THE word war between President Rodrigo Duterte and Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison continued as they traded barbs against each other Friday, with the President daring The Netherlands-based rebel leader to return to the country and fight his war.
But Sison lashed back at Duterte, saying he did not need to prove himself to anyone in the arena of revolutionary struggle.
“If you are truly a revolutionary leader, my god, come home and fight here,” he said in a media interview on Thursday night, after visiting the wake of the six police officers killed in an operation in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.
Duterte criticized the self-exiled Sison for living a good life in Utrecht while members of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the CPP, struggle daily in the mountains.
“Your people here — you NPA members — have been dying, losing their husbands. You have not even seen Sison. Your leader is a coward. Is there a leader who just rest in Utrecht?”
“What kind of leader is he?” Duterte asked in Filipino.
But Sison he did not have to prove anything and that Duterte could not “dictate” what the former should do.
“I do not have to prove again that I have the revolutionary will and courage to wage armed struggle against oppression,” said the communist leader, arrested during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos—1965-1986—but released when his successor, Corazon Aquino, was swept to power in 1986.
“If deemed necessary by the revolutionary movement, I will return to the Philippines to fight the Duterte puppet regime of US imperialism,” he added.
“That means surmounting my being in the same old age bracket as Duterte and evading the constant surveillance by the US, Dutch, European and Philippine reactionary intelligence agencies,” he said.
The exchanges started after Duterte pulled the government out from the peace talks, accusing the communist rebels of being insincere following a series of attacks on government targets, including a Presidential Security Group convoy.
Last April, when Duterte and Sison were still on friendly terms, the President had told the exiled leader that he could return home without being arrested.
The chief executive added he would even shoulder Sison’s medical expenses.
Duterte, during his Second State of the Nation Address last Monday, however, claimed Sison had colon cancer—a claim Sison denied and described as a “blatant lie.”
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines political consultant also emphasized that his battles could not be dictated by Duterte.
“At any rate, I choose the battlefield where I fight and the types of battles that I wage. These cannot be dictated by Duterte who hopes vainly that the US and European intelligence would tip him off as soon as I leave The Netherlands for the Philippines,” Sison said.
“The way he continues to talk he really hates to engage in peace negotiations with the NDFP. At any rate, I must remind Duterte that we are well past the age of retirement in the NPA and AFP,” he added.
Irked by the continued collection of revolutionary tax by the New People’s Army, the President said he was directing the Armed Forces and the police not to use the word “revolutionary tax,” saying it was clearly extortion.
“That is not a proper word for us to adopt. This government already collects taxes. So they [the communists] should not impose their own tax.” Duterte said.
“Use the word “extortion,” “hold-upper,” (sic) or “kidnapper,” the President added, warning he would file cases against them based on the Revised Penal Code.