Duterte to NPA: I’ll give you jobs if you surrender

From Malaya Business Insight (Nov 2): Duterte to NPA: I’ll give you jobs if you surrender

PRESIDENT Duterte asked New People’s Army rebels to surrender and assured them of jobs, and possibly houses, but said the communists should work for these.

He made the call Saturday night on arrival in Davao City from an official visit to Japan.

Duterte mentioned a housing program under which, he said, at least 5,000 housing units are to be built by the National Housing Authority, but he said the priority beneficiaries now are soldiers and policemen.

“Kung mag-surrender kayo... Bigyan kita ng bahay automatic, at bigyan kita ng trabaho. Pero magtrabaho kayo. (If you surrender... I will automatically give you a house and a job. But you have to work.) This is not an honorarium thing. You have to work for it,” Duterte said.

Duterte also said he supports the initiative of his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, to conduct peace talks with the NPA in her area.

Duterte-Carpio recently formed a local body tasked to convince the local rebel command to agree to localized talks in light of developments in formal peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA.

The President terminated the peace negotiations in July as the NPA continued its attacks on government forces even while the formal peace talks. Duterte has said he no longer wanted to talk with the communist group but last month, he told the NDF-CPP-NPA to declare a ceasefire if they want the peace talks to resume.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/duterte-npa-i%E2%80%99ll-give-you-jobs-if-you-surrender