NPA to blame for slow peace progress – Rody

MANILA, Philippines - It’s the New People’s Army (NPA) that is to blame for the delays in the peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels, President Duterte said yesterday.

“We are facing so many fronts. We are facing the NPAs. We are having talks in the Netherlands. They have not made any progress because I have some conditions to impose before we go back to (the talks),” the President said in remarks before officials and selected members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines at Malacañang. “Eh sino ba (Who was responsible)? We did it eh sinira naman nila ’yung usapan (they did not comply with the agreement),” he added.

Duterte was apparently referring to his decision to terminate the peace talks last February following a series of NPA attacks against government troops.

The President agreed to resume the talks last month but insisted on the crafting of clear parameters for a ceasefire. He also demanded that the rebels release the people they had kidnapped, stop the burning of farm and public works equipment, the collection of so-called revolutionary taxes and the claiming of certain territories.

Government and communist negotiators have resumed formal negotiations in the Netherlands, where they are expected to discuss a bilateral ceasefire agreement as well as social and economic reforms.

While negotiators are talking peace, Duterte stressed he is ready to use the military’s air assets if the talks do not prosper. “I have new jets… My new jets are faster than sound,” the President said.

“I will utilize the air assets. Before it was not really a popular, well, choice, option … But this time ’pag hindi tayo nagkaigi dito (if we do not reach an agreement), I will not hesitate to use the full power of the state,” he added.

It was earlier in Cagayan de Oro City where Duterte announced his conditions for the resumption of peace talks. He was in Cagayan de Oro City to visit and confer awards on 10 soldiers wounded in skirmishes with communist guerrillas recently.

“This fight has been going on for the last 50 years. I hate it. I do not want it,” he said, adding that the death of soldiers, rebels or militiamen makes his heart bleed “kasi pare-pareho tayong Pilipino (because we’re all Filipinos).”

“Give me other enemies, not my fellow Filipinos,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is calling on “peace-loving” Filipinos to condemn the crimes and other illegal activities of the NPA.

AFP chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Año said the rebel group continues its depredation and other violent activities, including burning of farm implements and construction equipment used for infrastructure development in the provinces.

He said the public should condemn the NPA’s anti-development operations and promptly report all extortion activities so that law enforcers and soldiers can act immediately and assist citizens in trouble.

Año said the nation is being dragged down “by the acts of masquerading ideologues who have degenerated into plain terrorists and extortionists.”

Since the resumption of hostilities with the NPA, the AFP chief noted that more than 60 incidents of arson related to “communist terrorists’ extortion” have been recorded.

He said AFP operations launched in response to information provided by concerned citizens totaled 104 between Feb. 4 and end of March.

Año said these were among the reasons the government could not readily agree to a unilateral ceasefire.

He said the NPA has allegedly taken advantage of the ceasefire period to undertake more extortion activities targeting legitimate business and peace-loving citizens.

“We have a mandate to follow and that is to protect our people. For the peace talks to succeed, we have to see more sincerity on their part,” he added.

“We now see the concrete manifestation of the evil in our society that has been a major cause of underdevelopment, the anti-development and anti-people activities of the NPA,” Año stressed.  – With Michael Punongbayan, Gerry Lee-Gorit