Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 16) — Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong blasted Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI) personalities, including its owner Apollo Quiboloy, for accusing him of treason and colluding with communist insurgents.
In a statement on Monday, Magalong called out controversial religious leader Quiboloy, former anti-communist task force spokesperson Lorraine Badoy, and former communist rebel Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz over “unfounded accusations” made in the programs of SMNI.
“This tirade against me is unfounded and baseless and has subjected my person to needless and undeserved condemnation,” the local chief executive said.
“To be accused that I have turned my back on my lifelong commitment against the CPP/NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army) is a grave insult that sweeps aside my lengthy and loyal service to the Philippines,” Magalong added.
He also warned of legal action against the three for their “habit of incessantly defaming people without an iota of evidence.”
Magalong made the statement after Quiboloy “red-tagged” him, accusing the mayor of supporting the communist movement over his 2022 directive to remove tarpaulins and posters in the city directly linking local activists to the CPP, NPA, and the National Democratic Front (NDF).
In his program Spotlight, Quiboloy stated that Magalong had taken down posters criticizing the party-list groups Kabataan and Anakbayan, which the pastor said were fronts for the CPP-NPA-NDF. The party-lists have consistently refuted the claim.
“Pinatanggal ang mga posters na nagpapakita na ang Anakbayan at Kabataan party-list ay CPP-NPA-NDF-inclined sa kanyang lungsod ng Baguio. Pinatigil niya yung mga activities na bumabangga sa Kabataan party-list… Anong masasabi rito? Kakampi siya, kasabwat siya, kasama siya,” Quiboloy said.
[Translation: The posters showing that the Anakbayan and Kabataan party-list are CPP-NPA-NDF-inclined were removed in the city of Baguio. He stopped the activities against the Kabataan party-list… What do these say? He’s an ally, he’s an accomplice, he’s with them.]
Badoy and Celis echoed Quiboloy’s remarks on the SMNI program Laban Kasama Ang Bayan which they hosted.
Meanwhile, Magalong asserted that he had participated in anti-communist insurgency efforts and was a member of the regional branches of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
After graduating from the Philippine Military Academy in 1982, he recounted how he engaged in guerilla warfare against communists in Luzon and Mindanao. He said his first deployment was in Abra, where he was injured during combat operations.
As mayor of Baguio, Magalong said his support for the government remains “unflinching.”
“I am safeguarding our young constituents from being subjected to unnecessary vilification by striving to ensure that our youth activists — not communists — in Baguio are safe from persecution and harassment,” he said. “Youthful activism does not necessarily mean espousing a communist ideology.”
