Manila: Presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza condemned recent insurgent attacks damaging heavy equipment at government infrastructure project sites in Davao City, and said such actions only serve to further dim the possibility of a resumption of peace talks.
“We condemn in the strongest way the senseless destruction of heavy equipment in Davao City over the last few days by suspected armed elements of the New People’s Army (NPA),” Dureza said.
In a statement released on Monday, the armed forces said that rebels on separate occasions torched a backhoe in Calinan and two other similar heavy equipment in Paquibato, both in Davao City, on Saturday.
On Sunday, eight other heavy equipment used to construct Davao bypass road along the village of Callawa, in Davao City’s Buhangin district were torched by armed men, believed to belong to NPA.
No person were reported injured in the apparent arson attacks but the equipment used for government’s flagship projects that aim to improve movement of people and commerce and bring further development to the Eastern Mindanao region were damaged.
“The fact that the three consecutive attacks happened during the observance of Holy Week (Lent) all the more angers us,” said Dureza.
The Lenten Holy Week is one of the longest non-working holidays in the country extending from Wednesday to Easter Sunday.
Dureza said the attacks were uncalled for and came at a time when government and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)-led NPA are close to reviving stalled peace negotiations.
“This unnecessarily squanders whatever gains we have been quietly getting lately in our common efforts with the CPP/NPA/National Democratic Front leadership to achieve just peace through the negotiations table,” said Dureza.
Earlier, 61 of the more than 300-member House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for President Rodrigo Duterte to take action to restart discussions for a negotiated settlement to the 50 year-old conflict.
The government had been pursuing a tack of confronting the CPP-NPA in the battlefield while also trying to woo the insurgents with promises of better life that includes free housing and livelihood and so far, more than 4,000 rebels — combatants and their support groups — had surrendered to the armed forces.
Security officials led by Defence Secretary Delfin Lodenzana, as well as Dureza, said the rebels need to do more to convince that they really want peace.
“As we have been emphasising, the presence of an enabling environment will be the sole determining factor for the resumption of peace talks.
“We are therefore saddened by the consequent setback these attacks bring to our efforts,” Dureza said.
It may be recalled that Duterte called off peace negotiations with the communists in early 2017 after the NPAs continued with their attacks even as peace negotiators were busy working on the protocols and safety nets needed to continue the peace parleys.
