EDITORIAL - Elusive peace

Expect the stalled peace negotiations to remain stalled. The communist rebels reportedly want to end the peace talks with the government as they would rather participate in the drive to oust the Duterte administration.

National Democratic Front of the Philippines political adviser Jose Maria Sison said they can no longer hold the peace talks with the government as long as Rodrigo Duterte is the president. The NDFP speaks for the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army, which Sison founded.

“So long as he heads the [government of the Philippines], the Filipino people, especially the oppressed and exploited, cannot expect any benefit from negotiating with the Duterte regime,” according to Sison.

However, Sison clarified that only the NDFP, not him, can terminate the peace negotiations with the government and that the national council of NDFP has yet to decide whether to come up with such decision.

Well, such threat from the communists is no longer unusual. We have seen many instances in the past in which the rebels would immediately back off from the peace negotiation even before it can formally resume.

Since the Cory Aquino administration, peace negotiations with the communist rebels failed to succeed despite serious effort by the government to find lasting solution to Asia’s longest-running Marxist rebellion.

This is because of the rebels’ inconsistent stand on issues required for the talks to resume. Some of their demands that are impossible for the government to grant only complicate the situation. Added to the difficulty is the rebels’ usual violation of the ceasefire, which is a vital component in the quest for peace.

It’s been more than 30 years since the restoration of democracy in the country but Filipinos are still mired in the serious problem of communist rebellion. For the past five administrations, attempts to make peace with the rebels have been futile. Now, under the Duterte administration, it seems peace remains impossible to achieve.