Sagay massacre part of ouster plot vs. Duterte, says AFP

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday claimed that the massacre of nine farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental was part of an alleged communist plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

"As we have been stressing in the past weeks, the CPP has been hatching plans to oust the Duterte Administration and this incident is part of their plan to rouse civil unrest and discredit the government," the AFP said in a statement.

The military said that the murdered farmers were new recruits of the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) which it has accused of being a front organization for the CPP's armed wing, the New People's Army.

AFP Chief Carlito Galvez Jr. also cited the Department of Agrarian Reform's (DAR) claim that the slain victims were not beneficiaries of the disputed land, saying that the communist organization lured them to participate in "Oplan Bungkalan."

"By manipulating, deceiving, and exploiting the needs of these farmers, the NFSW has put the lives of these farmers in grave danger by pitting them against the landowner and other land claimants in the area, with the ends of jumpstarting an orchestrated nationwide protest by leftist groups," Galvez said.

"I am convinced, that when the conclusive findings of the investigation have been released, the CPP-NPA and its puppet organization NFSW will have blood on their hands," he added.

'Defies logic'

The CPP has denied the existence of Red October, calling it a "poorly concocted" invention of the military.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes has slammed the military's allegation of the Sagay massacre, accusing government forces of using the incident for their "repressive military agenda."

"The only sinister plot we are seeing here is the disgusting cover-up being done by the AFP and PNP in the Sagay Massacre—deflecting the blame from the landlords and private armies in order to bolster a discredited 'destabilization' claim by involving the CPP-NPA," Reyes said in a statement.

"They are more interested in anti-Communist propaganda and witch-hunting than in achieving justice for the victims," Reyes added.

Earlier this month, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Red October was already kaput. "Wala na 'yang Red October, wala na,"  he said of the alleged plot.

Reyes also urged for an independent probe into the incident.

"There can be no credible investigation from the PNP if they continue to pursue a discredited line that defies all logic," Reyes said. — with reports from Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News