MANILA, Philippines — For Vice President Sara Duterte, it’s time to finish the war against the communist insurgency and bring peace, particularly in the countryside.
“We cannot let these things continue,” Duterte said during a meeting on Wednesday of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), wherein she was designated as co-vice chair. “The so-called protracted war must end. And it must end now.”
Duterte, who earlier rejected a call to resume the peace negotiations with the communist groups, lauded the members of the task force for their commitment to end the communist insurgency.
“This is a commitment to bring about peace in our country, especially in the countryside, where our armed enemy feed on the innocence of the people and poverty that these terrorists perpetuate themselves,” Duterte said.
“This is a show of force – a clear, strong and powerful statement and warning – against the enemies of the state who slaughter civilians and indigenous peoples, abduct and murder and execute members of our security forces and attempt to pin down our progress as a nation through their ideals anchored on brainwashing, fear and terrorism,” she added.
Focus on education woes
But various groups said Duterte’s additional role in the anti-communist task force would further divert her attention from her responsibilities as education secretary.
“We fear that with (her) appointment as the co-vice chair of the NTF-ELCAC, her red-tagging activities will get worse and will continue to undermine teachers’ freedom of association and human rights,” said Raymond Basilio, secretary-general of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT).
“Given the magnitude of unresolved issues, challenges and problems faced by DepEd, these should be prioritized by the secretary,” Basilio said, referring to the Department of Education.
The ACT earlier filed a complaint against Duterte over her remarks linking the group with the communists.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said Duterte should focus on problems in the education sector instead of counterinsurgency.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said the appointment of Duterte, whom she described as a serial and notorious red tagger, reinforces the “fascist” character of the NTF-ELCAC.
“It only shows the greater need for the abolition of this TF that has been responsible for numerous cases of human rights violations,” she said, referring to the task force.
Militant fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) is also wary of Duterte’s appointment given her background. – Emmanuel Tupas, Ralph Edwin Villanueva