MANILA, Philippines — Communist rebels are ‘not capable’ of unseating President Rodrigo Duterte, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Friday.
“Oust PRRD (President Rodrigo Duterte) in 2019? How? With the President’s high trust ratings, no, they can’t. They are not capable,” he said.
The defense chief was asked to react to Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison’s recent statement that the ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte is their top priority in 2019.
“The NDFP is authorized to be open to peace negotiations with the current and prospective regime of the reactionary government but its principal work now is to work for the ouster of the Duterte regime,” Sison said in a statement.
READ: Joma: Duterte’s ouster is CPP’s priority in 2019
The NPA has been waging an armed rebellion against the Philippine government for 50 years, the longest-running insurgency in Asia.
Duterte marks his third year in office in 2019. His government is the sixth administration to deal with communist rebels.
“He is hallucinating,” Lorenzana said.
Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs chief Col. Noel Detoyato, meanwhile, said Sison was “not only dreaming but hallucinating.”
“From here on, any moves by the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – NDF) will be attributed to Mr. Sison. This consultant is not advising his clients properly,” he said in a statement.
In September last year, the military accused the communist rebels of a “rolling plan” to unseat Duterte. It was dubbed as “Red October” but the military claimed later that the plan had fizzled out.
READ: ‘Red October’ gives way to ‘White December’
At that time, the communist rebels denied any intention to oust the President, saying they were incapable of doing so.
“What the revolutionary forces and the people are capable of is only to establish democratic government of workers and farmers in the countryside. These are the organs of democratic power,” Sison said last year amid the accusations of conspiracy plots.
Duterte scrapped the peace talks with communist rebels in 2017 due to the rebels’ alleged continuing attacks on government troops. /ee