THE government has canceled the back-channel talks with the communist group, following the recent offensives launched by its armed, wing New People’s Army (NPA), including Wednesday's encounter in Cotabato that wounded two members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG).
Presidential Adviser on Peace Process took to Facebook the announcement, saying the desired enabling environment in order to resume the peace negotiations remains “not present up to this time.”
“I am announcing the cancellation of back-channel talks with the CPP/NPA/NDF originally set within the next few days in Europe due to recent developments involving attacks done by the NPA,” Dureza said in a statement.
“The situation on the ground necessary to provide the desired enabling environment for the conduct of peace negotiations [is] still not present up to this time,” he added.
On July 4, government peace negotiator Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced that the government and the communist group will have a back-channel meeting in July and later on proceed with the fifth round of talks in August.
The planned resumption of peace dialogue failed to push through after the NPA staged series of offensives against security troops in Mindanao, despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s appeal to them to halt offensives.
The President repeatedly called on the members of the NPA to refrain from launching attacks against the government forces, if they really want to continue the impending peace negotiations.
But early Wednesday, four members of PSG were reportedly injured after the NPA rebels allegedly disguised as members of Davao Task Forces and conducted a checkpoint along a national highway.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Malacañang condemned the latest encounter of the communist rebels with the PSG personnel. (VoxPop Philippines)
