CAGAYAN de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez yesterday urged the government to restart peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and their political arm, National Democratic Front.

He made the appeal in reaction to the statement of newly installed Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. that he personally was not in favor of resuming negotiations with the communists.

Rodriguez said it was unfortunate that the defense chief has taken such a personal stand.

“I hope that he reconsiders that position, because this long-running communist insurgency has resulted in the loss of many Filipino lives – communist guerrillas, soldiers and civilians, including children. Just one Filipino the government could save by talking with the communists is worth all the effort,” he said.

He said if the military’s claim that the communists are dwindling in number were true, the state is morally obliged to get them to talk peace instead of “finishing them off,” as one officer has put it.
“I am sure that these CPP-NPA-NDF remnants would want to enjoy life in peace with their families, instead of getting exterminated by the overwhelming military power of the state. They should realize that their dream of more than 50 years of taking over the government has remained just that – an impossible dream,” he added.

The Mindanao lawmaker reminded Teodoro that many towns in his home province of Tarlac and neighboring Pampanga were hotbeds of communist insurgency in the past.

“Look where Tarlac and Pampanga are now. They are growth areas, they are booming because there are no more communists there and because the government built infrastructure like roads in these provinces,” he said.

He said he was sure this is also the case in communities in Visayas and Mindanao state forces, including the police, have been liberated from communist insurgency.
“Entrepreneurship and economic activities thrive in communities where there is peace,” he stressed.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Ryan Ponce Pacpaco