Duterte to Joma Sison: Give me good reason to go back to negotiating table
President Rodrigo Duterte has dared Jose Maria Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, to give him a good reason why the government would return to peace negotiating table.
But in a statement, Sison, self-exiled in the Netherlands, said Duterte could no longer be swayed by any reason.
"Jose Maria Sison give me a good reason to go back to the bargaining table. If there is none or if it’s just a repeat of what we have discussed earlier then that will not suffice," Duterte said in a speech in Davao City on Sunday night.
Duterte terminated the peace talks last year due to the violence being committed by the New People's Army ( NPA), the armed front of the CPP-National Democratic Front.
There is also a petition by the Duterte government before a Manila court to declare the CPP-NPA as terrorist organizations.
Duterte has said the leftist group has been proposing a government power-sharing, which he could not allow.
Following the termination of the peace talks, the Duterte administration has been aggressive in seeking the surrender of the NPA members in exchange of financial and livelihood assistance.
"You can no longer be swayed by any reason to engage in peace negotiations. You have repeatedly terminated the peace negotiations, despite the standing policy of NDFP to be ready and be willing to negotiate with the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines). You are already crazed by your drive for absolute power and absolute corruption," Sison said in a statement in response to Duterte.
Calling the military and the police as Duterte's "minions," he said the President's orders were always "kill, kill, kill."
"Your 'localized peace talks' are fake surrender exercises," Sison said.
He also accused that those who have been surrendering to the military were actually "paramilitary agents."
"Every local command of the NPA has condemned your offers of bribes for surrender. They have expressed their determination to fight and finish your tyranny, corruption and mendacity," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS
