ADVERTISEMENT
'Malaking kalokohan,' Parlade says of resuming peace talks with CPP
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA NewsResuming peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) would be foolish, Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command chief Lieutenant General Antonio Parlade Jr. told senators on Tuesday.
"To say na ang peace talks ay dapat nating balikan, 'yan po ay malaking kalokohan," Parlade said during the hearing on the alleged red-tagging by the military.
He made this remark after Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan underscored the importance of aggressive peace negotiations in ushering economic development.
While acknowledging that the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front had been successful, Parlade said this does not hold true for the government's negotiation with the CPP.
The witnesses presented by the security sector during the hearing—self-confessed former communist rebels—claimed that the ceasefire during the government's peace talks with the CPP has been taken advantage of by the Red fighters in launching various attacks.
Pangilinan said Parlade's description of the resumption of peace talks as "malaking kalokohan" was unparliamentary.
President Rodrigo Duterte terminated peace negotiations with the communist group in November 2017, with the Palace citing the alleged lack of sincerity and commitment on the part of the Reds.
The following month, Duterte declared through a proclamation that the CPP's armed wing New People's Army (NPA) is a terrorist organization. The party's political wing National Democratic Front, however, was not mentioned in the proclamation.
In 2018, the Department of Justice asked a Manila court to legally declare the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.
The said petition has been junked
ADVERTISEMENT
Against state policy?
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said that even without the peace negotiations, the Duterte administration is still pursuing "localized peace engagements."
Senate committee on national defense and security chairperson Panfilo Lacson asked if this would not be contrary to the state policy of not negotiating with terrorist groups, since Duterte himself declared the communist group as such.
"What happens to the state policy not to negotiate with terrorists? It's either that the President rescinds the proclamation of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group or huwag na mag-peace talks. 'Yun ang nakikita ko," Lacson said.
Governance expert Tony La Viña said the President has the prerogative to take back his earlier pronouncement against having peace talks with the communist group.
"As a Constitutional professor, I can tell you that our President as commander in chief and as chief executive can actually decide anytime to conduct peace negotiations with anyone, any group because that's a political decision that only the President can make," he said.
"I do agree that to do that, there needs to be, as you said, some decisions and reversing of decisions and announcements whether done legally or just as policy announcements done verbally that in fact we will resume peace talks," he added, responding to Lacson's query.
Department of Justice Assistant Secretary Nicholas Felix Ty also said the designation of the CPP-NPA as terrorists would merely allow the state to freeze their assets.
"There is nothing in these laws which would categorically state that the President is prevented from negotiating with those organizations which are designated," Ty said.
"It would appear that the President continues to have the prerogative to negotiate with those organizations that are merely designated under our laws," he added.
Lacson then proceeded with a hypothetical question by asking if it would be "a point of no return" for peace talks between the CPP and the government in case the Manila RTC proscribes them as a terror group.
"No... In fact there are legal tools that would be available to the President," La Viña responded. -MDM, GMA News