THE National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has lashed out at the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for rejecting the amnesty offered by President Marcos Jr.
“Their refusal to accept the amnesty offer only shows their insincerity in pursuing peace and demonstrates their dedication to perpetuating an outdated, violent, and bloody ideology,” said NTF-ELCAC executive director Ernesto Torres Jr.
In his second State of the Nation Address last Monday, Marcos said he is going to sign a proclamation granting amnesty to former rebels and asked Congress for its support.
But CPP spokesman Marco Valbuena said the CPP, along with its armed wing, the New People’s Army, “will firmly reject Marcos’s treacherous offer of amnesty and surrender.”
Valbuena said their “revolutionary case for genuine national freedom and social justice is far greater than any Marcos offer of amnesty,” adding that revolutionaries “are motivated not by the selfish desire for some personal gain, rather by the selfless devotion to serve and struggle with the people.”
“The CPP-NPA-NDF’s outright rejection of amnesty is a clear indication of their true intentions, which are not aligned with the welfare of the Filipino people,” said Torres.
“By denying this opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the armed conflict, they continue to sow disharmony, undermine national unity efforts, and disrupt the progress and development of our nation,” he added.
Torres said the amnesty offer was a “sincere and noble gesture” of the President to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation.
“Instead of embracing this opportunity to attain a just and lasting peace, the CPP-NPA-NDF has time and again chosen to turn its back on the path to peace and continue on with their destructive and divisive armed atrocities,” said Torres.
