Local peace body wants holiday truce in Davao City

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 20): Local peace body wants holiday truce in Davao City

The Davao City Local Peace Committee (DC-PEACE) is batting for a peaceful celebration of Christmas this year thru a cessation of hostilities with communist rebels.

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Monday the DC-PEACE asked her to talk with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for a possible declaration of suspension of military operations (SOMO).

The mayor said she will think about it, noting that a truce had been declared in previous years.

December, she added, is a season of peace, giving and forgiving.

Duterte-Carpio said if she sees that the local armed group is sincere in talking with the local government, then there will be no problem asking the AFP and PNP to declare a SOMO.

In a media interview on Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte hinted he was amenable to a SOMO in December but said he would still refer the matter to the AFP and PNP.

“If (situation) gets worse, then I will ask the military, 'Are we good or are we not good?'" he said, adding, “And I will ask the police, 'Kaya ninyo i-control o hindi (Can you control or not)?'"

When he was the mayor of Davao City, Duterte asked AFP for a holiday truce to allow the NPA rebels to celebrate Christmas with their families in the city.

The President was concerned about ongoing lawlessness involving the New People’s Army (NPA) the past weeks especially in Mindanao provinces.

In fact, he said he would proclaim the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) as a terrorist group.

He said he was no longer inclined to push the peace negotiations between the government and the communist movement. The President said he would give his soldiers a break then “we will also go to the offensive” against the NPA.

“We will study and maybe we will have a crackdown here somewhere. Nagsasawa na ako dito sa kalokohan nila. So 'yang lahat ninyong pretending to be speaking for the people 'yung mga quasi ano ninyo diyan, legitimate kunwari (I am sick with their foolishness. So everything that you are pretending to be speaking for the people and your quasi, legitimate pretenses),” he said.

But the President said he would give a chance to the rebels who have reached their senior years, to surrender and they would be provided with housing and work.

Duterte-Carpio, however, said she will still continue to reach out to the NPA since there is no official proclamation yet signed by the President regarding the terrorist declaration.

“Meantime, na wala pa ta’y papel nga gipanggunitan, wala pa ta’y legal basis (that we do not have the papers yet, we have no legal basis), we just take that as out of the cough pronouncement from our President,” she said.

The mayor said she constituted the Local Peace Committee (DC-PEACE) to talk with the NPA because the people behind the committee have no biases either on the government or rebel side.

Duterte-Carpio also bared the recommendations and activities of DC-PEACE during their last meeting on November 17.

The mayor added the peace committee will go the area of the NPA in the city, which she did not divulge, between December 7 and 9 to talk with the rebels.

She, however, clarified that only the members will go there because it might disrupt the dialogue if she goes with the committee.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php/articles/1016506