Joma wants BOL to fail to save his ideology: DND chief

This was the reply of Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when asked why Sison seems to be afraid of the BOL and other peace initiatives of the government. (PNA file photo by Priam F. Nepomuceno)

MANILA — Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison wants the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to fail so that he has a rallying point for his discredited and bankrupt ideology.

This was the reply of Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana when asked why Sison seems to be afraid of the BOL and other peace initiatives of the government.

“Sison doesn’t want the government to succeed in this peace efforts with the Muslims. He is trying to picture a chaotic BOL autonomous government. I think he is even praying that it fails. Kasi takot siya na baka yung mga NPA (New People’s Army) makipag-usap din sa gobyerno (He’s afraid that the NPA will eventually talk to the government). He wants trouble to continue para meron siyang (so he has) rallying point for his discredited and bankrupt ideology,” he said in a message to the Philippine News Agency Monday.

And when asked on what can happen to the NPA once the BOL proves a success, Lorenzana said it is very clear that the Muslim population will not allow communist rebels in their areas.

“If the BOL succeeds, we can be sure that the Muslim population would not want the Red’s incursion into their area. The Reds, especially the cadres and fighters, would be encouraged to lay down their firearms, surrender and avail of the government’s benefits,” the DND chief added.

The NPA, the CPP’s armed wing, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.

Meanwhile, Col. Noel Detoyato ,Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, said Sison is taking potshots at the BOL as he is feeling inadequate with the peaceful solution formulated by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Nag-serve na ng sample ang sincerity ng government and MILF to come up with a peaceful solution. Sison cannot equal that, that is why Sison feels inadequate in the face of the peace accord of the government and MILF,” he said in a message Monday.

On Nov. 23, 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation 360, ordering the termination of all peace negotiations and meetings with the CPP-NPA.

The termination was an offshoot of the rebel atrocities and other acts of violence against civilians and security forces.

Earlier, Sison claimed that President Duterte is “setting the stage for a bigger armed conflict in the Bangsamoro and adjoining areas” in his insistence to push for the ratification of the BOL.

The CPP founder also alleged that there were several forces that opposed the BOL and that the President failed to offer “satisfactory terms and secure the agreement” of those strongly opposed to it.

The BOL, previously known as the Bangsamoro Basic Law, seeks to establish a new Bangsamoro political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Duterte signed the BOL on July 26 last year.