SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS, Philippines (AP) – Communist guerrillas warned that a peace deal with President Rodrigo Duterte’s government is unlikely to be reached if he won’t end the Philippines’ treaty alliance with the United States and resist foreign control by other countries he’s trying to befriend, like China and Russia.
In a clandestine news conference in a New People’s Army guerrilla encampment tucked in the harsh wilderness of the Sierra Madre mountains southeast of Manila, regional rebel commander and spokesman Jaime Padilla outlined the advantages and downside of talking with Duterte to end one of the world’s longest-running Marxist insurgencies.
The dozens of mostly young guerrillas in muddy boots in their rain-soaked encampment on a wooded plateau reflected their resiliency but also showed the tough conditions that have long hampered their insurgency. Young rebels cooked rice, pork and chicken in soot-covered pots over wood fire while others gingerly puffed cigarettes while watching the peripheries. The nearest army camp lies just 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) away. When an air force Huey helicopter flew overhead, rebels at the news conference briefly paused and watched the passing aircraft.
Founded in 1968, the rebels’ communist party has held peace talks with six Philippine presidents, including Duterte, whose rise to power in June sparked rebel optimism due to his searing anti-U.S. rhetoric, populist pro-poor stance and appointments of at least two left-wing Cabinet members.
But the guerrillas have also found themselves in a dilemma due to the tough-talking Duterte’s moves they find reprehensible, including the killings of large number of poor drug users that sparked accusations of massive human rights violations against him, a recent decision to allow dictator Ferdinand Marcos to be buried in a heroes’ cemetery and threats to shift to dictatorial rule if rival politicians derail his anti-drug crackdown and try to impeach him.