Palace: No conflict between President, 3 left-leaning Cabinet members

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

Malacañang on Wednesday said the three left-leaning Cabinet members have “no conflict” whatsoever with President Rodrigo Duterte amid his decision to end the peace talks with the communist rebels.

“Magkaiba naman yung NPA (New People’s Army) tsaka ‘tong mga Cabinet members (The NPA is very much different from these Cabinet members). They are not members of the NPA as far as we can see. Ang mahalaga (What’s important) is they are doing their job in their agencies and their departments,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella told Palace reporters.

Abella said Social Welfare Judy Taguiwalo, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, and National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Liza Maza still have the trust of the President.

“They’re there and as long as they’re there we can assume that they still have his full trust. That is the assumption because no action has been taken against them as far as I know,” Abella said.

“Up to this stage, as far as I can see there is no conflict,” he added.

Taguiwalo, Mariano, and Maza have not released any statement after Duterte’s order to end the peace talks.

In a press briefing on Monday immediately after his second State of the Nation Address (Sona), Duterte said he was ending the stalled peace talks with the communist guerillas following the series of NPA attacks against government forces.

READ: Lorenzana vows decisive crackdown on NPA

He then ordered the military to be “unforgiving” to the communist rebels and to go all out against NPA members.

READ: Duterte to military: Be unforgiving to communist rebels

“I’m ordering the military and the police to be unforgiving to the communist rebels as they are very unforgiving to us,” he said.

Government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III said the peace panel has not received a “final instruction” from Duterte to send a formal letter of termination of the peace talks to the communist rebels. JPV

RELATED STORY

Duterte to CPP-NPA: Don’t be two-faced as we talk peace