Officer-in-Charge, DILG

Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Ferdinand Gaite should just help in the fight against COVID-19 instead of spreading fake news against the Department of the Interior and Local Government. It is not true that the Memorandum dated March 10, 2010 of DILG Asst. Secretary for Public Safety and Security Alexander Macario “red-tagged” the group COURAGE and that a hitlist is now being prepared by government.

Records will show that it was Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison himself who “red-tagged” or identified the organizations that they have infiltrated and now control in a video which was shown in the Senate. In fact, the National Intelligence and Coordinating Agency (NICA) has reported that COURAGE has been infiltrated by the Makabayang Kawaning Pilipino (MKP), an underground mass organization (UGMO) that advocates for armed struggle under the direct control of the CPP-NPA-NDF.

While the Department recognizes our employees’ constitutional right to join associations, they should bear in mind that this right is not absolute. It is but the legal and moral obligation of this Department to investigate if there are employees within our ranks seeking shelter in the very system they wish to destroy.

It is our sworn obligation to determine if the organization has been infiltrated and if our employees are being recruited and exploited. Government officials and employees owe allegiance to the Republic at all times. Under Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees, civil servants shall at all times be loyal to the Republic and to the Filipino people, uphold the Constitution, and put loyalty to country above loyalty to persons or party.

Rep. Gaite’s claim that a hitlist is now being prepared by government is another figment of his imagination. The DILG has its hand full fighting the pandemic for more than a year now that it has no time and energy to engage in his wild schemes.

Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/STATEMENT-OF-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-THE-INTERIOR-AND-LOCAL-GOVERNMENT/NC-2021-1052