“Merong right, left, center”, President said. Mr. Duterte is backing down.
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He also called for the “immediate release” of 22 detainees whom he identified as “peace consultants”. Whom do you believe in?
He said 120,000 people had surrendered to police in the past month, and 70,000 were drug pushers.
He believes that the negotiations would not be that easy.
“And so, the best way really is to talk again and find out whether it is reachable or beyond our reach”, he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, threatened to withdraw a ceasefire order he gave three days ago after suspected communist rebels killed a government militiaman and wounded four others in an attack. Although already obviously disappointed and exasperated, he announced 5 o’clock the following day (July 30) as a final deadline otherwise he would lift the government’s ceasefire in order to further secure the civilians and secure the peace.
It was supposed to announce its reciprocal ceasefire declaration around 8.00 p.m. but Duterte lifted the truce on Saturday about an hour earlier.
Duterte said he wanted an explanation and expected rebel leaders to discipline guerrillas involved in the killing on the southern island of Mindanao, two days after the government declared a unilateral truce to aid peace talks.
The militiamen had been recalled from a security mission following Duterte’s truce declaration and were traveling back to their patrol base when they came under rebel attack, the military said.
He cited the “active defense mode” they adopted to welcome Duterte’s ceasefire but maintained “it can not surrender its military initiative and diminish the authority of the People’s Democratic Government by placing in jeopardy the lives of the Red Army and the civilian masses in the face of relentless attacks by the fascist enemies of the people”.
Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla said army units have resumed offensive action against the rebels.
July 27 – NPA rebels ambushed members of the Army’s militiamen in Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte.
After the guerillas failed to order a cease-fire, Duterte withdrew the ceasefire on Saturday.
“I’m very sorry to say that there will be no talks about these things, Abu Sayyaf”.
He noted that rebellion under the Revised Penal Code is penalized up to 12 years, not the maximum penalty.
The President said he give everybody a safe conduct pass once the peace talks start with the communist and the Moro rebels.
Duterte said he is going to Mindanao within 10 days ahead of the resumption of the government negotiations with the NDF in Oslo on August 20 to 27.
“He declared a unilateral ceasefire without giving us any details, even though we had been asking his negotiators to provide us with a copy should he decide to declare one during the Sona so that we can reciprocate”, Agcaoili said.
Though the President took a different tone with the communists in saying he hopes for the August 20 peace talks to push through, he expressed his dismay with the CPP in portraying the government as the bad guy in the situation.
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“Also, there is a general misunderstanding of how fractured the leadership of ground level NPA commanders is, especially in Lumad communities where local tribal dynamics prevail”, Simons added.
