Church groups in the Philippine expressed hope that peace talks between the government and communist rebels will continue despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for an “allout war” against insurgents.
“The president should listen to the people’s call for peace,” said retired Bishop Deogracias Iniguez of Kalookan, one of the leaders of the Citizens Alliance for Just Peace, on Feb. 8.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro, convenor of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform also appealed to the government and the rebels to “resume the peace talks.”
President Duterte ordered the termination of formal talks with the rebels, whom he labeled as “terrorists,” after the Communist Party of the Philippines said it would end its unilateral ceasefire effective Feb. 10.
The rebel group cited alleged human rights abuses committed by the Philippine military and the government’s failure to release political prisoners as reasons for lifting the truce.
Formal peace negotiations, which have been suspended for several years, opened in Norway in August last year following Duterte’s election.
The president, however, scrapped the negotiations that aimed to end nearly five decades of conflict after the rebels reportedly made unacceptable demands despite government concessions.
Duterte said he had “walked the extra mile” to bring peace, but his efforts were not reciprocated by the rebels who took advantage of the talks to recruit fighters and extort money from businessmen.
Following the breakdown of the talks, armed clashes between New People’s Army guerrillas and government troops led to the death of at least three soldiers and the arrest of several suspected rebels. ”
Negotiations should not be bogged down by accusations and counter accusations,” said Archbishop Ledesma, who called for threshing out issues “in principled dialogue over the negotiating table.”
