FORMER Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo has something to say regarding the government’s decision to revive peace talks with the communist terrorist group Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).
“As I said, my goodness, it’s absurd, it’s nonsense for us to engage again in talks with the communist rebels. We should remember that during the time of the former President [Duterte], we attempted [peace talks]. As you mentioned, he even appointed leftists to cabinet positions, but it failed. While we were discussing peace talks with them, they were also accelerating their attacks on soldiers and police. They were expanding. When the former President [Duterte] saw that, he put an end to it,” according to Atty. Salvador Panelo, Former Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.
This what former Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo disclosed in his program “Problema n’yo, Itawag kay Panelo” on SMNI regarding the government’s decision to resume peace talks with the communist terrorist group CPP-NPA-NDF.
Panelo said he cannot fathom the need for the resumption of peace talks when the government has not failed in its fight against communist terrorism.
In fact, the government has been successful in dismantling the terrorist organization that, for over five decades, has committed numerous heinous crimes against thousands of Filipinos in the country.
Panelo emphasized that the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) played a key role in bringing government programs to areas that used to be strongholds of communists.
“Now, when NTF-ELCAC was created, we saw how successful the government’s program was. We entered [CPP-NPA-NDF] strongholds— areas that did not progress and develop. [NTF-ELCAC] brought these programs, and little by little, they lost reasons to fight against the government, and many of them surrendered,” Atty. Panelo added.
Atty. Panelo cautions ‘dangerous’ peace talks with communist terrorist group
Atty. Panelo also believes that reviving peace talks with CPP-NPA-NDF is dangerous.
“They are discussing the removal of communist rebels from the list of terrorists when we already know they are terrorists because of how they kill, ambush, kill families, kill police officers, extort revolutionary taxes, and burn those who don’t pay them. That’s too much. We don’t need those peace talks. It’s dangerous,” Panelo said.
People behind peace talks with communist terrorist group are country’s ‘secret enemies’—Atty. Panelo
The former Presidential Legal Counsel also questioned as to why peace talks with CPP-NPA-NDF should resume.
He also raised concerns about the people who are pushing for such dangerous negotiations, calling them secret enemies of the country.
“I don’t understand who’s stirring that [peace talks]. Anyone behind the continuation or renewed peace talks is a secret enemy of the country. They’re not patriotic; they’re aiding them,” Panelo said.
It can be noted that the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Secretary Carlito Galvez declared that the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front signed a joint statement in Oslo, Norway, agreeing to engage in peace talks to end decades of armed struggle.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) also listed its demands before resuming peace talks with the Philippine government:
Demands of NDFP to the Philippine government before starting peace talks;
Participation of detained NDFP consultants in negotiations; Immunity for NDFP members participating in peace talks; Release of all political prisoners; Removal of NDFP from the terrorist designation.
The Anti-Terrorism Council designated the National Democratic Front as a terrorist organization on June 23, 2021, which resulted to the freezing the organization’s bank accounts and other financial assets.
The Duterte administration initially revived the peace talks but later put an end to it due to the continued recruitment activities of the terrorist group.
