Will Philippines’ revived peace talks end rebel conflict for good or ‘aid the enemy’?

The Marcos Jnr government and the NDFP group say the resumption of negotiations will ‘unite’ the country as it faces socioeconomic and security challenges

While military officers hope the move will bring ‘lasting peace’, Duterte supporters describe Marcos Jnr’s surprise bid to resume talks as ‘stupid’ and ‘unpatriotic’

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Fighters of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Philippine Communist Party, in formation in the Sierra Madre mountains of Luzon region on July 20, 2017. Photo: EPA

Published: 2:00pm, 3 Dec 2023

After decades of armed conflict between the Philippine government and the country’s communist rebels, a surprise move by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to hold peace talks has brought with it both hopes of finally ending the bloodshed and anger from opponents who see such negotiations as a grave mistake.

While several senior members of the armed forces and police have welcomed the news of the peace talks, first announced on Tuesday, a very different response came from the camp of Marcos’ predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, who angrily withdrew from the last formal peace talks in 2017.

“My first reaction was, jesusmaryosep,” said Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s close ally and a former presidential legal counsel, using a Filipino slang term combining the words Jesus, Mary and Joseph to express exasperation.

Panelo described Marcos Jnr’s move as “kabalbalan” (outrageously stupid) and a “kabulastugan” (arrogant bluff) during his SMNI TV talk show on Wednesday.

Special Adviser to the President, Minister Antonio Lagdameo, front left, and Luis Jalandoni of the NDFP, shake hands after signing their joint vision for peace in Oslo on November 23. Photo: Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via NTB

Panelo claimed Duterte called off the last peace talks because the New People’s Army (NPA), the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), had used it as an opportunity to “accelerate” their attacks on soldiers and police. “Whoever is behind the resumption of peace talks is a secret enemy of the nation, unpatriotic and aiding the enemy,” he said.

At the other end of the reaction spectrum was General Romeo Brawner Jnr, who welcomed the announcement of “exploratory talks” as “very good news” on Tuesday, arguing that domestic peace would allow the military to better respond to foreign threats.