EDITORIAL - Control

It has been the foremost concern since President Duterte announced his readiness to revive peace negotiations with communist rebels: do the leaders who have lived in exile for decades still control the forces on the ground?

The question of control is indispensable in any peace negotiations. The government must make sure it is talking with individuals whose leadership is recognized by the insurgent movement. This has always been a problem in dealing with the communist movement, which has been riven with factions that have engaged in deadly internal purges and have sabotaged peace initiatives.

This problem is again manifesting itself in the latest offer of peace by a new administration. Since assuming office, President Duterte has urged the communist movement to stop its violent attacks on government forces as part of confidence-building measures. He reiterated this in his first State of the Nation Address last Monday as he declared a unilateral ceasefire, which took effect the next day.

Instead of matching the ceasefire, the New People’s Army on Wednesday attacked a team of government militias right in the President’s regional turf in Davao del Norte. The President has given the Communist Party of the Philippines and its political arm the National Democratic Front until today to explain the NPA attack.

CPP-NDF leaders living in exile in one of the world’s most liberal countries are preparing for the resumption of formal peace negotiations with the government. If they want to show their sincerity in discussing peace, they must be able to match the suspension of offensive military and police operations. That they have failed to do so, nearly a week after the President announced the unilateral truce, indicates a worrisome lack of sincerity in working for peace, or lack of control over their ground forces, or of both.

President Duterte has been bending over backwards to ensure communist participation in national policy-making. His official family includes representatives of the movement. In return, he has made a reasonable demand: the suspension of violence as a prelude to lasting peace. If communist leaders refuse or are unable to match this, the government is talking to the wrong people and should try a different approach, perhaps by dealing directly with local insurgent cadres.