No talks with Reds, but peace to be pursued

MANILA, Philippines - President Duterte will no longer talk with communist rebels, but he vowed to pursue peace up to his last day in office and even beyond.

Duterte, in his State of the Nation Address yesterday, threatened to order soldiers and police to shoot the rebels if they continue their atrocities against government forces.

“You do anarchy, I will order soldiers and the police to shoot even if I have to bury thousands of Filipinos,” he said.

Duterte said the Left crossed the line when it seized housing units in Bulacan intended for uniformed personnel.

The President admitted that he is sometimes discouraged by the challenges to his administration, but he is not giving up on peace.

“Sometimes I am almost tempted to conclude that peace might not be able to come during our lifetime. But believe me, it will not be for want of trying,” he said.

“I will persist in our goal of attaining peace until the last day of this administration.”

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) asked its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), to carry out offensives across the country to resist Duterte’s bid to extend martial law in Mindanao.

“To the Left, I will not talk to you. Why should I?” Duterte said.

“They accused me of being a bully. That’s true. I said I’m a bully to the enemies of the state. If you don’t want to talk to me, I don’t want to talk to you,” he added.

The NPA is pulling the government’s leg into agreeing to peace talks to have more time to recruit new members, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said yesterday.

Dela Rosa said the government should realize that the NPA was not sincere in promoting peace in the country.

He expressed support for the President’s decision to suspend peace negotiations with the communist group.

“I support the pronouncement of the President. We should learn our lesson. We should not resume the peace talks unless the rebels stop their hostilities,” the PNP chief told reporters.

Initially set on May 27 to June 1, the fifth round of peace talks was called off by Duterte due to intensified attacks by the NPA against government forces in Mindanao despite the declaration of martial law.

Four members of the Presidential Security Group were wounded when they were ambushed by NPA rebels in Arakan, North Cotabato on July 19.

Dela Rosa said the rebels should blame themselves for the stalled peace talks.

Fresh offensives

A soldier died in an encounter with NPA rebels in Quezon province yesterday.

Reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo said members of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion under Col. Arnulfo Burgos clashed with the NPA at around 5:25 a.m.

Burgos said troops were patrolling Sitio Bantigue, Cagsiay 2 in Mauban town when they chanced upon a group of NPA rebels extorting money from a construction firm in the area.

Reports said a firefight that lasted for about 10 minutes ensued, leaving one fatality on the side of government forces with bloodstains found along the withdrawal route of the rebels.

Burgos ordered troops to conduct pursuit operations against the rebels.

Maj. Gen. Rhoderick Parayno, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division, said the rebels were about to torch the equipment of Marc Built Construction when the soldiers arrived.

The military appealed to the business community not to give in to the rebels’ extortion demand in the form of revolutionary tax.– With Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Michael Punongbayan, Evelyn Macairan, Artemio Dumlao, Jennifer Rendon, Freeman