One of the recent goals of Jose Maria Sision has been the capitulation of the Philippine Revolution. Since Duterte announced his candidacy for President of the Philippines, he has been trying to enter into peace negotiations to surrender the revolutionary struggle. The laying down of arms and the cessation of fighting can be nothing but.
Sision had high hopes that some kind of peace deal could be brokered with Duterte, even going so far as to praise him as the “Filipino Hugo Chavez”. For the time, Duterte had been very open to the idea. His hopes quickly died once Duterte was elected and promised to destroy the New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines. Operations against the communist group were intensified for some time before concerns over a growing Islamic fundamentalist movement became great.
Now that the violence with the Islamic groups has died down somewhat, it seems Duterte has changed his mind and decided to seek peace with the communist guerrillas once again.
“You know, we are not enemies. Even if I want to fight, my heart tells me that I am killing my fellow Filipinos. But the problem is you are doing the same. I want to talk peace with you,” the president said during an agriculture event on Tuesday in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro.
“You are ready to die for your principles. The problem is the two of us are doing the same. We are also ready to die for what we think is right,” Duterte said.
“And so if we can have a middle ground, I’m not closing my doors because hindi totoo ‘yang forever (there’s no such thing as forever). Even among lovers, once they hold each other’s hands, [the argument is] gone,” he added.
It sees the overtures are welcome by Sision. “If they are willing, then the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) is also willing and ready to negotiate with them,” Sison said, referring to the political arm of the Filipino communist rebels. He also blamed Duterte for delays in reaching a peace agreement.
In 2017 there were renewed clashes between the government and the rebel forces. As a result, Duterte signed a proclamation labelling the communist fighters a “terrorist” group.
The move towards peace offered by Duterte seems hollow given his track record of human rights abuses. Previously he had sanctioned indiscriminate extra-judicial killings of drug dealers and drug addicts. His actions earned him a threat from the International Criminal Court, which he then responded to by seeking a withdraw the Philippines from it.
In all likelihood, this new move towards peace negotiations by Duterte is a public relations stunt intended to rehabilitate his public image with the global community. His presidency has been soaked with the blood of innocent whose only crime is being poor. International pressure is mounting against the murderous government of Duterte, a rehabilitation of his image is desperately needed.
Under no circumstances should the NPA, CPP, or NDFP trust Duterte.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/14/asia/philippines-international-criminal-court-intl/index.html
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/04/03/1802528/duterte-tells-communists-i-want-talk-peace-you
maoistrebelnews.com 