Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao on Saturday urged Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to first understand why communist rebellion persists in the countryside before concluding that it was a waste of time to resume peace talks with National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
In a statement, Casilao said Carpio should realize that rebellion persists because of continuing injustice in rural areas, like the concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few families.
On Friday, Carpio said that while she respected the decision of her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, to resume talks with rebels, she believed it would be “counterproductive and plainly useless” because rebels had not stopped attacking government targets.
Casilao said Sara should not be influenced by the military or those who want to sabotage the resumption of talks. —Allan Nawal