AFP: Localized peace talks with CPP-NPA still a go

From CNN Philippines (Dec 29, 2020): AFP: Localized peace talks with CPP-NPA still a go

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 29) — There will no longer be a nationwide ceasefire between the government and the communist rebel groups but localized peace talks may still be pursued to address the insurgents' concerns, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Tuesday.

In an interview with CNN Philippines' The Source, AFP spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said a nationwide ceasefire after the shunned peace negotiations between the national government and the rebels may now be treated as "water under the bridge." But he said local governments can still help address concerns of members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, even after the groups were recently declared terrorists.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this month ruled out any truce or resumption of stalled peace talks with the rebels who have been waging more than five decades of communist insurgency, one of the longest in Asia. Duterte also reiterated a vow to crush the insurgents in the two years remaining in his term.

"Members of the CPP-NPA should no longer expect a national level of ceasefire. That is already water under the bridge. The President himself said he is not aiming for a national ceasefire," Arevalo said.

"But we will always support and we are still supporting localized peace talks. Because in that particular context, local issues and concerns by the local communist terrorist groups could be best addressed in LGUs in their area," Arevalo said. "Therefore, the solutions we will provide will be more fitting."

The statement appears to be contrary to what Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines earlier this month. Roque said a localized ceasefire – one facilitated by local government units – is also not possible, after Duterte's pronouncement that that there will be no more truce with the communist rebels for the rest of his term.

READ: Palace: No localized ceasefire with Reds too

"What is important is national agencies, local agencies and local chief executives are working hand in hand to address insurgency in these areas," Arevalo said. "We are hopeful that the defeat of this communist terrorist group will be irreversible and we will be successful before the President ends his term in 2022."

The Anti-Terrorism Council, tasked to designate any individual or group as terrorist, earlier this month issued a resolution formally tagging the CPP-NPA as "terrorist organizations, associations or groups of persons.”

However, only the Court of Appeals can order the proscription. The council's designation would not mean automatic arrest or detention, but would prompt the council to request the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze the accounts and assets of the designated terrorists.

Arevalo noted that nonetheless, by unplugging the group's fund sources, the AMLC could run after the bank accounts, deposits and other assets of the CPP-NPA that are used to fund ammunition, and supposedly bribe other individuals to join the group.

"[The resolution] will aid the military largely in the performance of its functions because the AMLC will be empowered in the freezing of the accounts and definitely, this will have an impact on the [group's] capability to wage war," Arevalo said.

Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the AMLC can issue a 20-day freeze order on bank accounts of designated terrorists. AMLC executive director Mel Racela previously said in a statement that this will be done based on their "analysis of accounts behavior."

In a tweet on Monday, CPP information officer Marco Valbuena responded that they are "not stupid to have bank accounts which the AMLC can freeze," and stressed that such order will only be used against President Rodrigo Duterte's critics accused of funneling funds to the NPA , including party-list organizations and other political parties. He warned that it will also "suppress" human rights defenders, unions and other organizations.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/12/29/CPP-NPA-localized-peace-talks-still-on-AFP.html