THERE have been reports about Mr. Jose Ma. Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), endorsing the candidacy of a "presidentiable." Last week, he was quoted in the news expressing his support for the same candidate. He boasted further that he provided advice to that candidate's spokesman. In no time, this Malacañang aspirant issued a media statement denying the report in its entirety — threatening to take legal actions against the perpetrator of the "fake news." Mind you, this is not much an issue about the candidate being allegedly supported or endorsed than it is about the reported supporter or endorser. While Mr. Sison himself denied having issued such statement, some quarters express serious reservations owing to Mr. Sison's sullied reputation.

A few weeks ago, members of the so-called Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives were accused by President Rodrigo Duterte as legal fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA). He advised the public not to vote for party-list group (PLG) candidates belonging to Kabataan, Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, Alliance of Concerned Teacher and Gabriela (Kabag) — an accusation the lawmakers vehemently denied. The denial is expected; no candidate in his or her right mind will risk being identified or dare admit having links with the CPP-NPA. It's a no-brainer that these contenders publicly dissociate themselves from the NPA, which was labeled as a terrorist group under the Anti-Terrorism Law and declared as such by the European Union, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Philippines.

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