MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Wednesday called on the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to be more patient and tolerant in its bid for peace, saying his decision to terminate talks with communist rebels early in his term was “rash and impulsive.”
In a statement, Pangilinan said government should exercise greater restraint as it endeavors to end one of the world’s longest communist insurgencies in the wake of the President’s declaration of an all-out war against the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
“This communist insurgency, which has resulted in the killing of Filipino by fellow Filipino, has been going on for nearly half a century. He has been President just six months,” said Pangilinan.
“Giving up on peace and declaring all-out war just six months into his Presidency, I believe, with due respect, is being rash and impulsive,” he said.
He urged the administration to “take a broader view” of what peace talks demand.
“We need greater patience and understanding rather than anger and the ease to resort to violence and more killings,” he said.
“In the path to peace, we all need to exercise greater restraint, patience, and tolerance rather than be quick to allow anger, intolerance and the violence of war to overcome us all,” he said.
The last few days have seen a spectacular fallout between Duterte and the communists following a sweet start, with initial strides on the long-stalled peace talks made in the beginning of the populist leader’s term in office.
This after the NPA, the CPP’s armed wing, announced last week that it was lifting its unilateral ceasefire on Feb. 10. Three unarmed soldiers, all in plain clothes at the time they went out of camp, were killed by suspected communist rebels in Bukidnon on Feb. 1, each felled by 24 gunshots.
On Thursday, Feb. 2, the President then lifted government’s own unilateral ceasefire, citing the communist group’s “impossible” demands. The following day, he announced the termination of the peace talks.
Most recently, Duterte said he regarded the communists as terrorists and ordered the arrest of NDFP consultants earlier released from detention to participate in the talks. CDG
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