“We take his hand, and we will struggle with him.”
This was detained National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant Adelberto Silva’s response on Friday to presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s offer of four Cabinet posts to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
Duterte offered the labor, agrarian reform, social welfare and environment portfolios to CPP members as a confidence-building measures for the resumption of the peace talks with the communist rebels.
In an interview at Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32, Silva said Duterte’s action demonstrated that he is “taking seriously peace negotiations with the left.”
Silva, Benito Tiamzon and his wife, Wilma Tiamzon, of the CPP-New People’s Army (NPA), and other ranking officers of the local communist movement were attending another hearing in their case involving a 1980s mass murder.
Tiamzon echoed Silva’s sentiment, saying “we’re very happy with [Duterte’s] offer, but like (CPP founder Jose Maria) Sison said, the entry of CPP members in the government will depend on the peace talks.”
“It’s a very good initiative on [Duterte’s] part. We are open to a possible alliance for national unity, just peace and development—but it will really depend on how the peace talks will go,” Tiamzon said.
Silva said Duterte’s plans of a federal government would also help bring lasting peace to the country. He said he saw this as the answer to the “long-standing issue” concerning the “Bangsamoro struggle for self-determination.”
Asked if Duterte’s decision could eventually lead to their freedom, Tiamzon replied, “Yes, because we see it as an indicator of how serious he is about working together with progressive forces to achieve genuine change.”
Public Interest Law Center managing counsel Rachel Pastores, a member of the defense team, said her clients were all consultants on the peace talks.
“It will [therefore] be difficult for the consultants to perform their tasks in the peace negotiations and at the same time attend hearings. So our wish is for them to be released and to have the charges against them dropped,” she said.
Pastores described the charges against her clients as “trumped up,” since no evidence directly linking them to the alleged mass murder had been presented.
“There is no evidence either revealing the identity of the [supposed] victims,” she added.
Members of Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan) and Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) showed their support for the accused by holding a protest outside Manila City Hall before the hearing.
“[Duterte] has begun well. He has not yet become president, but he is pushing some of the right buttons,” Silva said.
“We don’t know how much he will attain. It’s going to be a fight. But we are prepared [to join him],” he added.