PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he was not inclined to issue another ceasefire declaration with the communists soon as Malacañang was eying localized negotiations with the rebels.
“I am not up to something like declaring another truce or ceasefire and I have to see the two panels talking about peace,” Duterte said in Davao City following his visit to Catbalogan City on Monday.
“If they are willing, if they want to address the ceasefire issue, they can go on. But I’ll take my time because I do not want a repeat of what happened.
“I really wanted just to show to them the good faith on the part of government by going ahead with the ceasefire. By ourselves, we decided that it would be good if we had the ceasefire, but then something went astray.”
Duterte was referring to an encounter between the military and communist fighters last week in which four soldiers were killed and the rebels had used a land mine.
On Saturday, National Democratic Front chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni threatened to call off the resumption of the peace talks if 22 jailed NDF consultants were not released in time for the talks’ scheduled resumption on Aug. 20 in Oslo.
He also said there would be no declaration of an interim ceasefire between the negotiating parties unless the government released all political prisoners.
Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, meanwhile, said the Duterte administration must first issue a general amnesty for all political prisoners before the CPP would adopt an interim ceasefire for its armed units.
Duterte also reiterated his “request” for the communists to stop using land mines and threatened to end the peace negotiations with them.
“Stop using land mines. I am really talking to you with sincerity,” Duterte said.
“Because if you continue to use land mines, I will withdraw from the talks and there will be no ceasefire and there will be war again.
“I am prepared [to fight] for another 45 years. We have been at it for 45 years already. It’s time to give the Filipino a break.”
But the CPP on Monday ordered its armed wing”•the New Peoples’ Army”• to “expand use of command-detonated explosives in launching tactical offensives against the reactionary armed forces.”