After Bicol attacks, DILG says peace talks with Reds futile

MANILA, Philippines — With the recent violent attacks of suspected communists in the Bicol Region, it is already “futile” to hold peace talks with the rebels , the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday.

READ: Bicol on full alert amid NPA attacks

“Mapanlinlang ang CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) / NPA (New People’s Army) /NDF (National Democratic Front),” DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Kunwari ay gustong makipag-usap sa pamahalaan pero binabakbakan naman ang mga puwersa ng militar at kapulisan. Wala talagang saysay na makipag-usap sa kanila,” he added.

(The CPP/NPA/NDF are deceptive. They pretend to talk peace with the government, but they attack military and police forces. There is no use holding dialogues with them).

Año said peace talks with the “Reds” are “futile because they  go back on their word as shown by their attacks on government troops.”

“The CPP has shown its true colors. What use are the Oslo peace talks and the ceasefires if the other side is not truly interested in genuine peace?” he said.

The DILG noted that the NPA was “behind the series of attacks on government troops” last Monday.

These attacks included the attack on a police station in Magallanes town in Sorsogon that wounded a civilian and three policemen.

READ: 4 hurt in NPA attack in Sorsogon town police station

According to the DILG, the CPP also ordered “its armed wing to intensify attacks against government forces allegedly in response to the one-year extension of Martial Law in Mindanao.”

“We must all stay on guard at this time of heightened threat to the Filipino people. I’m ordering all Philippine National Police (PNP) units to be on full alert following the attacks in Bicol,” Año said. /ee