President Duterte has threatened to pull out from the peace talks with the communist rebel group if certain non-negotiable conditions are not met.
The President said the rebels must stop collecting revolutionary taxes, avoid claiming ownership of certain territories, and release soldiers held in captivity.
“There are certain conditions to me which are no longer negotiable so either I have it before I embark on another journey of peace talks,” Duterte said in a press conference after arriving in Manila from his visits to Myanmar and Thailand yesterday.
“If you don’t accept my, the conditions that I have imposed, I am sorry I cannot deal with you anymore,” he added.
The government and the communist group have agreed to resume peace negotiations nearly a month after the President terminated the talks over the rebel attacks on troops.
The next round of peace talks will be held early next month in Noordwijk, The Netherlands. The talks are expected to focus on forging bilateral ceasefire agreement and socioeconomic reforms.
But to ensure a smooth peace process, the President insisted that the “forced taxation” implemented by the rebels must stop.
He also asked the rebels to stop turning away government troops in their so-called territories, saying he does not recognize such land ownership anyway.
“They have been talking about their territory that the soldiers of this Republic cannot enter into territories they claim which is theirs,” he said. “I do not recognize any territory belonging to any group of persons. Only the Republic of the Philippines own every inch of our territory, period,” he added. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)