MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has called on the military to put an end to the country’s chronic insurgency problems, saying the government cannot afford to pass the conflict to the next generation.
In a speech in Quezon City on Tuesday evening, the President has cautioned the public that “a little trouble” could be expected in the coming months as the state forces intensify their move against the communist rebels.
“I am telling the military, kindly end it now. We can’t afford to pass it to the next generations,” Duterte said. “I’m serving notice to everybody that in the coming months, it will be not really bloody, but there will be a little trouble. We have to finish it.”
When Duterte assumed the presidency in 2016, hopes are high for the end of communist insurgency in the Philippines due to his close ties with Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison.
The peace negotiations between the Philippine government and communist rebels collapsed after Duterte signed Proclamation No. 360; which terminated peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
In September last year, Duterte said that the communist insurgency may be over by the second quarter of 2019, following the surrendering of NPA members and fall of several guerilla fronts in Mindanao as indicators./PN
