President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he was ready to sign a formal notice of termination to end the peace talks with the communist rebels.
“Give me a piece of paper. I will write it for you. Give it to them… What do you intend to accomplish? It only ends up at name-calling pati shouting. Don’t waste my time, I have so many things to do,” Duterte told reporters after attending the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) anniversary in Quezon City.
Duterte who appears to be unaware that a formal letter was needed to terminate the talks, reiterated he was no longer interested with the peace talks with communist rebels.
“Ayaw ko na, sabi ko. So is there any other protocol that I have to comply before it becomes final?” he said.
Government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III has said the government peace panel was waiting for the “final instruction” of the President to send a formal letter of termination of the peace talks to the communist rebels.
“We are still waiting for the final instruction (from Duterte). To terminate the talks, we have to write them and inform them that we are terminating,” Bello said in a chance interview in Malacañang.
“It will take effect 30 days after the receipt of the letter. Kami ang gagawa (We will write the letter) upon the instruction of the President. If he said we send a formal termination, then we would do that,” he added.