“As I talk to the communists (CPP-NPA-NDF), I will also talk to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front. Are we into this truce or are we not?'” Duterte told army troops during a visit to their camp in Quezon province southeast of Manila.
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The tough-talking president said he demanded an explanation from the communists about the attack and asked them to punish the rebels behind the assault like what the military does to erring soldiers.
“I made very clear that civil and human rights need to be protected even as we work to keep our society safe”, Kerry said.
The ambush occurred on Wednesday just two days after Duterte declared a unilateral truce effective immediately in his first state-of-the-nation address (Sona) before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Monday.
Despite the hostile rebel action, the military said it would enforce the truce.
“How many Filipinos have died and who killed them?” The decadeslong insurgency, one of Asia’s longest, has left about 150,000 combatants and civilians dead since the late 1960s.
The new president brought fresh hopes of resuming peace talks with the Maoist insurgents, which stalled under his predecessor. It also has stunted economic development, especially in the countryside, where the Maoist insurgents are active.
Former priest Luis Jalandoni, the NDF’s chief peace negotiator, said they were investigating the ambush but insisted this should not be a hindrance to the resumption of their peace talks with the government.
The Philippines is paving the way to shift to a federal form of government by 2022, after President Rodrigo Duterte agreed with the leaders of Congress to set up a body to amend the constitution, the speaker of the house said on Thursday.
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The meeting will take place after the courtesy call of US Secretary of State John Kerry who is also expected to take up the Hague ruling with Duterte. “We have to destroy them, we have no other choice”.
