Is the CPP-NPA Worth the Trouble?

Again, like clockwork, Duterte haters accused him of pleasing the military at the expense of the CPP-NPA because of self-preservation. The very same people who called him a communist especially when he opened his arms and welcomed China are now calling him another name: a military pleaser.

But is this a stupid question to ask? Who should he please? An army fighting a 50 year struggle for an ideology that has long been abandoned by its creators or an army that has the capacity to defend the Republic if it needs to be defended. I am not saying the AFP is perfect. If they can produce a Trillanes, that is not a fool proof system. But as President, that is his duty as the Commander-in-Chief.

Let us face it, we are talking with the CPP-NPA out of respect for its leaders. The Bangsa Moro have achievable goals, autonomy or secession. What does the CPP-NPA want? They are fighting for an ideology that has been abandoned by the very people who created it. Communism is just a name because every communist state accepted the fact that absolute equality cannot be achieved. China has become the worlds leading capitalist. I visited Vietnam, a communist state, just last week. And it is no different from the Philippines. They have even become more enterprising and more market economy driven. Russia is now challenging the US dominance as a capitalist state. The Red scare does not exist hence, the relevance of US influence dwindled as well. In fact, only North Korea has remained true to form.

The only reason we are talking with the CPP-NPA is not because they are winning the war. It is out of respect for the thousands of rebels who fought the struggle for 50 years. So long, they deserve an acknowledgement for their efforts. But if their leaders are too cocky and stubborn not to acknowledge that there are also people in the military who lost loved ones defending the Republic and insist on what they want without taking into consideration their present position in Philippine society, then the President has no choice but to defend the Republic because that is his sworn duty and that is the most logical thing to do.

The reason it took this long to solve the insurgency problem is because no President wanted to end it with a solution. And nobody called them NPA pleasers because they chose not to go all-out on the rebels. Here comes Duterte who after months of literally begging for peace now challenges them to a fight to the finish, a fight we know they will lose, and he is called a military pleaser.

Worst, some nimwits called Duterte brash and impatient. Guys, we have been talking for 30 freaking years. We should be impatient because they are still insisting on things they insisted back in the 1970's. And the CPP-NPA can impose these conditions in the 1970's but in 2017, times have changed and they should know what they are worth now. And swallow some humble pie for the sake of peace. And if they insist on the same armed struggle on a mooted idealogy, then clearly peace is not on their minds. So what to do to people who have guns and do not want to be friends with you? Wait for another President to end this or put them in their rightful place and jolt them to be realistic in how they negotiate for peace.

In an armed struggle for an ideology, death is a given. They made that choice to die for an ideology. Our soldiers lost their lives to defend the Republic as it should be. The least we can do is be on their side especially if the other side clearly does not want peace.

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