Duterte accuses ‘socialist’ Americans of funding Communists in PH

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte accused American socialists of funding the communist insurgency in the Philippines, and the problem, he said, was that the money does not go anywhere.

The President, a self-confessed socialist, made this claim on Monday, January 22, in a speech in Mawab, Compostela Valley province.

“Kana sila nagahatag ug kwarta diri sa mga komunista kay socialist lagi,” Duterte said in his speech.

(These people give money to the communists here because they’re socialists)

Duterte was referring to the Amerikanong puti, or white Americans, who joined the ranks of people who adhere to what he called a “popular” socialist ideology.

The trouble with funding the Communists in the Philippines, he said, was that the money goes nowhere, and ends up in the pockets of the leaders.

“Wala lang mo kahibawo kanang kwarta runing into milions naa ra na sa bulsa sa inyong mga lider,” he said.

(You just don’t know that this money, running into the millions, is just inside the pockets of your leaders)

“Sakay’g eroplano, puyo’g hotel, tua si Joma, kadugay na niya didto kinsa ma’y gabayad? Ang Norwegian? Unya manulti pa mura’g dili squatter. Hambugero pa gyud kaayo”

(Taking plane rides, staying in hotels, there’s Joma who’s staying (abroad) for a long time now; who’s paying for him? The Norwegian [government]? And then look how he speaks, as if not a squatter; arrogant as well”)

In November last year, Duterte warned Jose Maria Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, of arrest if he returns to the Philippines.

This came days after he formally terminated the government’s peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front-Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA).

He said he would also arrest not only of armed communist rebels, but also of all members of “legal fronts” helping the Left.

On Monday, he told troops that he likens the government’s counterinsurgency efforts to his war on drugs.

“Just like drugs, in this war, destroy the NPA. Destroy the organization,” he said. – Rappler.com