Karapatan denounced attempts by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in cahoots with the Philippine National Police to derail Makabayan senatorial candidate Liza Maza’s formal announcement of her electoral bid.
Maza was scheduled to announce her candidacy before Makabayan constituents and other residents of vote-rich Caloocan City but was denied a permit by the local city government. Local residents were likewise harassed and threatened by the police and ordered not to attend Maza’s launching event.
Undeterred, Maza announced her candidacy through a press conference in Quezon City.
“No doubt, the NTF-ELCAC will be exploiting the upcoming mid-term electoral campaign to spread disinformation to malign and discredit progressive candidates like Liza Maza,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay.
“This is a gross violation of the people’s right to choose as their leaders persons with proven pro-people records,” added Palabay, instead of corrupt trapos who have never had the people’s true interests in mind.”
“Karapatan calls on the electorate to be vigilant, and to expose and frustrate schemes that will surely be hatched by the NTF-ELCAC in the latter’s desperate try to redtag, villify and isolate progressive candidates from the masses,” said Palabay.
