Let’s have war after Marawi, Reds told

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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to go to war with the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) after an apparent ambush try against him.

In a post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) press conference last night, Duterte said his troops will deal with the communists after the Marawi City crisis is resolved.

“If the CPP-NPA-NDF wants war, just wait after Marawi crisis. Kayong mga Left, I will not talk to you. Why should I,” said Duterte. “I will prepare my Armed Forces on war footing. I will build a credible force.”
In his second SONA, Duterte said the NPA ambushed his Presidential Security Group (PSG) convoy while on their way to Arakan, South Cotabato.

“Pati ang pulis ko, araw-araw niyong ina-ambush…Pati ako papatayin. Convoy ko kasi iyon eh…Sabagay, malayo ako doon. Pero convoy ko ‘yun. Ginamitan ng machine gun, kaya lang armorized,” said Duterte.

The President said he used to be friends with the NDF “but times have changed because God placed me here. Bully daw ako. Talagang bully ako, especially to the enemies of the State,” the President added.

Peace talks between the government and the communists collapsed due to the spate of NPA attacks against government troops. Duterte accused the communists of being two-faced.

The rift between Duterte and communist leaders also escalated when the President placed the entire Mindanao under martial law to address the terror threat posed by Islamist extremists. CPP-NPA-NDFP claimed they were being targeted, too.
In his second SONA, Duterte explained why he declared martial law.

“There is rebellion in Mindanao. The extremists have declared it their purpose to establish a caliphate within Philippine territory along the teachings and beliefs of [the] Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, otherwise known as ISIS. The battle of Marawi has dealt a terrible blow to our quest for peace, especially now that an alien ideology and a radical shift in purpose have been injected into the local setting,” said Duterte.

He declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23 “because I believed that that was the fastest way to quell the rebellion at the least cost of lives and properties. At the same time, the government would be adequately equipped with the constitutional tool not only to prevent the escape of rebels who can easily mingle and pretend to be civilian evacuees only to re-group in another place to fight another day, but also to prevent them from spreading their gospel of hate and violence in the rest of Mindanao.”

Martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus enabled the military to arrest, detain and question suspected members and sympathizers of the rebellion similar to what happened to the parents of the Maute brothers./PN
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