Duterte to let military decide on peace talks with Reds

The fate of the peace talks with the communist rebels remains in the hands of the military, President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday night.

Duterte issued the statement three months after the collapse of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), and following the visit of Norwegian government officials, the third party facilitator in the peace process.

“So I’m talking to the communists. The Norwegian officials came here to explore the possibility of talking again. I have to consult my military people. Why? Eh sila ‘yung namamatay eh, hindi naman ako. Sabi ko, ‘I will talk to the military. If you would agree, I might [consider resuming the peace talks]’,” Duterte said in a speech at the Manila Hotel on Monday evening.

But the President said he would not “waste his time” thinking about the possible resumption of peace talks.

“Ngayon, hindi ko paggastusan ng panahon. I am not thinking about it even. Why? Because now it’s beyond my control. I have to get the [military’s recommendation]. How do you feel? What’s your take? It is good for us to fight forever or mag-usap tayo?” he noted.

But if the military would recommend to pursue the fight against the New People’s Army (NPA), Duterte said he would not object to this.

“And I will tell you, ‘pag sabi nila, ‘Ubusin na lang natin, Mayor’, oh it’s fine. Sabi ni Sison, hambugero, ‘kill one soldier a day’. Eh di sinabi ko, ‘You kill one NPA and I’ll give you ₱25,000’,” he said.               /kga