Duterte still determines to pursue talks with communist rebels

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is still determined to pursue peace talks with the communist rebels despite the lifting of the unilateral ceasefire, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said on Sunday.

"It is very clear that the the president walked the extra mile for peace. And no doubt, he will still continue to do so at any given opportunity,"Dureza said in a statement.

He said that he would make recommendations during the cabinet meeting on Monday on how to move the talks forward.

The Communist Party of the Philippines announced Sunday its plan to declare a unilateral ceasefire next month as it urged the government to push through with the scheduled peace talks in Oslo, Norway on Aug. 20.

"To further support peace negotiations, the CPP is willing to issue a unilateral ceasefire declaration separately but simultaneously with the Duterte government on Aug. 20. The time-frame can be determined through negotiations,"the CPP said in a statement.

Dureza said in a statement Sunday that the CPP move, albeit delayed,"is a welcome development."

"It affirms the value of the (Duterte's) firm actions for peace. This is what we have been waiting for,"Dureza said. The negotiating panels of both the government and the rebels are scheduled to resume formal talks in Oslo during August 20 to 27.

The CPP statement came almost a day after President Rodrigo Duterte revoked Saturday night a week-old truce with the communist rebels after the insurgents attacked militiamen in Davao del Norte that resulted in the death of a militia man.

Duterte demanded that the rebels also declare a truce as a result of the incident but the rebels failed to meet the 5 p.m. final deadline Duterte imposed Saturday.

In the wake of his order to lift the unilateral ceasefire, Duterte also ordered"all security forces to be on heightened alert" and resumed their mandate"to neutralize all threats to national security."

The CPP added"At this point, the CPP reiterates its full support for the resumption of the NDFP-GRP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines) peace negotiations as a means of discussing the roots of the armed conflict."

The CPP said "it expects the Duterte government to make good its promise to release all peace consultants of NDFP as well as all political prisoners arrested and detained" under the administrations of former Presidents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino.

"As earlier planned, the negotiations panels of the NDFP and the (government) can thereafter exchange these defalcations in order to discuss points for cooperation and coordination and determine ways of preventing armed skirmishes, misunderstandings and miscommunications during the course of the peace talks,"the CPP said.

Both the government and the communist rebels have expressed optimism that formal peace talks to end the decades-old communist insurgency will push trough in spite of President Rodrigo Duterte's decision to trash a week-old truce, saying they are looking forward to the Aug. 20 Oslo meeting.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the CPP's armed wing, the New Peoples'Army, has an estimated 4,000 members. They have been fighting the government since 1969 in one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies.

The government has been attempting to forge peace with with the rebels since 1986 but the on-and-off talks have faltered many times since. Endit