SENATE President Aquilino Pimentel III on Saturday said the Senate could open an “unofficial” door for negotiations with the communists.
He made the statement after President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the peace talks with the rebels.
“I defer to the judgment of the President, because he is the peace negotiator,” Pimentel said. “He is the chief peace negotiator, and in his view the people he has been talking with are not sincere, but we in the Senate can bridge the gap. Let’s not close the doors to the negotiations.”
Pimentel made his statement even as a member of the leftist Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives on Sunday expressed concern over Malacañang’s recent attack against the communist rebels.
“We fear becoming targets of any threats based on the statements of President Duterte,” ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio told dzBB radio.
Duterte last week said he would order the arrest of all armed communist rebels and all members of the supposed “legal fronts” who assist them.
Nevertheless, Pimentel said he understood why the President terminated the peace talks.
“They’re still attacking, and the President is angry that his soldiers and policemen are being killed,” Pimentel said.
He also disagreed with the critics who said Duterte had acted like a dictator when he canceled the talks.
“He’s just exercising his power,” Pimentel said.
Duterte on Wednesday said he planned to brand the NPA a terrorist organization because of its recent attacks against security forces.
Among the casualties in a recent NPA attack in Bukidnon was a four-month-old baby.
