BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – The Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLAC) freeze order against a non profit in the Visayas believed to be financing terrorism in Negros island and other provinces in the region will push the Communist Party deeper into dire straits and will prove to be another death blow to the floundering insurgency.
“Thst will deny them at least P100 million a year,” star anti Communist witness Jeffrey Celiz alias Ka Eric Almendras told DNX citing studies conducted by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
Celiz, a former ranking acommunist cadre assigned to the National Operations Command of the NPA after chairing the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Panay was a key player in the Duterte government’s Whole of Nation approach, a reinvigorated anti-insurgency.
The former urban Communist operative identified key players in the Communist movement and laid bare operations of the CPP through its legal fronts in city and town centers and even named ranking cadres operating in key organizations of the CPP in Manila.
302nd Brigade commander, Brigadier General Joey Escanillas, who filed the formal complaint against CERNET, hailed the decision and was quoted in a dispatch from Brigade civil military officer, Major Jessie Batiller, as having said “…Through the collaborative efforts with the law enforcement agencies, we believe in the capability and integrity of AMLC in its commitment to protecting against the threats posed by money laundering and terrorism financing.”
“This serves as a stern warning to NGOs and other legal institutions that have been deceiving innocent individuals in the guise of helping the marginalized sector.”
CERNET,often described in social media and Internet pages as a network of “development and humanitarian advocates” that funds some projects in Negros Oriental.
Escanillas had also earlier filed complaints against several non profits in the province covered by the 302nd including the Farmers Dev’t Center (FARDEC), the Negros Oriental Network (NEGORNET) , a partner of the NegOr Capitol LGU province; (Siliman University Center for Extension and Development (SUCED) TUBURAN for Rural Women Empowerment and Dev’t Inc; and Pinaghugpong sa Gagmyang Grupo sa Oriental (PAGBAG-O).
How to manipulate
Celiz pointed out while CERNET often raises its being a non profit registered with the government’s Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a defense, the funneling of money to terrorist operations of the NPA and recruitment operations of the CPP lies exactly in its being a legitimate organization.
While it may appear legitimate on the outside, Celiz pointed out most, if not all, of its directors and key officers are members of the CPP.
This allows it to make what looks like “legal decisions” and “benevolent decisions” in spending money.
But how?
The key to skimming money from “legal” projects to illegal spending is done through the levels of a project implementation.
These are:
Full implementation: all the money allocated is spent on a project to make the foundation appear credible tp foreign funders;
Credible reality: a 50-50 or 60-40 or up to 70-30 sharing scheme between the money allocated for a project and the regional organ of the Party or in the case of Negros, the Regional Party Committee for Negros-Cebu-Bohol-Siquijor provinces; and
Ghost implementation: all the money goes to the CPP.
