Communists’ sincerity questioned amid continued NPA attacks

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza. ARNOLD ALMACEN/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The government is dismayed over the recent attacks of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao City and in Qurino province amid the ongoing peace talks with the communist rebels.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza on Tuesday said these attacks put a question on the sincerity of the communists.

“We are dismayed that although peace negotiations with the CPP/NPA/NDF are now making some substantial headway, their forces still continue to wage attacks that victimize civilians and inflict damage on the civilian sector,” Dureza said in a statement.

The NPA on April 29 attacked the Lapanday Foods Corporation in Davao City and torched its equipment and seized firearms from the company’s security guards.

READ: Suspected NPA rebels storm barracks of fruit company in Davao

On the same night, rebels stormed a local police station in Maddela town in Quirino.

READ: Suspected NPAs kill cop, abduct police chief in Quirino province

“Although a bilateral ceasefire is not yet in place, the public’s common reaction to these incidents questions the sincerity of those whom we talk and deal with across the table,” Dureza said. “The public also questions their capacity to manage and control their forces on the ground.”

The government’s chiefnegotiator admitted that there were even “calls now to stop the talks altogether and pursue an all-out military offensive against their armed groups.”

He said there was no doubt that government troops could wipe out the rebels.

“There is no doubt at all that our security forces — the AFP and the PNP — with the support of the civilian communities must and can deal with these contingencies,” he said.

But he said the government peace panel was determined to pursue the peace talks.

“No doubt, the task is not easy, taking every necessary step, but we will continue. We will not yield in our resolve. We will not be deterred,” he said.

The fifth round of talks is scheduled on May 26 to June 1 in the Netherlands.

“We who are tasked to seek a peaceful and principled settlement must pursue, with more vigor, these peace engagements with the communist rebels,” Dureza said. “Our expectation is that our unrelenting efforts in addressing the issues, bridging the ideological divide and finding a common ground may eventually pay off and bring about just, sustainable and enduring peace in the land.”

Dureza said the government peace panel led by Secretary Silvestre Bello III was now preparing for the forthcoming peace talks.

“The working committees of both sides have been meeting continuously in the country for the purpose,” he said.

He said President Rodrigo Duterte’s aspiration “was to end this tragedy of Filipinos fighting Filipinos.”

“While he boldly deals with those who bring harm to the people, his dream is to bring peace through a just and principled settlement with all rebel groups in the land. Let us all close ranks and stay the course with him,” he said. IDL