(Eagle News) — Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday, Nov. 22, said that it wasn’t the government that was on the losing end when National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultants canceled their trip to the Philippines due to security concerns.
“Hindi kawalan sa gobyerno kung ituloy man o hindi nina Mr. (Luis) Jalandoni at Ms. (Coni) Ledesma ang pagbalik sa Pilipinas. After all, it is not the government that is desperate to resume peace talks with the NDF,” Lorenzana said.
The Communists said the NDFP’s Fidel Agcaoili also canceled his trip to the Philippines, where they were supposed to meet Peace Secretary Jesus Dureza and Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo.
The group made the announcement after Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said they could be arrested if they set foot in the country, but the Palace downplayed such claims.
According to Lorenzana, “it is also not the government that is losing a large number of fighters because of the effectiveness of the localized peace talks and the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program.”
He took a swipe at Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, who he said insulted President Rodrigo Duterte and the military and police when he called the latter “minions.”
“Minion is a term of contempt. It means a servile, fawning, and an unimportant person who is at the beck and call of a powerful person. This is a great insult to our police and military officers and personnel who are doing their jobs with utmost dedication and professionalism in serving the Filipino people,” he said.
He said Sison’s move would only prompt them to “dig in and oppose any overtures of peace talk from the Communists.
“It is so typical of Mr. Sison to always put the blame on the government for a decision only they themselves made,” Lorenzana said.
“Ang higit na mahalaga sa amin ay ang pagbabalik sa lipunan ng mga natitira pang miyembro ng CPP-NPA at Militia ng Bayan, lalo na ngayong (holidays), upang mamuhay nang mapayapa at maligaya sa piling ng kanilang minamahal na pamilya,” he added.
