MANILA, Philippines - Peace negotiations between the government and the communists would resume only if the New People’s Army (NPA) would stop extortion activities, President Duterte said yesterday.
Duterte said the “revolutionary tax” being demanded by the NPA, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is merely another term for extortion.
“I refuse to resume the peace talks with them until they stop extortion. People will say they pay taxes and yet they do not receive protection and they are being extorted by the NPA,” the President told reporters in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.
Duterte insisted that he does not want to fight with the rebels, who have been waging an armed struggle against the government for 50 years.
“I suppose that everybody’s tired of killing people for 50 years. But if they want it for another 50 years, we in the government cannot do anything,” he said.
“It’s plain extortion. And if they want to continue, to resume the talks, one of the things that I would demand for them is stop their extortion activities.”
Last May, the government deferred the fifth round of peace talks with the rebels after the CPP ordered the NPA to carry out more attacks against government forces enforcing martial law in Mindanao.
The National Democratic Front (NDF), which represents the communists in the talks, directed the NPA to refrain from attacking soldiers and policemen in Mindanao who were fighting jihadists.
Despite the pronouncement, the military and communist forces engaged in skirmishes in parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
On Tuesday, government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III said the government and the communists may resume peace negotiations in the second or third week of August.
Bello said the two panels would hold an informal meeting somewhere in Asia this month to discuss an interim ceasefire and socioeconomic reforms.
Duterte pardons 10 political prisoners
President Duterte granted pardon yesterday to 10 political prisoners detained at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.
Pardoned were Emeterio Antalan, Ricardo Solangon, Joel Ramada, Apolonio Barado, Jose Navarro, Generoso Rolida, Arnulfo Boates, Manolito Matricio, Josue Ungsod and Sonny Marbella.
The communist group earlier sought the release of more than 400 political prisoners detained in various facilities all over the country.
Left hits defense chief
The NDF slammed Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana for recommending the suspension of peace talks between the government and the communists.
In a statement, the NDF’s reciprocal working committee on socio-economic reforms said Lorenzana has “no interest at all in advancing the interests of the Filipino people.”
“His continuous harping that there should be a bilateral ceasefire before any peace talks can resume is putting the cart before the horse,” the NDF said.? According to the NDF, Lorenzana has shown that he has no grasp of the roots of the armed conflict in Mindanao.
“He rejects the fact that socio-economic reforms lie at the heart of the peace talks. He does not seem to care that any substantial gain that can be reached by the NDF and the government would benefit the greater majority of Filipinos,” it said.
The NDF said Lorenzana showed no appreciation for the milestone agreement reached by both parties to end the armed conflict in Mindanao.
The NDF welcomed the announcement of the government peace panel to hold informal talks with the NDF this month prior to the resumption of the fifth round of negotiations in the Netherlands in August.
Lorenza earlier said that he and other government officials recommended the suspension of peace talks with communist rebels, but the President was the one who decided to withdraw from the latest round of negotiations following the declaration of martial law in the south. – With Edith Regalado, Ding Cervantes