Defense chief rules out renewed talks with rebels
LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte—Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday rejected fresh calls for the government to revive peace negotiations with communist rebels, saying they continued to commit acts of terrorism in peaceful villages in the countryside.
“No, I object to any peace talks with the NPA (New People’s Army),” Teodoro told reporters here on the sidelines of the rollout of assistance to fisherfolk affected by the annual “Balikatan” joint military exercises.
“The Filipinos are at peace. They (the rebels) are the ones disturbing the peace. So why should we talk to them? They’re committing crimes,” he added. “It’s terrorism. Plain and simple. So, to call for peace talks is to elevate the morality of their cause to something legitimate, which I cannot accept.”
Earlier this week, former government peace negotiators—from the Aquino III and Duterte administrations—called for the revival of talks with the rebels following the April 19 military operation in Toboso, Negros Occidental, that killed 19 people.
‘Lasting gains’
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has maintained that all those killed were armed and had engaged government troops in combat.
But the Communist Party of the Philippines said only 10 were members of its armed wing, the New People’s Army, while the nine others were civilians, including two University of the Philippines students, a community journalist, two Filipino-Americans, and two minors.
The former negotiators said the 19 deaths “underscored the urgent need” to end the nearly six-decades-old insurgency, noting that the aftermath had fueled grief and anger online among young Filipinos.
Before they stalled, the talks “came close to securing lasting gains than most people know,” the former negotiators said in a statement.
They included former Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza, human rights lawyer Efren Moncupa, social entrepreneur and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Jaime Aristotle Alip, peace and conflict studies expert Francisco Lara, and former political detainee Roberto Ador.
They also called for a third-party investigation of the Negros encounter in view of the conflicting accounts. The Commission on Human Rights earlier said it would determine whether international humanitarian law was observed during the operation.
Also on Saturday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru) said it was exhausting all means to speed up the reintegration of former rebels.
Opapru Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento said the agency will continue to work with local governments and agencies to deliver essential services to communities once wracked by conflict.
“We are committed to ensuring that every individual who chooses to lay down their arms is met with the tools and support necessary to become a partner in national nation-building,” Sarmiento said in a statement.—WITH A REPORT FROM PNA
