In a recent tweet, Kabataan (Youth) Partylist Representative Sarah Elago clarified that she is not a member of the New People’s Army (NPA), the terrorist arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Kabataan Partylist Representative ako, proud na kinatawan ng mga pag-asa ng bayan, hindi NPA. Usapang pangkapayaan ang aming sinusuportahan.
Translated to English:
“I am a member of the Kabataan Partylist, proud to embody the hope of the nation, not [a member of] the NPA. It is peace dialogue that we support.”
Well, that’s certainly on record now. Elago is “not NPA”, she says. Does that mean she is not a communist? Perhaps Elago needs to provide a full clarification of her overall leanings rather than serve her constituents piecemeal information. To put the whole question to rest, right?
Thing is, statements like these are off-the-hip reactions to memes about her circulating the Net. Much of what she does is merely react to “red tagging” and “fake news” as she does in this one…
ALERTO: HINDI PO SA AKIN GALING ANG PAHAYAG NA ITO! HINDI GALING SA KABATAAN ANG PHOTO QUOTE NA ITO!
Lumabas na ito noong Agosto 2018 matapos ang mga matagumpay na pagdiriwang natin ng Linggo ng Kabataan at International Youth Day. Lumabas na naman po ngayon mula… pic.twitter.com/mZ3xkACS0V
— Sarah Elago #95Kabataan (@sarahelago) August 11, 2019
Elago really needs to get ahead of the curve rather than be a couple of steps behind chasing her tail and reacting to every piece of “fake news” that shows up on her little radar. There is a deeper strategic challenge she faces here — her reputation with the broader electorate which seems to be more like a crisis of credibility owing to a persistent perception that she is a communist.
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