Esperon brushes aside report of being on Reds’ kill list

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Friday brushed aside reports the he was on the supposed “kill list” of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army.

“Never mind. I have consecrated myself to the service of the nation. Alam ko naman saan ang nilalaruan ko eh... that’s a condition that should be assumed by all soldiers, by all policemen, by all in the security sector,” Esperon said. 

“Kinakailangan tingnan din nila ‘yung security nila but such pronouncements na target kami, that will not deter us from performing or make us decelerate on what we’re doing, tuloy pa rin,” he added.

Major General Antonio Parlade Jr., the spokesman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC),  has claimed that the CPPwas implementing Oplan Hades which aims to neutralize counter-revolutionaries.

Aside from Esperon, included in the “kill list” of the communists were Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and National Commission on Indigenous Peoples chairman Allen Capuyan, Parlade said.

Año, for his part, said he is not intimidated with the “evil plot” of the communist group, noting that security forces will apprehend the rebels before they even execute their plan.

The National Capital Region Police Office said it would strengthen its security measures amid the alleged plot of the CPP.

Philippine National Police spokesman Police Brigadier General Bernard Banac has said authorities will continue to hunt for the high ranking communist leaders, especially those with standing warrants of arrest. —NB, GMA News