Senator Panfilo Lacson on Sunday urged the public to no longer pay attention to Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, saying he has lost control on the ground, but continued to benefit from the“revolutionary taxes” that the rebels collect.
“My attitude is, let us no longer listen to him because he is already out of touch… He no longer has control on the ground. He’s only with them during extortion,” Lacson said.
He added that Sison was no longer part of the struggle and “just there [in the Netherlands] living a good life.”
Sison, who has engaged President Rodrigo Duterte in a word war, has remained in exile in The Netherlands.
Sison has been opposed all sitting presidents because his only intention is to topple the government, Lacson added.
Earlier, National Democratic Front (NDF) consultants said it was their government counterparts who advised them that their Nov. 23 meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte would not push through, prompting their decision to cancel their return to Manila “for the meantime.”
NDF chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili said he was advised by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza that he should no longer push through with his trip.
Asked if the cancellation of the meetings between the government and the NDF stemmed from the alleged threats against the communist leaders’ lives, Agcaoili said the government panel members did not disclose anything about such threats.
“They did not say anything [about the arrest], but they told us that the appointment with the President was canceled. Just like that,” he said.
But the Palace said it has not canceled any talks with the NDF.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the informal talks with the communists, which will serve as a backchannel for the resumption of peace talks, had not been cancelled.
“There is no cancellation of any informal talk, what we have is one of them saying that he is afraid of being arrested. And we’re saying that you cannot be arrested if you would want to have a talk,” Panelo told the ANC news channel.
Panelo assured that NDF leaders they would not be arrested even after Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año threatened to arrest Agcaoili and his fellow NDFP consultant Luis Jalandoni when they arrive in the Philippines.
“Certainly, [I’m giving the assurance] because how can we be talking if they will be coming in just to be arrested? As I said, Secretary Año was only saying that on the basis of the cancellation the peace talks. So, if there are any informal talks then that would not apply,” Panelo said.
