Sara Duterte sabotaging peace talks — Anakbayan

MANILA, Philippines — A leftist congressman yesterday accused President Duterte’s daughter Sara, who is mayor of Davao City, of sabotaging her father’s plan to resume peace talks with the local communist movement.

As this developed, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he would discuss with National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza whether to review or withdraw his department’s petition before a Manila court branding the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as a terrorist organization. 

On April 10, government prosecutors opposed the bid of alleged communists to dismiss the petition declaring them as terrorists, telling the court that they have a cause of action against the respondents.

“Obviously, the Davao City mayor is toeing the line of the military and the Duterte government’s security council and defense department. They are in a chorus to sabotage the potential resumption of peace talks,” Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said.

Casilao said the President’s daughter “quickly jumped onto the military bandwagon against the resumption of the peace talks without personally investigating the various rights violations committed by security forces in Mindanao before and during the implementation of martial law.”

“While it is disappointing that the Davao mayor changed tune on her stance on the peace talks, we urge her to investigate the military in its involvement on reported human rights violation against peasants and lumads,” he said.

Casilao also asked Sara to read the proposed comprehensive agreement on socio-economic reforms and other documents that have been drafted by the two sides in previous peace talks.

“Rejecting the peace talks is like throwing away the aspiration of the people, mostly the poor, to advance their socio-economic welfare,” he said.

Sara has urged her father to rethink his decision to resume negotiations with the Europe-based leaders of the local communist movement.

She said the talks are “counterproductive and plainly useless” and that the rebels must be dealt with in a “tough, strong and high intensity” way.

“We should put a stop to the insanity of these terrorists – or more children will be orphaned, more civilians will be killed, more soldiers will die and many more facilities and equipment will be burned, setting back development by a hundred years,” Sara said.

“The country will move forward if the government is able to eliminate the rebels and end this senseless rebellion,” she added.

Government peace panel member Hernani Braganza said in a recent television interview that the resumption of peace talks will likely resume before June this year.   

Braganza said he recently received a marching order from the President to leave for Utrecht in the Netherlands to talk to the National Democratic Front (NDF) peace panel led by Fidel Agcaoili. 

Braganza said one month woud be too long for the negotations to resume once backchannel talks were done.

“I’m happy because the two sides are a little bit eager. Let me say this, because the President gave his tacit approval and all are there to resume the talks, it’s a big factor,” Braganza said.

Braganza said the two sides will tackle all the concerns raised by the President, the documents to be signed like the socio-economic reforms and the amnesty for alleged political offenders. – With Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Jose Rodel Clapano