“We’re done with peace talks.”
Incoming National Security Adviser (NSA) Clarita Carlos on Friday made this observation as she rejected the possibility of peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines under the Marcos administration.
“Tama na yang peace talks na yan, susmaryosep. I’m sure bata ka pa ginagawa na natin yan. We have agreement on certain things, let us proceed with that,” Carlos said in an interview on ANC.
[Let’s stop these peace talks. I’m sure we’ve been doing it since we were young.]
She pointed out however, that the communist rebels would not be excluded from the transformation process and the government would still invite them to participate in the process.
“I-include mo sila sa pag-implement nito on the ground dahil hindi naman puwede na sila na lang reklamo nang reklamo dyan, tumatakbo sa kalye,” she said.
[Include them in implementing plans on the ground because you can’t let them keep on complaining and running around the streets.]
Carlos also criticized the leaders of the communist rebel group, saying they were already in another space and they don’t have first-hand knowledge of the situation of the country.
“Well, I don’t know what peace negotiations still need to be done,” she said.
“And by the way, let’s not talk to the people who are not here. Nasa ibang geography na kayo, huwag na kayong mangialam dito sa amin. Kasi kami nangingialam [You’re in a different geography now, so don’t bother with us here, because we are handling things] and we know what’s going on here,” she added.
Carlos stressed that peace and order councils must be retained because “they work.”
Carlos, who earlier said she was against red-tagging, added that she would retain the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“If we have success, continue it (NTF-ELCAC), if it’s a failure then don’t,” she said.
The retired political science professor from the University of the Philippines (UP) said she has yet to form her team and talk to her predecessor, retired general Hermogenes Esperon.
“NSA Esperon has not talked to me nor has not sent a signal that I will be briefed so I’m blind. Until I know the structure of this office, I can’t say anything yet. I don’t like to move when I don’t know,” she said.