‘Local peace talks a waste of funds’
EXILED Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison on Friday rejected local-level peace talks ordered by the Duterte administration after the postponement of negotiations with the communist leadership, calling it a “waste” of government funds.
“This is a stupid waste of money. It is a kind of racket with the local political followers and military agents of [President Rodrigo] Duterte pocketing the money for the fake surrenders,” Sison said in his Facebook post, sharing a news report on the issuance of an executive order for the localized talks.
“Duterte is really crazy. He wants to negotiate with his own shadow. [The] so-called localized peace talks are an old discredited psywar tactic,” he added.
Malacañang on Thursday disclosed that the President was set to issue an order authorizing localized peace talks, upon the suggestion of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The talks will involve leaders from the local government units and the military as supporting unit.
On Friday, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the localized talks were for the Red fighters, not for Sison and his comrades living comfortable lives in Europe.
“We will await the responses of those who are risking their lives and limbs on what appears to be a hopeless cause,” he said in response to Sison’s statements.
Lorenzana had said the localized peace talks would be the alternative to the national-level peace talks halted by Duterte himself to pave the way for a review of previous agreements and consultations with stakeholders.
The Defense chief wants peace talks terminated for good, citing information that the CPP and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), were planning to oust Duterte.
‘Psy-war tactic’
Sison also slammed anew what he called “fake” surrenders, supposedly by members of the NPA to authorities.
“The local peace and order councils and the military stage ‘peace’ meetings in which military assets are misrepresented as NPA representatives or surrenderers, and the captive audience is photographed and publicized as people turning against the NPA,” he said.
The military claims a total of 7,346 communist rebels have surrendered to the government. It did not explain the basis of the figures. The military had earlier estimated the number of NPA members at just 3,900.
The military called on the self-exiled communist leader to move on.
“If the surrenders are fake, then why is the old man Joma going berserk?” Col. Noel Detoyato, military public affairs chief, said in a text message to The Manila Times.
Detoyato said Sison’s remarks against localized peace talks only confirmed his “greatest fear.”
“If your (Sison) supposed-to-be-loyal forces start to abandon you, it means something is wrong with your leadership and the cause,” Detoyato said.
The post ‘Local peace talks a waste of funds’ appeared first on The Manila Times Online.