A communist rebel leader who’s also a priest in Negros Occidental appeared at a press conference.
NEGROS – After 30 long years, Frank Fernandez appeared at a clandestine press conference with a fit look.
Recently, a news report in Inquirer broke in entailing the appearance of Frank Fernandez, the priest in Negros Occidental who turned to be a leader of the communist rebels, at a press conference.
Based on the news report, it was on Thursday when Fernandez appeared at a clandestine press conference held in the Southern area of the province. He looked fit and well during his appearance.
Fernandez has previously been rumored to be sick based on the report. Later on, rumors about his death have crossed the surface. However, the appearance of Fernandez proved that rumors about his death were wrong.
The priest-turned-communist rebel leader has become the spokesperson of National Democratic Front (NDF) in the province of Negros Occidental and his recent appearance at the clandestine press conference was his first appearance in the public based on the report.
Furthermore, the military has tagged Fernandez as the rebel leader in the province who is most wanted. According to the report, a bounty worth P7.8 Million is on his head.
The report also made mention that the wife of Fernandez, Cleofe Lagtapon, was also there at the conference. Furthermore, another chief of the New People’s Army (NPA), Juanito Magbanua, was also there in the conference.
According to the news report, the priest-turned-communist rebel leader was questioned about his view of the peace talks and his rating of Pres. Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte whom he gave 5.
The 5 given by Fernandez to Pres. Duterte refers back to his performance in his first six months as the chief executive, his remarks against the United States, and his program to eradicate the contractualization in the field of employment.
Furthermore, Fernandez spoke on the war against illegal drugs. He expressed that only the less fortunate ones are the subjects of the operations and drug raids. He said that he is not agreeing with the war against illegal drugs through the extrajudicial killings.
Moreover, he emphasized that many Filipino people are working in the United States and some are living there so deems being anti-US as ‘not enough’.
The former priest also expressed a challenge to the governor of Negros Occidental Province, the 81-year-old Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., to a marathon to the camp of guerrillas in the mountains.