EDITORIAL - Steep price to pay

The ambush of a congresswoman by communist terrorists in Occidental Mindoro last Wednesday once again raises doubts about the wisdom of discussing peace with the insurgents.

Representatives of the communist National Democratic Front have been demanding, as a prerequisite to the signing of a formal peace accord, that they be stricken off a list of terrorists drawn up by the United States and its European allies. Yet what do you call that attack on Mindoro Occidental Rep. Josephine Ramirez Sato, who was raked with rifle fire by the New People’s Army for refusing to fork out "permit-to-campaign fees" to the guerrillas?

That was not just extortion but also an attempt to short-circuit the democratic process – a message to other candidates in this election period that the NPA will not hesitate to use force if politicians don’t pay up.

The NPA, with its usual cheek, has claimed responsibility for the ambush and said it should not be an issue at the resumption of peace negotiations on March 29, tentatively set in Beijing. And the Philippine go-vernment, which has bent over so far backwards it is about to keel over in dealing with the communists, will probably agree. Anything is fine, it seems, as long as a formal peace agreement can be signed before the elections on May 10.

If the talks in Beijing push through, NDF negotiators may not recognize their ideology in a country that is supposed to be one of the few remaining bastions of communism. China is embracing the free market of goods and services and is taking baby steps toward the free market of ideas. The NDF may also be surprised to learn that extortionists can get executed in China, together with terrorists hiding under the skirt of a dead ideology.

The Philippine government also shares part of the blame for the gall of the NPA to collect campaign fees. For years the government has failed to stop the NPA from extorting "revolutionary taxes" from businessmen in the countryside. And it has tolerated the pre-sence of guerrillas such as Gregorio Rosal, who is accessible to the press and everyone else except government troops. Rosal’s arrest does not seem to be a government priority. Even without a formal agreement, the nation is already paying a steep price for peace.