Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 11) — Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the government should restart peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army, and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
“I hope that he [Teodoro] reconsiders that position, because this long-running communist insurgency has resulted in the loss of many Filipino lives — communist guerrillas, soldiers and civilians, including children,” Rodriguez said in a statement on Sunday.
This was after newly appointed Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word on Wednesday that he was not considering negotiations with the leftists, as it “undercuts and undermines the democratic process.” He also said the agency could not tolerate “legitimizing their existence.”
READ: ‘No reason’ to open peace talks with CPP-NPA — Defense chief
A member of the House Committee on National Defense And Security, Rodriguez said that if the number of communists was dwindling, as Teodoro said in his interview, then the government was “morally obliged” to negotiate instead of fighting them.
“I am sure that these CPP-NPA-NDF remnants would want to enjoy life in peace with their families, instead of getting exterminated by the overwhelming military power of the state,” he said.
He also noted the economic development in Tarlac and Pampanga, which he said are provinces formerly known to be “hotbeds” of the communist movement.
“Look where Tarlac and Pampanga are now. They are growth areas. They are booming because there are no more communists there, and because the government built infrastructure like roads in these provinces,” he said.
Teodoro hails from Tarlac and represented its 1st legislative district from 1998 to 2007.
The department should convince remaining communist forces to surrender, Rodriguez said.
Former president Rodrigo Duterte ended peace negotiations with the CPP in 2017. After its founder, Joma Sison, died in December 2022, the party said it was willing to resume the peace talks.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez also urged Teodoro to reconsider reviving the agreement between the University of the Philippines (UP) and the Department of National Defense that prohibits the military and the police from entering the state university’s campuses without informing its officials.
