Palace: Peace talks with NDF should be time-bound and doable

CPP NPA. Photo courtesy of HaloFanon Wikia

MANILA — Malacanang on Monday reiterated the government is open to resuming peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) provided that the dialogue is based on a time-bound and doable agenda.

“Only if they are time-bound and doable. We have always said that we are open to resuming talks provided that we avoid the mistakes of the past. And I think that’s not unreasonable request,” said Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda in a Palace press briefing.

Lacierda said the government remains committed to pursuing peace with the communist rebels.

“We’d rather have peace than war. And we have proven our sincerity insofar as starting a peace dialogue. We’ve proven that in MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front),” he said.

Lacierda said the administration is also continuously working for the uplift of the lives of every Filipino.

“For us, our concern is to make sure that the welfare of every Filipino whether you’re a rebel, whether you’re a civilian, or whether you’re a law abiding citizen is taken cared for,” he said.

“So that means that if they are not willing to talk peace, we are going to continue to go to areas where we can help them. (We have) poverty intervention programs, other alleviation measures that we can do to help the poor and we also have ISP (Internal Security Plan),” he added.