President Rodrigo Duterte (Paulo C. Rizal/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte is questioning the Communist Party of the Philippines whether it wants peace or not.
“Ako anytime, I can sit down and talk peace to them. Anytime I can request the Armed Forces to just stay put, ang problem sila (Anytime, I can sit down and talk peace to them. Anytime I can request the Armed Forces to stay put, the problem is them),” Duterte said during his talk with the troops at the 2nd Marine Brigade Headquarters in Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista camp in Jolo, Sulu Friday, August 12.
“Kami sa gubyerno gusto namin, eh kayo? (The government wants peace, what about you?),” he said.
Duterte reiterated his reason why he lifted the unilateral ceasefire with the CPP-National Democratic Front-New People’s Army, five days after he declared it during his first State of the Nation Address.
He said that when he declared the unilateral ceasefire in his first State of the Nation Address on July 25, he wanted to “show good faith” in negotiating with the Communists.
He said his plan to declare the unilateral ceasefire was unknown to other government officials even to Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
However, Duterte said that his mind changed after it was reported to him that government troops died in the NPA’s attack pertaining to the incident in Kapalong, Davao del Norte last July 27.
“Eh sabi ko, ano bang klase ito, so I decided to lift. Pasok agad sila ng statement na sana kagabi pa man sana i-ceasefire na rin namin.. ay sabi ko wag mo akong lokohin (So I said, what is this, so I decided to lift. But then their statement came that they were also scheduled to declare their ceasefire.. I said, don’t take me as a fool),” Duterte said.
The death of one Cafgu Armed Auxiliary and the wounding of three other government troops in Davao del Norte resulted in a series of ultimatums declared by the President to the CPP. The first one was to explain the incident and the second was for the CPP to reciprocate the unilateral ceasefire of the government.
But the deadline set by Duterte on July 30 lapsed by an hour or so as the CPP said through the Information Bureau, that a reciprocal ceasefire declaration was set to be issued by the CPP at around 8:00 pm.
Ultimatum on use of ‘landmines’
Duterte also issued an ultimatum against the CPP not to use “landmines” as it is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions after government troops died in a series of armed encounters with the NPAs in Monkayo, Compostela Valley early this month.
He gave his ultimatum during his visit at the wake of four soldiers inside Naval Station Felix Apolinario in Panacan here on August 7.
On Friday, Duterte reiterated that the Communists have only used the international laws according to their favor.
“Itong mga Komunista, kung it is in their favor (These Communists, if it favors them, they invoke the) Geneva convention, treatment of prisoners. Pag hindi sang-ayon sa kanilang fighting stance, walang Geneva convention. Sabi ko kung ganun kayo, eh wala talagang kapayapaan to (But if it does not agree with their fighting stance, there is no Geneva convention. I say if that’s the case then there will be no peace) You started the war 45 years ago do you want to continue for another 45 years?,” Duterte said.
‘Poor man’s weapon’
But the CPP defended their use of “command detonated landmines” and rejected Duterte’s demand which they described as “baseless”.
In a statement on August 8, the CPP said CDX landmines “are legitimate weapons of war and are allowed under Geneva Conventions and the Ottawa Treaty on Landmines.”
“Perhaps, he has not been closely listening to explanations about landmine conventions and distinctions made about different types of landmines. The aim of the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines is to protect civilians from accidental explosions,” said the CPP.
The Treaty defines anti-personnel mines as those designed to be exploded by “the presence, proximity or contact of a person.”
The CPP even announced that it will further expand the manufacture of the CDX landmines they call as “poor man’s weapon.”
“These are mass-produced by people who have no recourse to the expensive rockets and howitzers of state-funded armies. It is a weapon than can only be effectively used by those who have mastery of terrain. It must continue to be effectively and widely employed in waging mass guerrilla warfare,” the CPP said.
NPA: No ceasefire in Southern Mindanao
Meanwhile, the NPA said Duterte was presented with “twisted” facts on the Davao del Norte incident. Aris Francisco of the NPA said the troops they encountered were “on combat operations”.
Rigoberto Sanchez, spokesman of the NPA’s Regional Operations Command also said there was no government ceasefire in Southern Mindanao.
“The July 27 engagement of Red fighters against members of CAFGU of 72nd IB and the paramilitary Alamara in Kapalong, Davao del Norte only highlighted the unrelenting military operations of AFP troops. Worse still, the fabricated lies they spin to their commander-in-chief and the media to smokescreen their palpable violation demonstrate their outright disdain for the peace process,” Sanchez said.
Read: Duterte, CPP differ in views on soldiers pullout amidst ceasefire
Pursue talks
Still, both parties pledged to continue with the negotiations.
“But we are still pursuing the talks with or without Sison,” Duterte said. He said that as a President, it is his responsibility to “look for peace” in the country.
“I cannot stop talking about peace. I am a President who is supposed to bring peace to his land. Whether it’s Sison or not, whether I like to talk to Sison or not, it’s not important. It’s not relevant at all,” Duterte said.
Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Jesus Dureza confirmed on Monday, August 8 that the formal talks will resume on August 22.
“All preparations towards this formal resumption of negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF and we’re ready to take that trip to make that thing happen,” Dureza said in a press conference here.
He said that the President’s recent pronouncements are part of the “humps and bumps” in travelling the road to peace.
The CPP also said that they will declare a unilateral ceasefire on August 20, coinciding with the resumption of the formal talks with the government in Oslo, Norway.
NDF Negotiating Panel Chairperson Luis Jalandoni said the resumption of the peace negotiations will “allow both panels to take up the mode of ceasefire, as stated in the Joint Statement signed in Oslo on June 15,2016.”
“It would be better than not to resume formal peace talks on August 20-27, 2016 because it is during the formal talks that the GPH and NDFP negotiating panels can discuss the mode of ceasefire and how best to arrange this,” Jalandoni said. (davaotoday.com)
