BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin Magalong offered to talk peace with Communist rebels in the Cordillera region for the realization of the government’s overall aim of achieving lasting peace in the countryside.
Magalong said he was willing to meet and talk with the Communist rebels in any specified place and time, purposely to make peace with them and achieve the overall objective of realizing lasting peace for progress and development.
He claimed there will come a time that the people will realize that there was only one legitimate government to be recognized which is working for progress and peace of the country. Thus, if individuals in the communist movement want to meet and talk with him on matters of peace, he will make himself available anytime.
He said peace was the foundation of progress in the country, which was why the government embarked on an aggressive peace initiative with different armed groups, including the Communist movement, to convince them to lay down their arms and actively participate in ongoing peace and development programs that will spur countryside growth for the benefit of the present and future generations of Filipinos.