Reds now focused on ousting Duterte – Joma

Jose Maria Sison

Communist rebel negotiators are now focused on efforts to oust President Rodrigo Duterte since they can no longer negotiate with the Duterte administration, communist leader Jose Maria Sison said on Thursday.

Sison, founding chair of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), said that peace negotiations can continue under a new administration.

“Based on the implications drawn from the current impasse, the NDFP can no longer negotiate with a government that is headed by Duterte,” Sison said in a statement posted on the NDFP website.

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“So long as he heads the government, the Filipino people, especially the oppressed and exploited, cannot expect any benefit from negotiating with the Duterte regime,” he said.

While there were already agreements drafted by the NDFP, Sison said: “They can be carried over to the negotiation with GRP under a new administration.”

“It is relatively easier and more productive for the NDFP to participate in the oust-Duterte movement and to prepare for peace negotiations with the prospective administration that replaces the Duterte regime,” Sison said.

The communist leader claimed that “the broad united front of patriotic and democratic forces has become strong enough to call for and cause the ouster of Duterte.”

While the “urban-based” ouster movement was reportedly growing, Sison said “the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines), NPA (New People’s Army) and the people have to fight and defeat the offensives of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police) being unleashed by the Duterte regime.”