Lacson tells CPP-NPA: Declare your own ceasefire to prove sincerity

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) should declare a truce of its own accord as a gesture of goodwill, even if President Rodrigo Duterte lifted the unilateral ceasefire he announced, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Sunday.

In an interview over dzBB radio, Lacson said the communist rebels should not accuse the President of rushing them into reciprocating the ceasefire since they could voluntarily issue such a directive.

“Maski binawi ni President Duterte ang unilateral ceasefire sa parte ng gobyerno, walang makakapigil kung mag-deklara ng ceasefire ang CPP-NPA, if only maipakita ang kanilang good will at good faith. Bakit sisisihin ang gobyerno na butangero? Magdeklara na lang [sila ng ceasefire] para ipakitang meron silang good will,” he said.

At around 7 p.m. Saturday, Duterte lifted the unilateral ceasefire he had announced during his State of the Nation Address on July 25 and placed troops on “high alert” after the CPP-NPA failed to meet his deadline for their own declaration.

Following Duterte’s announcement, CPP founder Jose Maria Sison went on air to say they were supposed to declare their own ceasefire by 8 p.m.

The President gave the communist groups a deadline to reciprocate the government’s ceasefire following an ambush by the NPA in Davao del Norte last Wednesday, which left one government militiaman dead and four others wounded.

Lacson, a former chief of the Philippine National Police, isn’t sold on Sison’s remark that the 5 p.m. deadline set by Duterte on Saturday was too soon since they needed more time to spread the word to the troops on the ground.

“Ang claim ni Sison di raw ganoon kadali mag-disseminate sa tropa nila. In this day and age of technology, tell that to the Marines. Kasi ang dali na yung nangyayari sa kabilang panig ng mundo, sandali lang alam na natin sa Pilipinas. Yun pang sa loob ng Pilipinas?” he said.

Although the CPP-NPA failed to reciprocate Duterte’s call for a ceasefire, the senator said there is still a chance a truce will be declared by the communist group and the government together when they resume peace talks next month.

“Pag mag-deklara ng ceasefire, itutuloy ang peace talks. Sabay silang magdedeklara kung ‘yan ang pagkakasunduan. ‘Yan ang nakikita kong mukhang patutunguhan nito in spite of the incident,” he said. — Xianne Arcangel/BM, GMA News