‘Overrated’ ties with communists pose coup risks, Duterte warned

From the Daily Tribune (May 21): ‘Overrated’ ties with communists pose coup risks, Duterte warned

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is at risk of being unseated should he decide to pursue his “overrated” friendship with the communist insurgents, two retired uniformed officers yesterday said.

A retired Philippaine National Police (PNP) general, who used to be a part of a rebel-soldier coup member, and a retired Army general, in separate interviews with The Tribune, said Duterte, who has created enemies with vows to embrace communist rebels, must be watchful of  his ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

“Although we should be supportive of President Duterte, we must remind him to be watchful of communist opportunists in the government for the benefit of their movement which, as we know well, terrorize people,” the retired police general said.

He added, historically speaking, the late President Corazon Aquino’s favorable relations with the communist group which led to the freedom of then detained CPP founder Jose Maria Sison “allowed the expansion of the NPA and its atrocities.”

Sison has been living in exile in the Netherlands since 1987.

The former Army general, for his part, noted that “keeping the communists close is dangerous.”


“It is his prerogative and that the public should be respective of it, as well as the men in uniform. But we should be careful knowing their deceptive measures,” he told The Tribune in a phone interview.

“But we should still be supportive of President Duterte. The people elected him after all. And who knows, this might be a big step not only in negotiating peace but to end their rebellion,” the retired general added.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes, a former Navy officer famous for leading failed military uprisings in 2003 and 2007, has earlier said some in the military were “strongly averse” to Duterte’s long-standing ties with communists, and that the reaction “could be violent.”

The communists are waging one of Asia’s longest-running insurgencies, with tens of thousands killed since the rebellion began in 1969. Dozens still die each year as the communists retain support among the poor.

Duterte has ruled the major southern city of Davao, which was one of the communist hotspots, as mayor for most of the past two decades, ending violence there by forging close ties with the rebels.

He has vowed to offer communist leaders posts in his government.

Meanwhile, in a separate phone interview, leftist Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Carlos Zarate told The Tribune that the public has nothing to be afraid of the communist rebels.

He stressed Duterte knows how to manage the leftist group and the military well.
“Of course, it is natural that Duterte must coordinate with uniformed men since he is the chief of the Philippine government. But that does not mean that he should continue with what went wrong with the way military men handle both the (legal and underground) left,” Zarate said.

“Duterte was able to win friendly relations and coexistence with the CPP-NPA and the state forces and even the Moro revolutionaries,” he added.

London School of Economics fellow and UST political analyst Prof. Ernesto Gonzales, for his part, said it is a welcome opportunity to allow those who have ties with the communist group to work in the government.

“Instead of proposing their plans as long they are for the people’s welfare, we could now actually see them do it,” Gonzales said.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/overrated-ties-with-communists-pose-coup-risks-duterte-warned