By Argyll Cyrus Geducos
President Duterte said he is not giving up on peace as he renewed his call to end the dispute between the government and the New People's Army (NPA).
Duterte made the statement amid his newest exchange of tirades with Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. Sison who claimed that the President fell into a coma.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte (SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a speech in Davao City, Duterte said a revolution will not expedite the progress and development of a country.
"Life isn’t that easy. Life has to evolve, and progress and development can’t be rushed through a revolution. If you’re always calling for a revolution and killing people, nothing good will happen to our nation," Duterte said.
"So kung maaari lang sana ayaw ko talaga (If possible, I really do not want to fight with you). That’s my mission. I want peace for my land," he added.
Duterte also said that he will bring former female NPA rebels who have surrendered to the government to China and Hong Kong to see the economic development there. He noted that China also adopted the characteristics of a capitalist economy in spite of having then a communist ideology.
"I will let you go to China and Hong Kong. See personally what kind of communism it is… See how good it is, how modern those communists are," Duterte said.
Duterte had canceled the peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF in November last year, citing the rebels' insincerity to the formal negotiations and for breaching their own unilateral ceasefire.
In March this year, Duterte announced that he was willing to give the peace talks one last chance but said that it had to be done in the country. But even assuring Sison's safety, the communist leader thumbed down Duterte's condition.
Sison then said that the Reds would no longer talk peace with the government under the leadership of President Duterte, and would instead support efforts to oust him.
Last month, Duterte compared the NPA to robots who are fighting for nothing but one corrupt mind.
"You’re fighting for a bankrupt mind. Isang tao lang ang nag-iisip (It's only one person who is coming up with all this). There’s only one person using his goddamn gray matter between his ears. Para kayong robot, kung ano 'yung inuutos (You are like robots which obey at any order)," he said.
The President also said that he does not want to kill his fellow Filipinos, especially if it is over a worthless fight.
"So what's the point of killing people, killing the police, for what? For nothing. And you have not been able to realize even in a scale of one to ten, hanggang 1.1 lang kayo hanggang ngayon (that you are just at 1.1 until now)," Duterte said.