Just a month into his presidency, Duterte used his inaugural State of the Nation Address to warn the public to steer clear of drug use, the scale of which was “staggering and scary” and promised no relenting in his crackdown.
Advertisement
“It is alarming that these incidents happened after Duterte was elected president”, said Fr Robert Reyes, known as the “running priest” for his penchant to run for various causes.
President Duterte is expected to report the present economic, political, and social condition of the country.
In his letter to Secretary Silvestre Bello III, chairman of the Negotiating Panel of the Government of the Philippines, NDF Negotiating Panel Chairperson Luis Jalandoni said the NDFP “would study it carefully and make the appropriate response”.
The communist rebellion has killed about 30,000 people since it erupted in the 1960s.
“We can not more forward if we allow the past to pull us back”, he pointed us as he reiterated he was determined to widen and sustain his war on corruption and rampant criminality especially on illegal drugs”. Nobody knows who their murderers are.
“It’s happening and we are hoping for the best that genuine peace will finally be achieved after decades of fighting”, he said.
President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte on Monday ordered a unilateral ceasefire with Communist insurgents effective immediately to hasten the peace process and end decades-long war and violence. “He is brilliant at it and has shown it to us since day one, when he chose to run as president of the country”, Lea, a 35-year old Pinay saleslady, told Kuwait Times. “We always wanted a president who heard the cries of people, and not someone with no empathy towards the people and the need of his constituency”, a Filipina worker said.
In one of the most applauded part of his State of the Nation Address, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to lower the personal and corporate income tax to help ease the people’s plight, especially the poor. A rebel leader in self-exile in Europe, Jose Maria Sison, plans to fly home soon to meet Duterte.
He said a suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) “covers the cessation of all military offensives against the CNN (CPP/NPA/NDF) particularly its armed group, the New People’s Army”.
In a text message to PNA, De Venecia said: ” I appreciate the candid and honesty of President Rodrigo Duterte in addressing the most pressing needs and issues concerning our country”. The NPA is estimated to count fewer than 4,000 fighters among its ranks today, but remains involved in an armed struggle with Philippine forces.
“The commander in chief has initiated a very bold move and we fully support him in his effort to bring sustainable and lasting peace”, said military spokesman Brig. “Not the peace of the dead, but the peace of the living”.
Advertisement
Aside from the peace talks with the NDF, Duterte would also pursue the implementation of the peace agreements with the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
