March 29, 2024

Mayor Benjamin Magalong has set out to move on from the communist tagging fray that arose from his selection to the national body looking into the drug culpability of Philippine National Police personnel recently.
“Let us move on and join together in affirming our common commitment to free our country of communist terrorists, Islamist terrorists and drugs, a legacy that we need to pass on to the next generation,” the mayor said in his message to his fellow Philippine Military Academy cavaliers last Jan. 22.
Magalong said there is no need to dwell on the unfounded tirade against his person, saying time and energy is better spent on addressing the problems at hand.
“The challenges that we face versus the communist-terrorist groups are equally great and require the unwavering support and efforts of all our cavaliers and stakeholders. The passion continues and let us be proud and secure in knowing that our PMA family, the family that we chose, will always support us in our advocacy to promote authentic good governance which is, as a matter of personal opinion, the only way we can completely eradicate communism in our country,” he said.
Magalong received overwhelming support from the PMA, Philippine National Police, and various sectors in the national, regional and city levels, vouching for his character and belying the claims made by his detractors.
“In all the decisions that I have made in my public life, I have always been guided by the principles that I have learned from my alma mater, the PMA – courage, integrity and loyalty.
After an unfortunate tirade these past few days against my character, I am grateful that the dust is beginning to settle and the healing process has started. Much of this is all because of the unwavering support of those who have stood by me, publicly and privately,” he said.
“Your testament of support only humbles me further and inspires me to fight the good fight,” he added.
The mayor was recently chosen as a member of the five-man committee tasked to review the records of high-ranking police officials as part of the campaign to weed out those linked to illegal drugs.
This did not sit well with former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Undersecretary Lorraine Marie Badoy, a certain “Ka Eric”, and Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, who lambasted the mayor and branded him as a “traitor”, “a person of no principles” among other accusations in their television programs.
Following Magalong’s statement, Quiboloy and Ka Eric issued their separate public apologies in their respective programs. – Aileen P. Refuerzo