Deal with the devil

From the supposedly still united UniTeam, here, mare, is the latest:

Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday said the government’s nod to resume peace talks with the communist National Democratic Front (NDF) is “an agreement with the devil.”

On the other hand, Speaker Martin Romualdez said hours later that the resumption of negotiations “is a moral imperative.” Yesterday, the House supermajority also expressed full support for the talks.

In a recorded message, the VP urged President Marcos to reconsider the decision to resume the peace talks. The reconsideration, she declared, would “honor the memory of those who died in the senseless and bloody attacks” staged by communist rebels.

She released the message on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the National Task Force to End Communist Armed Conflict, of which she is the co-vice chair. The NTF-ELCAC was created by her father Rodrigo Duterte in 2018 after he gave up on peace talks with the NDF amid his word war with Jose Maria Sison.

Joma Sison, who founded the Communist Party of the Philippines during the first Marcos administration, died in exile in the Netherlands on Dec. 16 last year. This was a few months after the Armed Forces of the Philippines declared “strategic victory” over the CPP and its military wing the New People’s Army (NPA).

Security hardliners (Rodrigo Duterte is not alone) attribute that strategic victory partly to the aggressive campaign launched by the NTF-ELCAC not only against the NPA but also against the communist effort to win hearts and minds, particularly in the countryside and among the youth.

Rodrigo Duterte and the NTF-ELCAC went after groups he described as communist front organizations, preventing them from organizing at the grassroots and campaigning against them on the political front.

Based on the results of the 2022 elections, the campaign worked; the left-leaning progressives, who have consistently denied communist links and lamented being red-tagged, were trounced at the polls.

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Bringing the battle to learning institutions appeared to be a focus of VP Sara in her role as education secretary, in which she has often harped on the security aspect of formal education in this country. It might have underpinned her reported desire, in the early days of the UniTeam victory, to get the defense portfolio.

She has also referred to this security aspect in her push for P650 million in confidential funds for her two offices.

Why the focus on national security issues?

In her recorded statement for the NTF-ELCAC anniversary, the VP declared: “I support the steps to establish peace in our country because the fight against terrorists is deeply personal to me, as it is deeply personal to the families of countless Filipinos whose lives were forever upended because of the madness of terrorists.”

VP Sara didn’t give details on why the fight “is deeply personal” for her. But believing that “we’ve already won as communities continue to fight,” she thinks amnesty for rebels “cannot lead the way to peace.”

“What we need to do is continue what the NTF-ELCAC started and make these stronger,” she declared.

Supporters of the peace process, on the other hand, have argued that it is good to negotiate from a position of strength, which the government now enjoys. The VP clearly does not think so.

Addressing BBM, she said: “History has proven how unserious and insincere they are in peace talks. They will use the peace negotiations to betray the government and deceive the public. We appeal to your power to review these proclamations and agreements… Mr. President, we can negotiate for peace and reconciliation and pursue meaningful development efforts in the Philippines without capitulating to the enemies.”

The CPP-NPA were designated by the Philippine government (as well as by the US, the European Union, Australia and the United Kingdom) as “terrorist organizations” long before the NTF-ELCAC was created.

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Meanwhile, the VP’s bete noire presided over the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony at the House of Representatives with a message of peace, and an appeal to make it a gift to the nation this Christmas.

“This negotiation is more than just a political maneuver; it is a moral imperative, a chance to mend the fissures that have long divided our nation. We are not just negotiating terms; we are weaving the fabric of a peaceful future for every Filipino,” the Speaker declared.

The VP and her father will probably dismiss him as a naif, considering the history of peace negotiations with the CPP-NDF.

Every administration, however, starts out giving peace a chance. It would be a coup for Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if the insurgency that was launched and gained strength during his father’s oppressive rule will have a decisive political settlement under his watch.

BBM will likely ignore his running mate’s appeal. It will be embarrassing if his administration makes an about-face on the peace talks so soon after the resumption was announced, and because Sara Duterte asked for it.

Even former senator Leila de Lima has weighed in on the issue, advising the VP to resign from the Cabinet if she disagreed with major policies of Marcos 2.0.

Someone should remind the VP that her father is no longer in power, and statements criticizing major policies of the President are best expressed in private. Such unsolicited advice, given openly, smacks of hubris. From the developments since she fired off that broadside against an unnamed tambaloslos, the VP should have already learned the perils of foot-in-mouth disease.

If the peace talks with the NDF again collapse, the VP will feel vindicated. If this happens, someone must restrain her from publicly gloating, “I told you so…”