President Duterte has threatened to kill Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison if the government’s proposed peace talks fail.
In a speech in Davao City today (Thursday, May 24), the president said he would honour his word that he would not have Sison arrested if he was in the country and the peace talks failed.
He described how he had invited Sison to come home to the Philippines and given him two months to discuss peace with the government.
But if the two sides fail again to reach an agreement, the president said: “I will see to it and will personally maybe escort him to the airport if nothing happens in two months.
“I will allow him to go out. I will not arrest him because word of honor ‘yan eh. But I will really tell him: ‘Son of a b****, don’t you ever come back here again. I will really kill you’,” he added.
The president told his audience that said Sison had killed so many soldiers and policemen. “Do not ever ever return again to this country or else I will kill you. You have killed so much of my soldiers and policemen,” he said.
On a number of occasions the president has invited his former college professor, who lives in self-imposed exile in the Netherlands, to return to the Philippines to discuss peace.
Sison has replied that if his legal and security preconditions were met, he would be willing to come home for negotiations.
“I gave him a window of two months, very small, make or break tayo dito,” the president said.
Sison fled to Europe soon after peace talks with the government of President Corazon Aquino failed in 1987 and has lived in The Netherlands since. Meanwhile, Asia’s longest running insurgency has continued to claim thousands of lives.
Last month, the president opened to door to resuming the talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines on the condition that the communists stop violent attacks and extortion activities, agree to a bilateral ceasefire, and not insist on a coalition government.
The president has also committed to provide livelihood assistance to rebels provided that they stop collecting so-called “revolutionary taxes”.
He also expressed willingness to shoulder the expenses during the peace process.
Peace talks fell apart last November due to continued attacks by rebels on government troops and civilians.