Sara asks dad to reconsider revival of peace talks with Reds

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte INQUIRER / Arjoy Ceniza

DAVAO CITY—Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has appealed to her father, President Duterte, to reconsider his decision to revive the peace talks between the government and communist rebels, saying there are no indications that the communists are willing to negotiate for a peaceful resolution to the decades-old conflict.

In an emailed statement on Friday, Sara said that while she trusted “the wisdom of the President,” she believed that pursuing peace with the insurgents “is counterproductive and plainly useless.”

“Respectfully, I am asking President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider his decision to reopen the negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP),” the mayor said.

No preconditions

Sarah made her appeal as Mr. Duterte on Friday denied that he had set preconditions for the resumption of the peace talks with the NDFP.

What he actually laid down were the aspects that could help get the talks back on track in two months’ time, he said.

“It’s not a condition, it’s a timeline,” the President said. “I will give my demands and they can also have theirs, and that is where we start negotiating.”

But he said he wanted the insurgents to agree to a total ceasefire first. “There has to be a ceasefire. Not a single shot fired,” he added.

Sara said the insurgency could only end if the NDFP, the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, New People’s Army (NPA), would “reciprocate the gesture [to revive the talks] offered by the government.”

The 49-year-old Maoist rebellion has claimed over 40,000 lives and stunted progress in the countryside.

‘Peace not an option’

But Sara said there were no indications that the rebels were willing to talk peacefully.

“These are groups motivated by the desire to overthrow the government and rule the nation. For them, peace is not an option. And that’s because they are terrorists,” the mayor said.

The younger Duterte, an Army Reserve colonel, said there should be no negotiation with terrorists.

“Deal with them in the way we should—tough, strong, high-intensity and one that gathers all sectors to completely crush their influence in communities where they are present,” Sara said. —FRINSTON LIM AND ALLAN NAWAL