Hounded by allegations of channeling public funds to leftist allies, lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc on Sunday criticized Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro for rejecting any revival of peace talks with the New People’s Army (NPA).

The group said Teodoro’s stance prolongs a “dead-end policy,” while civilians continue to bear the brunt.

Teodoro, speaking to reporters during the Balikatan exercises on Saturday, showed little appetite for such proposals.

“It’s terrorism. Plain and simple. So to call for peace talks is to elevate the morality of their cause to something legitimate, which I cannot accept,” he said.

In a statement, Makabayan said ongoing military operations by the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines have done little to settle the decades-long insurgency and, in some cases, have only deepened hardships in affected communities.

“We condemn Defense Secretary Teodoro for his openly anti-peace, close-minded stance rejecting any resumption of peace negotiations between the GRP and the CPP-NPA-NDFP,” the group said.

The lawmakers pointed to renewed calls from former government peace negotiators to return to the table, particularly after recent clashes that have raised human rights concerns and displaced residents in contested areas.

On 19 April, a clash between government troops and New People’s Army fighters in Toboso, Negros Occidental, left 19 people dead.

As is often the case in such encounters, the narratives diverged: Some claimed civilians were caught in the crossfire, while the military maintained all casualties were rebels.

Human rights groups have called for an investigation into the incident, with the Commission on Human Rights confirming it has launched an independent probe.