The leaders of various rebel groups in the country welcomed the latest offer made by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to live a peaceful life once he will be elected as President of the Philippines despite the fact that the mayor is still undecided whether to run or not to run for the country’s highest position.
According to self-exiled Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Ma. Sison on Tuesday, he welcomed the offer of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to communist rebels to end the fighting and prepare for a peaceful life under a Duterte presidency.
In an official e-mail statement, the CPP founder was quoted as saying “If Rody Duterte runs and if he wins as President, then the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will readily and earnestly negotiate with him,” said Sison, who is based in Utrecht, The Netherlands, in an e-mail statement.
Mayor Duterte who visited Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, on Monday, asked the communist and Muslim rebels to come down from their mountain lairs and meet him for peace negotiations to end decades of fighting the national government.
The tough-talking Mayor Duterte vowed to find a solution to the insurgency and the Moro rebellion by inviting their leaders to talks. The National Democratic Front (NDF) has been fighting the national government for the past 46 years and the armed conflicts between them claimed the lives of more than 40,000 Filipinos.