Lorenzana willing to drop terrorist tag on CPP-NPA if peace talks proceed

April 4, 2018

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana expressed willingness to drop tagging the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) New People’s Army (NPA) as terrorist if the peace negotiations will resume. “We will see what will be the result of this talk about resuming the peace talks because if we will talk to them I think it is not fair that we will tag them as terrorist,” Lorenzana told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday. “If there’s none, we will pursue the tag as terrorists to them,” he added. The government has asked the Manila Regional Trial Court to tag the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group on February 21. If granted, this will allow the government to seek clearance from the Court of Appeals to engage in wiretapping activities against the communists, and apply for a freeze order on, and examination of, the bank accounts and assets of the CPP-NPA leaders and identified members. Lorenzana reiterates the importance of having a bilateral ceasefire agreement if the peace negotiation will continue. “There should be no movement. The ceasefire that we want includes the condition that they should stop collecting revolutionary taxes or extortion, no attacking of government troops. They will not conduct kidnapping of civilian and soldiers. They should not attack our forces even police and no more expansion of influenced areas,” he said when asked what kind of ceasefire he wants to be implemented should the peace talks with the rebels proceed. Lorenzana said the communist group should also prove they can control their ground forces. “Maybe their officials want to talk but it is being sabotaged in the ground. So my question is do they have any control over their fighters on the ground. That is the question that I was asking even before,” he said. “They have to prove that they can control their people on the ground, because if we will have ceasefire, both or bilateral, we have to be assured that they can control their ground forces,” Lorenzana added. Robina Asido/DMS