MANILA – The formal resumption of peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels will not push through on June 28, Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said.
According to Dureza, President Rodrigo Duterte postponed the talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines because he wants to hold more public consultations.
“Our peace efforts to succeed should have good support from the general public, it is necessary that all efforts be exerted to inform and engage them in the same way as the government engages the rebels in addressing the root causes of conflict,” Dureza said.
He added that the “almost 50 years of intermittent and oftentimes disrupted peace negotiations with the communist rebels across several presidencies need a close study for lessons to learn from to ensure that our ‘last chance’ to put a dignified closure to the armed rebellion will not be squandered away.”
Dureza said they have already informed the National Democratic Front and the third party facilitator of the talks – Norway – regarding the cancellation.
The government will have to make the “final call” on the resumption of negotiations./PN
