None of the close aides of President Rodrigo Duterte is ready to believe former Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) chief Avelino “Billy” Andal’s claim of him being deputized by the President to lead backchannel talks with communist leader Jose Maria Sison.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Carlito Galvez, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo and former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go all dismissed Andal’s assertion.

“I have no instruction to Andal about back channeling,” Go quoted Mr. Duterte as saying.

Lorenzana even branded Andal’s statement as “fake news.”

“The President says he never ordered him to do so,” Lorenzana said.

Andal, who is currently a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, in a phone interview with Palace media, announced being tasked by Mr. Duterte to initiate efforts to talk to Sison over the stalled peace negotiations.

A former activist and political detainee, he bared he has already “sent feelers” to his connections from the revolutionary movement who he said were “very happy” with the latest development.

The said order was supposedly given last week when Andal and the President chanced upon each other at an event.

“It’s not true. Mr. Andal is not connected with OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) and previously engaged in any peace negotiations. He does not have authority to do so,” Galvez told reporters in a separate interview.

At a Palace briefing, Panelo, meanwhile, also denied having any knowledge of Andal’s “appointment.”

“I do not have any information on that. If that’s what the President told him, good. The President has always been open to the revival of the peace talks because he doesn’t want Filipinos killing each other,” Panelo said.

The CPP and its armed unit, the New People’s Army (NPA), have been in an armed conflict with the government stretching 50 years, the longest-running insurgency in Asia.

Peace negotiations between the administration and the Left hit a brick wall in July 2017 after Mr. Duterte ordered their suspension following what he said as the communists’ continuing attacks on government forces and civilians.

“The peace talks with the communists have been canceled in 2017. He was not tasked to do backchannel talks based on my discussion with President Duterte at a command conference,” Galvez said.

The OPAPP secretary was referring to Proclamation 360 issued by Mr. Duterte in November 2017 which states that the peace negotiations between the government and the communists were terminated “despite the best efforts of the administration.”

“The communists failed to show sincerity and commitment in pursuing genuine and meaningful peace negotiations as they engaged in acts of violence and hostilities, endangering the lives and properties of innocent people,” the proclamation noted.

“I have talked with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser (NSA) Hermogenes Esperon and we did not get any information on backchannel talks,” he added.

“At this moment, we feel that is not the time for the resumption of peace talks because the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP) is not sincere in the peace process,” Galvez said.

Andal still insisted that he got the President’s imprimatur.

“The presentation was wrong. That’s why the understanding would also be wrong,” Andal said in an online interview.

“In our conversation on peace talks, we talked about the backchannel. So Duterte told me to backchannel,” he explained. “But I never told anybody about it because it was informal. But I took it seriously in my private capacity because I have full trust and belief in the President’s sincerity in having peace in the Motherland.”

He also revealed to media that he already sent “feelers” to the communist rebels, who, according to him, were “extremely glad” of the President’s move.