Duterte OKs ‘last chance’ for peace with Reds

MANILA, Philippines — Peace deserves one last chance.

President Duterte has approved the revival of peace negotiations with communist rebels and has instructed his officials to work on a ceasefire.

Peace adviser Jesus Dureza said Duterte issued the order during the Cabinet meeting yesterday.

Dureza said the President directed his officials “to work on the resumption of peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF, with clear instructions on the importance of forging a ceasefire agreement to stop mutual attacks and fighting while talks are underway.”

“The President said, ‘Let’s give this another last chance,’ ” Dureza added in a text message.

 This developed as the Manila regional trial court (RTC) denied the government’s bid to put back in detention communist peace negotiators who were allowed bail as they face a murder trial for the alleged communist purge in the 1980s.

Manila RTC Branch 32 Judge Thelma Bunyi denied on Tuesday the motions for reconsideration filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida for the government peace panel.

Bunyi said the Supreme Court has jurisdiction over Rafael Baylosis, Vicente Ladlad and Randall Echanis.

The rebel leaders were granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2016.

The court said the termination of the peace talks “does not, by itself, vest this Court jurisdiction to cancel their bail bonds and order their recommitment.”

Baylosis has been accused by the military of being acting secretary of the New People’s Army (NPA). He remains detained in Camp Crame after being caught in possession of illegal firearms and explosives in Quezon City last Jan. 31.

Meanwhile, the bid of couple Wilma and Benito Tiamzon appealing the court’s order for them to be hauled back in detention was denied for lack of merit.

The Tiamzons and their co-accused Adelberto Silva are at large after the Manila court last Jan. 11 canceled their bail bond following Duterte’s order to terminate the peace talks with the rebels.

The three are under the RTC’s jurisdiction since it was the court in August 2016 that allowed them temporary liberty to participate in the peace talks.

The rebel leaders’ murder charges stemmed from their role in the alleged communist purge in the 1980s, following the discovery of a mass grave in Leyte in 2006.

They were also included in the list of alleged terrorists filed before Manila RTC seeking a terrorist tag on the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NPA.

Last November, Duterte scrapped the peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA, accusing them of bad faith in attacking government forces while talks were ongoing.

Duterte has described holding talks with communists as a “waste of time.”

Duterte then ordered the DOJ to file a petition before the court seeking the declaration of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

On Tuesday, Duterte had a change of mind and said he is now open to resuming peace talks with the rebels.

Duterte said he was even willing to shoulder the expenses of communist negotiators who will join the peace talks, a new approach that he hopes will put an end to the decades-old conflict between the government and the communist insurgents.

Duterte said he no longer wants to kill fellow Filipinos who are fighting for their principles.

CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison said they are willing to return to the negotiating table and “to meet as soon as possible.”

Sison said the peace talks should resume without any preconditions.

“The (government) and NDF (National Democratic Front) as negotiating parties must comply with agreements already signed and approved by them… In resuming the peace negotiations, these agreements must be reaffirmed and followed. Obstacles and hindrances to the peace negotiations must be done away with,” Sison said.?Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the rebels should show good faith while talking peace with the government.

“They have to prove that they can rein in their fighters on the ground. And that is the question I was asking even before,” Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana earlier opposed the resumption of the peace talks with the rebels but later softened his stand after Duterte declared he is open to talking peace with the communist insurgents.

“There’s no need for me to put it in black and white,” he said, adding that should the peace talks be revived, the government must have an assurance from the CPP-NPA leadership of full control of their fighters. – Alexis Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano, Jaime Laude, Gilbert Bayoran