(Eagle News)—The Palace on Saturday, March 23, slammed Communist Party of the Philippines founding chair Jose Maria Sison for saying President Rodrigo Duterte sounded “like an old broken record” with his permanent termination of peace talks.
“If as Mr. Sison says the President sounds like a broken record, the cantankerous steak chieftain of the National Democratic Front is like an echo with his repeated criticisms of President Rodrigo Duterte and this administration to stay politically relevant in the Philippines while maintaining and lapping up his lavish lifestyle in Europe,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said, calling Sison’s statement “a case of the pot calling the kettle black.”
He said Sison merely protracted the peace process so he could enjoy the donations granted by organizations to his group in The Netherlands while Duterte pursued peace.
He said it was therefore “vital to explain to the people where the President is coming from and why he officially announced the permanent termination of talks between the government and the CPP, notwithstanding the issuance of Proclamation No. 360.”
Panelo was referring to the proclamation issued in 2017 that declared the CPP-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front as terrorists.
“The administration still seeks peace. We are just trying a different tact by localizing the peace talks as the concerns of rebel groups vary from one locality to another specially so that Mr. Sison appears not to have control over the communist forces on the ground,” he said.
He said that while peace talks could be revived by a new administration, the Communist rebels should first show genuine sincerity by laying down their arms and shunning their acts of violence.
Until such time, Panelo said the localized peace talks will be given impetus.