Duterte tags CPP-NPA-NDF as terrorists

MANILA, Philippines — A day after terminating the peace talks, President Rodrigo Duterte labeled communist rebels as terrorists and ordered the arrest of jailed leftist leaders who were allowed to join the negotiations.

 

Duterte said the rebels committed atrocities despite the goodwill gestures displayed by the government.

 

“Nagmamagandang loob ka na nga, ipapahiya pa ako sa mga sagot ng p***** in*** akala mo kung sino (You showed goodwill and yet those sons of b****** who were acting as if they were somebody embarrass me with their answers),” Duterte said during his visit to the wake of three soldiers Sunday in Cagayan de Oro.  

 

“You give them all the leeway and everything and you (respond to me with stupidity)…From now on I will consider the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army–National Democratic Front) a terrorist group,” he added.

 

The NDF represents the CPP and its armed wing the NPA in the peace talks.

 

“Their leaders from Oslo, I am asking the military and the immigration to be on the lookout. Arrest them again,” he added.

 

Duterte, who considers himself a leftist, said the NPA members are just bandits and that the Geneva Convention does not apply to them.  

 

He said that the communists have been waging an armed struggle for 50 years and that achieving peace with them does not seem to be possible within his generation

 

On Saturday, Duterte announced that he is terminating the peace talks with communist rebels and instructed government negotiators to “fold up the tents and come home.”

 

He made the statement after the government and the communists lifted their respective unilateral ceasefires following a disagreement over the NDF’s demand to free hundreds of people whom it claims to be political prisoners.

 

The NDF is demanding the release of about 400 prisoners, saying it is in line with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law signed in 1998.

 

Duterte has refused to yield to the demand, which he described as tantamount to granting amnesty. The government has so far freed 23 rebel leaders and has allowed some ranking NPA members to join the peace talks.

 

“We started with 18 and we came up with 23 leaders and now it’s 400. If that's the case, we might as well surrender,” the president said.

 

Duterte said the peace talks would remain canceled “unless there is a compelling reason that will benefit the interest of the nation.”

 

The president lifted the ceasefire after NPA rebels killed three troopers in Bukidnon and kidnapped two others last week.

 

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the termination of the peace talks was disappointing.

 

“President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the suspension of Peace Talks between (government) and CPP-NDF-NPA. He will likewise direct the Philippine delegation to return home,” Abella said.

 

“This is deeply disappointing as final and lasting peace has been one of his deepest aspirations for the nation,” he added.

 

Hours before Duterte called the rebels terrorists, Presidential Communications Assistant Secretary Ana Maria Banaag said the government remains open to talking peace with the rebels.

 

“The members of the peace panel would still talk about, you know, permanent peace and how to go about the parameters of going through a permanent ceasefire,” Banaag told state-run radio station dzRB.

 

“It’s really hard for them also to control their people on the ground. However, we will endeavor — the peace panel will endeavor still to talk and negotiate for peace,” she added.

 

Banaag said the president would not bar leftist officials from joining Cabinet meetings.

 

“Malacañang is open to all negotiations and as to members of the Cabinet who may be inclined — communist inclined or leftist inclined, they are open — they are still part of the Cabinet and they have the confidence of the President,” she said. 

 

Banaag said the military would continue to join the fight against drugs despite the lifting of the ceasefire with the rebels.