Is peace still attainable between the New People’s Army (NPA) and the government — no matter who sits as president?
After failing to submit their explanation for ambushing government forces last July 27 despite the ceasefire declared by President Rodrigo Duterte, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Jose Maria “Joma” Sison said the ultimatum was inappropriate.
Sison also described the Commander-in-chief as “volatile” and “butangero” (hoodlum).
In a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sison said, “Volatile ang character ni Duterte at may asal butangero (Duterte’s character is volatile and he acts like a hoodlum).”
We can say Sison knows what he’s talking about, since he used to be Duterte’s professor at the Lyceum of the Philippines. The two were also pretty close and discussed the 77-year-old Sison’s homecoming from being an exile in the Netherlands.
Despite saying that they planned to reciprocate the ceasefire announcement at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night, it looks like Sison’s camp doesn’t even believe in it in the first place.
In the same Inquirer report, Sison said the ceasefire is “non-existent” because military personnel still occupied residential communities and schools despite the declared unilateral ceasefire.
“Sabi rin ng Southern Mindanao Command ng NPA na non-existent ang ceasefire ni Duterte sa AFP and PNP. Hindi sila sumusunod sa ceasefire order ng kanilang Commander-in-chief,” Sison told the Inquirer.
(The Southern Mindanao Command of the NPA said Duterte’s ceasefire was non-existent to the AFP and PNP. They are not following the ceasefire order of their very own Commander-in-chief.)
