Imee Marcos sides with VP Sara, goes against peace talks with Reds
By Dhel Nazario
At A Glance
- Senator Imee Marcos sided with Vice President Sara Duterte on the hot topic of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
Senator Imee Marcos sided with Vice President Sara Duterte on the hot topic of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
The presidential sister agreed with the Vice President's objections to President Marcos’ decision to resume the peace talks with the communist group.
In an interview on Wednesday, Dec. 6, Senator Marcos was asked if she agreed with Duterte's appeal to the President to consider halting peace negotiations with the NDFP, to which she replied with a simple "Yes".
"That's the short answer. I'll give you a statement when I'm ready," the senator said.
Vice President Duterte recently aired her objections to the Chief Executive's decision to grant amnesty to rebel groups, even calling he resumption of the peace talks with the communists “an agreement with the devil".
The peace talks between the Philippine government and the NDFP--the negotiating arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)--stopped in 2017 when former president Rodrigo Duterte ordered the negotiations' termination due to the supposed lack of commitment and sincerity on the part of the Reds..
The NDFP has agreed to go back to the negotiating table with the Philippine government under Marcos, with the resumption of the peace talks expected to begin early next year.
"Medyo nalilito pa rin ako sa peace talks na yan pagkat narinig naman natin si Mr. Jalandoni nagsaad na kahit may peace talk, ay mananatili pa rin ang mithiin nila, ang goal nila na ibagsak ang pamahalaan (I'm still confused with the so-called peace talks since we heard Mr. Jalandoni state that even with the peace talks, their objective will still remain, their goal to overthrow the government)," Senator Marcos stated.
The President has asked Filipinos to support the resumption of the peace negotiations to realize the vision of unity in the country.
The Chief Executive said this following the signing of the Oslo Joint Communique and a joint statement on Nov. 23, as he cited the "need to unite as a nation" and address the reasons for the armed conflict.