Peace talks: In or out?

"I will always do everything to protect the next generation,” - President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

Providing the youth with a safer future is one of the main priorities of the President, contrary to what his enemies are trying so hard for us to believe. And if we take a closer look at it, all his actions and projects are in line with his vision of a better Philippines, such as signing the Free Tuition Law, Build, Build, Build! infrastructure projects, and the campaign against illegal drugs and terrorism. Who is to benefit from these actions? No less than the youth, with whom the future of this nation lie.

Protecting the incoming generation from the influence of illegal drugs is the main reason the current administration is strongly fighting against syndicates, narco-politicians, and drug pushers and addicts. By acting against them we save thousands of young Filipinos every day from being used by syndicates in their operations, or worse, falling victim to addicts themselves.

The same protective stance applies to the youth and terrorist groups. This is the same reason the government has a hardline opposition to the operations of the New People’s Army (NPA) and other rebel groups. This is because aside from protecting the people and the youth from their unnecessary, violent attacks, the government is also preventing young Filipinos from being recruited and transformed into sentinels by the same groups to fight for their rather twisted and sinister ideals.

To be honest, I once supported the peace talks between the NPA and the government, as I believed it was the right course of action to achieve peace for our country. However, after several demands and attacks initiated by the NPA against government troops when supposedly both parties are under a ceasefire, I began to question if they really wanted peace. If they do, then violent attacks against civilians, the government, and destroying public property is not the way to show it.

What is more confusing is that while there are ongoing attacks by the NPA, other leftist groups are still calling for the President to resume the peace talks. But how can we talk peace when someone does not seem sincere in talking about it?

According to recent reports, the NPA is still very much active in recruiting young Filipinos to become part of their force. Parents and students have been repeatedly warned in joining off-campus activities being conducted by student organizations that are handled (directly and indirectly) by the CPP-NPA in order to garner new members.

For a group that claims to yearn for peace, they should know better than involve the youth in their conflict with the government. Do not arm young Filipinos and turn them into killers. Do not condition their mind with lessons that are all about greed and power made worse by hiding under the blanket of socialism and communism, ideals that, while in direct contrast to democracy, deserve to be respected.

Let this statement of the President serve as a warning, not only to those involved in illegal drugs but also to insurgent groups, terrorist or otherwise: “Do not put to naught my toil and destroy the young of my country because I will really kill you.”

This only shows the strong will of President Duterte in protecting young Filipinos. He is not afraid to be put behind bars, nor die while fighting for them. This is why more Filipinos believe in him, for he is like a father who would do everything to save his children from harm.

Stop using the youth to fight for your obsolete cause. Do not introduce them to a violent path. Instead, join the government in giving them a better future. It is only by protecting the youth that our nation will be able to secure real peace in the future, if not today.