Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria “Joma” Sison got a beating from Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday who called Sison a “spoiled brat” and being out of touch with reality due to Sison’s gripes about the delayed start of the peace negotiations.

Last Thursday, Sison said it is “both disappointing and frustrating” that “Duterte has unilaterally cancelled the scheduled start of the stand-down ceasefire on June 21 and the resumption of formal talks in the peace negotiations in Oslo a week later on June 28.”

“Because the GRP [Government of the Republic of the Philippines] under Duterte is obviously not interested in serious peace negotiations, the revolutionary forces and the people have no choice but to single-mindedly wage people’s war to achieve the national and social liberation of the Filipino people,” Sison said.

In a statement, Lorenzana said Sison, “instead of rationally talking with our panel to discuss how to move forward the resumption of the peace talks, goes into tantrum and orders the NPA [New People’s Army] to wage a people’s war.”

Sison reacted to chief government peace negotiator Jesus Dureza’s statement also on Thursday that Mr. Duterte wanted the resumption of the peace talks between the government and communist rebels to be held in the Philippines next month, not late in June as was previously agreed upon during informal talks in the Netherlands.

Sison wanted the talks to be held either in Oslo, Norway or in Vietnam which he termed as “neutral” venues.

In a televised interview last Friday, Sison also accused Mr. Duterte of sabotaging the peace talks to lay the ground for imposing martial law nationwide despite the President’s initiative to open a 60-day window for the resumption of the negotiations.

“His ego is robbing many of Filipinos, whom he has misled all these years, of what could be their best chance ever to rejoin their families and live productive lives,” Lorenzana said in a statement.

“Your so-called army no longer listens to you, they are sick and tired of your lies and rhetoric.”

“Mr. Sison, [it is] so easy for you to order the NPA to wage war and get killed while you are safely in the Netherlands enjoying a life of comfort and leisure. Your so-called army no longer listens to you,” Lorenzana said.

“They are sick and tired of your lies and rhetoric, and are in fact heeding the call of President Duterte to come down and live peaceful lives and they are doing just that. They have been surrendering in droves since November last year. So you think you can force the government to the peace table by waging war? Don’t underestimate President Duterte,” Lorenzana added.

Sison also claimed that government also unilaterally scrapped a “stand down” agreement signed last June 9 by GRP and the NDFP panels.

He added the public has the right to know the content of the scrapped stand down agreement.

“This agreement has been unilaterally scrapped by the GRP. And the press and public wish to know why,” Sison said.

He added the contents of agreements signed last June 10 “pertinent to the June 28 to 30 resumption of formal peace talks and the interim peace agreement which have been unilaterally cancelled by the GRP” should also be revealed.

“All the aforementioned documents are of public interest and have become archival materials that are worthy of contemporary and historical study,” Sison said.

He added both or either of GRP and NDFP negotiating panels can share the documents with the press and public.

National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili, in another statement, said the commmunist movement was informed in advance of the deferred start of the negotiations.

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