Malacañang on Friday called on Communist Party of the Philippines ( CPP) founder Jose Ma.Sison to grab the “golden opportunity” to unite the Filipino people and show his patriotism by extending his hands for peace, for the sake of the Filipino people in this time of crisis.
“This is the best time to show his patriotism and work for peace,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
Despite the government’s sincere call for peace, Sison instead claimed that President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration of a unilateral ceasefire with communist rebels was “premature, insincere, and false.”
“Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairperson Jose Ma. Sison is again engaged in ranting nonsense that only highlights his perverted vision of reality as well as his insensitivity to the present grave peril that the Filipino people he professed to fight for face,” Panelo said.
Duterte on Wednesday ordered the suspension of military operations from March 19 to April 15 to pave the way for the government’s response to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Duterte directed the military and the police to stop offensives against the CPP and its armed and political wings, the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front.
Sison, however, said there is “no clear basis” yet to reciprocate the unilateral ceasefire declared by Duterte.
“The NDFP is not assured and satisfied that the reciprocal unilateral ceasefires are based on national unity against COVID-19, the appropriate solution of the pandemic as a medical problem and protection of the most vulnerable sectors of the population, including workers, health workers, those with any serious ailments and the political prisoners,” he added.
Panelo said the ceasefire is part of government’s efforts to keep public health assistance unimpeded in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Philippines is now under a state of calamity due to the rising cases of COVID-19, which originated from China’s Hubei province late last year.
As this developed, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya has condemned the CPP-NPA-NDF for its outright rejection of the unilateral ceasefire declared by the President to allow the police and military to focus on their jobs to fight COVID-19.
“Kitang-kita na po ang totoong kulay nila dito. Nagkukunwari lang na nagmamalasakit sa taong-bayan pero kahit sa panahon ng coronavirus, kung saan lahat tayo ay nagsasakripisyo, gusto pa rin nilang tuloy ang giyera laban sa ating mga pulis at sundalo,” he said.
“Lubos na nakakalungkot na ang naging tugon ng CPP-NPA-NDF ay wala pa daw basehan na sila din ay magdeklara ng ceasefire. Lumalabas po sa kanilang aksiyon na wala po talaga silang pakialam o pagmamahal sa ating bansa at mga kababayan especially sa panahon ng krisis at kalamidad,” Malaya said in the Public Briefing on COVID-19 organized by the Presidential Communications Operations Office.
Malaya explained that since the national and local governments including the police and military are inundated with various challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis, the least that the communists should have done is to not hamper government efforts to serve the people by reciprocating the government’s declaration of the ceasefire.
“How do we expect the police and military to do their jobs properly to man the checkpoints, deliver relief goods to indigent families, maintain peace and order, and so on and so forth if they are always looking over their shoulder for that NPA ambush or attack on construction sites to extort revolutionary taxes?,” he said.
He said that the government’s declaration of ceasefire will give the Philippine National Police the opportunity to fully serve the people since Secretary Eduardo Año has also declared a suspension of offensive police operations.
“This act of the CPP-NPA-NDF clearly proves that for them the declaration of a ceasefire is just politics and propaganda. Ceasefires, peace talks are just extensions of the armed struggle and are simply tools to exact political concessions from the government even in the face of the suffering of the Filipino people,” he said.
“It was never about the people. It was always about them and how they will advance their so-called revolution to bring about a communist state in our country. We are fools for expecting the communists to put the interests of the country before their own narrow ideological ambitions. That’s why there’s no use negotiating with terrorists,” he added.
In the event of a communist attack, Malaya said that the PNP and AFP are prepared and will have no resort but to protect themselves.
“Handa naman po ang PNP at AFP sa oras ng pag-atake ngunit sana naman po ay ibigay ninyo na po ito sa pamahalaan para patuloy po tayong makapag-focus sa mga hakbang laban sa coronavirus.”