DND chief to fight NDFP bid to resume talks

ARMED COMPONENT New People’s Army guerrillas stand in formation somewhere in the Caraga region, in this photo taken in 2011. Military and defense officials claimed NPA numbers were declining quickly because of mass surrenders and defections. —DENNIS JAY SANTOS

The police and military will oppose further attempts by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to restore peace talks with the government.

In a statement on Thursday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair Jose Maria Sison’s claim that threats had been made against NDFP negotiators Fidel Agcaoili, Luis Jalandoni and Coni Ledesma by President Duterte’s “armed minions,” which resulted in the cancellation of their trip to the Philippines, was insulting.

No respect

“Mr. Sison is trying his damnedest best to have his subalterns meet with the President and yet, at the same time, throws an insulting remark,” Lorenzana said.

“This shows his lack of respect for the President,” he added.

Lorenzana said that Sison insulted not only the Armed Forces of the Philippines  and the Philippine National Police when he called them the President’s armed minions, but also Mr. Duterte.

The defense secretary explained, “Minion is a term of contempt. It means a servile, fawning and an unimportant person who is at the beck and call of a powerful person.”

Typical of Sison

“This is a great insult to our police and military officers and personnel who are doing their jobs with utmost dedication and professionalism in serving the Filipino people,” Lorenzana said.

“Mr. Sison’s insult will only make the police and military dig in and oppose any overtures of peace talks from the National Democratic Front,” Lorenzana added.

He said that it was typical of the CPP founding chair to blame the government for rebel leaders’ decision to call off their own plan to return to the country.

“It is not the government’s loss if Mr. Jalandoni and Ms. Ledesma return or not to the Philippines,” Lorenzana said in Filipino.

He said it was not the government, which was “desperate” to resume peace talks or losing a large number of fighters.

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He cited the success of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) in luring communist rebels to turn themselves in.

As a result of E-CLIP, Lorenzana said, CPP and New People’s Army, CPP’s armed wing, had been losing fighters.

E-CLIP offers cash and housing to rebels in exchange for their firearms and oath of allegiance to the government.