A communist leader said the New People’s Army rebels should be “integrated” with the Philippine military should the peace talks between the rebels and the government negotiators succeed.
According to Fidel Agcaoili, chairman of the National Democratic Front’s peace panel, he expects longer negotiations on the final item in the agenda covering the “end of hostilities and disposition of forces.”
Presently, the NPA boasts of an estimated force of close to 4,000 combatants, which the military claimed to have been responsible for attacks on state troops in the countryside.
“The [government panel] has to exercise a certain flexibility there,” Agcaoili said in an interview.
“Kasi if what they have in mind is simply decommissioning [of rebel forces], eh walang mangyayari.”
Agcaoili said integrating NPA rebels in the armed forces could be a “form of disposition of forces,” citing the case of former members of the Moro National Liberation Front following its final peace agreement in 1996.
“We should be creative. There are many forms,” he added, as he suggested that some rebels could also serve as forest guards or work in certain industries.
