Peace with Reds still possible

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – President Duterte may still pursue peace with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) even if peace negotiations with the group have folded.

“In due time this will be resolved because this is no longer about ideo-logy but about the Filipino people,” the President said, referring to conflicts in Mindanao, including the one with the communist rebels.

The interest of the people, he added, should be above anything else even when ideologies remain respected.

In his visit to Surigao City yesterday, Duterte said he remained hopeful that things would look up for the earthquake victims and for all in Mindanao “once peace will prevail in the island.”

“I tried everything, I walked the extra mile, released prisoners, released their leaders so they can go to Oslo (Norway) to talk, and now they want 400 prisoners who fought the government under a rebellion released. This will (be) only given after a successful talk. What is there to talk about if I would release them?” the President added.

Yesterday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) condemned the New People’s Army (NPA), the communists’ armed unit, for recruiting children to cope with its dwindling number of combatants.

The Army 28th Infantry Battalion reported that Rhea Liza Davis, a 13-year-old Davao Regional Athletic Association (DAVRAA) athlete, was recruited by the rebel group and eventually separating the girl from her family.

Leonila Davis, the girl’s mother, sought military help after efforts to recover her child failed.

The younger Davis was reportedly taken by Evelyn Hermocilla, who goes by the aliases Kara and Riza, on Jan. 30 in Buso, a mountain barangay of Mati town in Davao Oriental.

Hermocilla, who belongs to Section Committee 18, Sub-Regional Committee 2 of the communists’ Southern Mindanao Regional Command, allegedly refused to return the girl despite Leonila’s pleadings.

Some residents reported seeing the girl crying while traveling with an armed group.

In a statement, the Army said 101 families from Kasunugan, Tampat, Cabucanan and Kawitan, all smaller communities of Barangay Buso, were forced to evacuate last week as people feared a forced NPA recruitment.

Colonel Reuben Basiao, 701st Brigade commander, and Buso chairman Lolito Andan appealed for help in recovering the girl as they distributed food packs to the displaced families.

Duterte also went to Butuan City yesterday to posthumously award Sgt. Marlon Balais a bronze anahaw leaf medal for his meritorious services to the nation. Balais, a scout leader of the 29th Infantry battalion, was killed in a firefight with NPA rebels in Agusan del Norte.

Also killed in the clash was Jerson Beto, a grade 11 student, and small-scale miner Pepito Tiambong.

The encounter happened a week after Duterte terminated the peace talks with the communist rebels and labeled them a terrorist group. The President decided to scrap the peace negotiations after the communists insisted on their demand to free more than 400 rebel leaders whom they claim to be political prisoners.

Duterte rejected the demand, which he described as tantamount to granting amnesty. Communist rebels then called off the unilateral ceasefire and stepped up attacks against government forces in various parts of the country.

Former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada is backing Duterte’s declaration of war against the NPA although he continues to hope that peace negotiations would resume.

He said the communists have all the reasons to fear Duterte’s wrath because the President never backs down from a fight.

“They should fear President Duterte. Let us see if the President will still give them a chance,” Estrada said when asked about the NPA going head-to-head against Duterte.

The CPP, in a statement, said an all-out war would fail and that defeating the NPA is only a Duterte pipedream.

“Other regimes before him have tried and failed,” the CPP said.

The NPA was tagged as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department and as a terrorist group by the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy. Its estimated strength has since dwindled to less than 3,000.

Estrada said Duterte was right when he suspended the unilateral ceasefire in reaction to the atrocities and ceasefire violations committed by the NPA in the past weeks, but stressed that he supports another round of peace talks.

He recalled his days when, as president, he ordered the Moro Islamic Liberation Front camps and territories wiped out during his war against terrorism, noting that he gave the group enough opportunities to talk with the government.

“I talked to them for about three months then in the fourth month, they burned down Kauswagan (Lanao del Norte). Many innocent civilians, mostly children were killed, and they even beheaded six soldiers,” Estrada said.

Estrada said the MILF raid on Kauswagan was the last straw.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said they are not affected with the collapse of the government’s talks with the NPA, adding that the administration’s negotiation with the Moro people is distinct.

He welcomed the recent announcement of new members of the expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission – a body that will draft the new Bangsamoro enabling law as part of the implementation process of the southern peace pact or the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the Philippine government and the MILF in March 2014. – Edith Regalado, Michael Punongbayan, Jose Rodel Clapano, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Alexis Romero