of violating the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) by detaining NDF members who are said to be peace consultants.
