Trillanes on Duterte vs. CPP-NPA: Nagkakatrayduran na ang mga traydor

"Nagkaka-trayduran na ngayon ang mga traydor."

This was how Senator Antonio Trillanes branded the move of President Rodrigo Duterte to formally brand the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), as terror groups.

"Unang-una alam naman na ni Duterte na mga terorista 'yung NPA ever since. Dito naman kay Joma Sison, nagrereklamo siya kay Duterte na kung ano-ano daw, madami daw pinatay pero nung magkakasabwat pa sila eh tahimik naman siya dito sa EJKs," Trillanes said in a 24 Oras report by Maki Pulido on Wednesday.

"Ganoon lang, they deserve one another," added Trillanes, a staunch critic of the Duterte administration.

Trillanes, a retired Navy officer, is a member of the Magdalo Group, which is composed of former members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

On Tuesday, Duterte signed a proclamation declaring the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group.

This follows the termination of peace negotiations with the Reds last month./

Duterte himself had revived peace talks with the Communists after assuming the presidency last year, assuming a six-point peace and development agenda that includes an accelerated timeline for the dialogue, with both sides declaring a unilateral ceasefire.

By last December, however, Duterte said he had given the NDF “too much, too soon,” and that he would not release 130 political prisoners until the National Democratic Front signed a bilateral ceasefire deal. In February, the NPA ended its unilateral ceasefire, saying the government has failed to fulfill its promise to release all political prisoners. The government ended its own unilateral ceasefire that same month, citing the NPA’s recent clashes with the military that led to the loss of life on the government side even before it lifted its ceasefire. —Anna Felicia Bajo/JST, GMA News