Pres. Duterte urged to fire communist cabinet members

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 7): Pres. Duterte urged to fire communist cabinet members

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday welcomed the decision of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to call for an all-out-war versus the communist group New People’s Army (NPA) and at the same time urged him to fire communists in his cabinet.

“It’s about time,” Trillanes said in a text message.

However, to prove that this is not another bluster, Trillanes said “Pres. Duterte must immediately fire the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) officials whom he appointed to various high positions in government.”

Currently, three CCP members are part of the Duterte cabinet namely Department of Agrarian Reform Sec. Rafael Mariano, Department of Social Welfare and Development Sec. Judy Taguiwalo, and National Anti-Poverty Commission Chair Liza Maza.
Sen. Francis Escudero, on the other hand, said he does not agree that an all-out-war should be called at this time.

Escudero said that both the government and the CPP-NPA were responsible for the collapse of peace talks although recognized that “it was the CPP-NPA who cast the first stone.”

"The reds should reexamine its position and pursue concessions towards peace. The government, for its part, should never close the door towards peace," Escudero said.

"There is no reason really for either party to totally close the possibility of peace talks however difficult it may seem at this point in time," he added.

He stressed that any new war waged will just breed a new generation of insurgents.

Pres. Duterte appointed them to these positions as a gesture of building bridges with other groups.

Last Friday, he lifted the ceasefire with the NPA after the rebels brutally killed three soldiers in Bukidnon.

He also announced the cancellation of peace talks with the communist rebels and ordered the members of the Philippine government peace panel to return him from Oslo, Norway.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=961837