Duterte denies tapping Andal to lead backchannel peace talks – Lorenzana

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday dismissed reports that former Philippine Coconut Authority chief Avelino “Billy” Andal was appointed to lead the backchannel talks with Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison.

“Latest info on Billy Andal’s claim that he was tapped by PRRD [President Rodrigo Duterte] to conduct back-channeling with the CPP/ NPA [New People’s Army]: It is fake news,” he told reporters.

The defense chief said: “The President says he never ordered him to do so.”

Andal, who is currently a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, announced earlier in the day that he had been tasked by the President last week to lead the backdoor talks with Sison, aiming to resume formal peace talks between the government and communist rebels.

But Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. also denied Andal’s claim.

“It’s not true. Mr. Andal is not connected with OPAPP [Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process] and previously engaged in any peace tables. He has not authority to do so,” Galvez told reporters.

The NPA has been waging an armed rebellion against the Philippine government for 50 years, the longest-running insurgency in Asia.

Duterte scrapped the peace talks with communist rebels in 2017 due to alleged continuing attacks by rebels on government troops. His government is the sixth administration to deal with communist rebels. /atm