The regional chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP)
is open to local peace negotiation with members of the New People’s Army in Eastern Visayas to end insurgency.
Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Jesus Elmer Villacorte
made the statement after a group of armed rebels stormed the police station of
Balangkayan, Eastern Samar last week.
He said the extent of positive change will depend on how
government officials listen to the grassroots and tackle the root causes of the
more than four decades of civil war.
Villacorte said talking with the NPA here in the region is a
necessary first step towards reaching an acceptable agreement.
“We anticipate that there will a lot of bumps along the
road,” said Villacorte. “But ultimately, this is something that our own local
officials and people from Eastern Visayas have
to work out with each other,” he added.
“We have our own issue to discuss with them and I believe
that a place of greater freedom and tolerance is not only a moral imperative,
it also helps to keep us safe,” he added.
However, Villacorte said in pursuing peace and freedom
within our locality is not to say that every problem has a military solution.
“The police and the military will always be the backbone of
that leadership. But military action cannot be the only – or even primary –
component of our leadership in every instance,” he added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=866300
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