‘No ceasefire ever again’ with Reds, Duterte says, days after backing ceasefires at UN
MANILA, Philippines — No more truces with communist rebels will be called for the rest of President Rodrigo Duterte's term, he said Monday night, in a tirade against the insurgents who he previously called the number one threat to the country even amidst the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
"For all intents and purposes, the ceasefire is dead. It is gone. It was gone a long time ago," the chief executive said partially in Filipino during a pre-recorded televised address aired late Monday night.
Just last Friday, Duterte expressed support for United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ call for a global ceasefire on armed conflicts so that countries can focus on the fight against COVID-19.
“The Secretary General’s report for global ceasefire is most welcome and appreciated,” he said in a recorded address to the UN General Assembly's 31st special session in New York in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Yet combatting terrorism is as urgent now as it was before the pandemic. In my country, this fight is about protecting life, while preserving the democratic values we have restored without violence,” Duterte added.
While the Communist Party of the Philippines has been designated a terrorist organization by the US Department of State and the European Union, membership in the CPP is not a crime under the country's laws and has not been one since 1992, when the Anti-Subversion Law was repealed during the Fidel Ramos administration.
Although Duterte has sought on multiple occasions to declare the CPP as a terrorist organization, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, a principle author of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, in June said that only the Court of Appeals can order the proscription under the law.
The chief executive's statement of support for global ceasefires came a day after the Armed Forces of the Philippines said it would not recommend a holiday ceasefire with communist rebels this year.
Following the president's speech at the UN, the military said on its Twitter account that, despite its strong position on the matter, "AFP Chief General Gilbert Gapay assures the president of the AFP’s support to whatever decision the commander-in-chief makes in his exercise of his prerogatives."
The government last declared a ceasefire with communist rebels at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March, citing the need to focus government resources on beating the disease. Communist rebels reciprocated the truce, heeding an earlier call of UN's Guterres for a pandemic-induced global ceasefire. The ceasefire, which was marred by allegations of violations from both camps, ended in April.
Last year, Duterte called a holiday truce and ordered the reconvening of the government peace panel that negotiates with communist rebels, even after the military and defense departments said they would not be recommending the former.
— with reports from Xave Gregorio and Franco Luna
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