Duterte wants peace talks with Reds held in the country
MANILA, Philippines — Should the Philippine government and communist rebels resume peace negotiations, President Rodrigo Duterte said the government would shoulder the expenses of the talks, which he wants to be held in the country.
During an agricultural event at the Malacañan Palace Thursday, the chief executive said his office would spend money for the formal talks because he is "interested in peace" and he claims that the communist rebels have "limited cash."
“Come home. I will not talk there. I will subsidize your trip here. I will pay for your billeting, board and lodging,” Duterte said.
READ: Palace sets conditions for resumption of peace talks with communists
Duterte reiterated that for the peace talks to resume, communist rebels must agree to government conditions, which include declaring an absolute ceasefire, putting an end to the supposed clamor for a coalition government and stopping the collection of so-called revolutionary taxes.
He added the condition that communist guerrilla must confine themselves to their camps to avoid possible misencounters.
“If you complied to these conditions, especially the ceasefire and no revolutionary tax, [then] you confine yourselves in camp, do not go out of that camp, then we talk,” Duterte said.
He added: “I will invest in peace. I will have to spend money. But I hope this time, you will not waste the opportunity and the people’s money.”
Peace talks are generally held in a different country and facilitated by a third party.
The Kingdom of Norway has been a third-party facilitator between the communist rebels and the Philippine government. In February, Norway’s special envoy to the peace process reiterated the country’s commitment to the talks.
Duterte, in recent speeches, expressed his openness to give another “last chance” for peace with the communist rebels.
Dureza hopeful for resumption of talks
Presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza, in a radio interview on Thursday, said lessons have been learned by both panels in the talks that broke down last November.
"There is really an intention of both sides to put an end to this problem, this tragedy of Filipinos killing fellow Filipinos. I'm confident that both sides will grab the last chance to work toward a final settlement," he said.
He added both sides must negotiate for peace.
"We cannot end the problem of insurgency just by fighting. We need to address the root causes," he said, adding it is important that talks move towards agreeing on a ceasefire.
"There should be no more incidents of attacks so that the people can see the sincerity on both sides," Dureza also said.
In a statement Wednesday night, Jose Maria Sison—founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines—said that formal talks will give the panels an avenue to “present conflicting positions and subsequently seek to solve the problems on mutually acceptable grounds.”
He has repeatedly said that the insurgents are open and ready to go back to the negotiating table.
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