Sara Duterte: Exclude Davao City in ceasefire with CPP-NPA

Rambo Talabong

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Sara Duterte: Exclude Davao City in ceasefire with CPP-NPA

Rappler.com

'For these terrorist organizations, sincerity is a strange word. To believe that they desire a peaceful end to the insurgency problem would be playing ignorant of their bloody habit,' says Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte

MANILA, Philippines – Mayor Inday Sara Duterte called on her father’s administration to exclude Davao City in its ceasefire with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), saying the rebels could not be trusted.

“We ask the Duterte government to exclude Davao City from the scope of the Christmas ceasefire with these terrorists. We also seek the same once the national government pursues the reopening of the formal peace negotiations,” Mayor Duterte said in a statement on Monday, December 23.

The Philippine government and the CPP started a ceasefire on Monday, December 23, until January 7, 2020, as part of what Malacañang said could set the stage for the resumption of the stalled peace talks.

Why is it futile? For the younger Duterte, the CPP-NPA simply could not be trusted.

“For these terrorist organizations, sincerity is a strange word. To believe that they desire a peaceful end to the insurgency problem would be playing ignorant of their bloody habit,” Duterte said.

Losing gains: The mayor also noted that her city has accomplished much in its local campaign to push out communist guerrillas, particularly through their Peace 911 peace-building program, which focuses on barangays reported to be strongholds of the CPP-NPA.

The program involves building local institutions extending basic services so that the locals do not turn to depending on the insurgents. The effort is boosted by a national crackdown against communist rebels and their leaders approved by her father.

A ceasefire, Sara Duterte said, would only enable the communist rebels to push back. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.