VP Sara peace talk remark understandable, says AFP chief

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on Tuesday said that he understands where Vice President Sara Duterte is coming from when she criticized the Marcos administration's decision to reopen talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

"Well, first of all, I cannot blame the vice president for saying this. In fact, this opinion is shared by so many in our country, even soldiers — others share the same sentiments because of the experience that we had with them," Brawner said.

The AFP chief recalled that government had several talks with the communist groups with some political prisoners being freed in disguise for peace negotiations while trying to strengthen their ground armed wing NPA.

"But right now, we believe that the (Oslo) statement is really moving towards lasting peace, particularly me, I believe that this could lead to lasting peace, because in the first place, they said that these talks will have no preconditions, there will be no ceasefire, there will be no release of political prisoners so exploratory talks," Brawner said.

He reiterated that the AFP will continue conducting focused military operations against the remaining guerrilla fronts of the NPA, pending to the final peace agreement between the government and the communists.

"I told all our troops, we will continue our operations and we should not worry too much about these exploratory talks, as long as we know what our task is, what our mission is then we will continue the conduct of our operations," the AFP chief said.

To recall, the Vice President stressed that to open peace negotiations anew with insurgents is like striking a deal with the devil.

Meantime, leaders from various political parties in the House of Representatives on Tuesday expressed all-out support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s initiative to restart peace negotiations with communist rebels despite the Vice President's statements.

Party leaders said that the "historic move" would pave the way for the country to attain lasting peace and sustainable development.

"As the united voice of the House of Representatives, representing all political parties, we collectively express our unwavering support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s initiative for peace and national unity," the joint statement read.

"This unity in purpose reflects the strength of our democracy and the resilience of our nation. President Marcos's call for peace transcends political boundaries and speaks to the core of our shared values as Filipinos," it added.

The signatories of the joint statement include Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe, and Deputy Speakers Kristine Singson-Meehan and Camille Villar, among others.