Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 9) — Communist rebels clarified they will never talk peace with the government under the existing orders of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Communist founder Jose Maria Sison, Chief Political Consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which represents rebels in peace negotiations, said Duterte was “completely wrong” in saying they are insisting on the resumption of talks. Duterte in a speech Thursday night said NDFP leaders Luis Jalandoni and Fidel Agcaoili “want to come home to talk.” They canceled a scheduled trip to the Philippines earlier this year after government officials threatened they would be arrested.
In his Facebook page on Thursday, Sison said, “[the] peace negotiations and the Manila visit of Agcaoili and Jalandoni are impossible so long as Duterte is in power and does not remove the aforesaid obstacles that he himself is responsible for.”
He cited the following presidential pronouncements as blocking any chance to get back to the negotiating table: Proclamation No. 360 which terminated the on-and-off talks in 2017 Proclamation 374, which tagged the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing New People’s Army (NPA) as terrorists, and Executive Order No. 70, which created a national task force to end the communist armed conflict.
Talks to end the CPP-NPA’s five-decade armed insurgency failed under the Duterte administration as both sides accused each other of ceasefire violations.
In a separate statement, the CPP said they maintain their policy of keeping the doors “always open to peace negotiations,” but stressed that the “prevailing political environment under the Duterte regime is not conducive” to the resumption.
“The situation is made worse by widespread killings by Duterte’s agents in Negros and across the country, continuing incarceration of leading NDFP consultants, as well as the recent arrest and detention of two members of the NDFP peace staff,” the CPP added.
The Duterte government believes NPA is behind the brutal slay of four policemen and the spate of killings on Negros Island, a claim the rebels have denied. The NPA instead pointed to cops who are allegedly part of vigilante group “Duterte Death Squad.”
Duterte earlier said the NPA has “crossed the red line” with the alleged torture of policemen, and warned them that he will soon implement a “severe measure” in dealing with them. He has ruled out the possibility of declaring martial law in Negros.
Meanwhile, a number of communist leaders and consultants have been arrested as Duterte refused to resume the talks. The government has since pushed for the surrender of armed communist rebels, promising them cash, housing, and livelihood assistance.
READ: How peace talks with communist rebels failed
