‘Duterte sabotaged peace talks’

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte must be held responsible for the grievous crimes he committed against the people and for his sabotage of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front, NDF peace panel senior adviser Luis Jalandoni said Thursday. 

“Duterte’s termination of the peace talks last Nov. 23 was a crushing blow to the people’s aspirations,” Jalandoni said.

“One of the biggest opportunities, if not the biggest, for President Duterte to serve the Filipino people is to foster the peace negotiations,” Jalandoni added.

But the people have every reason to reject Duterte and his government, now that he has abandoned the peace process, Jalandoni said.    

“Duterte went wild in cancelling the talks. He ordered his troops to flatten the hills and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana declared an all-out-war against the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-New People’s Army (NPA),” Jalandoni said.

Meanwhile, NDF chief political consultant and CPP founder Jose Maria Sison urged Duterte to engage in back-channel talks. 

“The CPP was ready with its ceasefire declaration, but Duterte refused to issue the ceasefire, claiming that the NPA had launched a military operation,” Jalandoni said.

This on-again, off-again pattern continued until Duterte’s cancellation of the talks, Jalandoni noted, alleging that Duterte’s “volatility in the peace talks was accompanied by horrendous human rights violations amounting to mass murder of tens of thousands of victims of his drug war.”