JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said he sees the Marcos administration no longer pursuing peace talks with communist rebels on a “national level,” adding its approach to ending the decades-long insurgency will be on a “localized” basis.
“There would be no more peace talks on the national level. Peace talks will be localized everywhere. That is the advice that I have been getting from our national security agencies that are there,” Remulla said in a press briefing, a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered amnesty to rebel returnees to complete their reintegration into society.
“For those who are looking at the peace and order of the country, it is really a localized peace talk that we are looking at and no big peace talks on the table,” he added.
He said the government no longer recognizes a “central authority,” apparently referring to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front and its armed wing, the New People’s Army, that government has to deal with in efforts to forge lasting peace in the country and end the communist rebellion.
“We do not recognized anymore the central authority that we have to deal with. We are looking at the local scenario in every place,” Remulla said.
“Localized in a sense that all of these groups will be dealt with on a local basis, whether it’s a region, a province or whether it’s a city. Then it will be looked upon in that manner,” he added.
The communist rebels lost its founder, Jose Maria Sison, who died in the Netherlands in December last year. Sison founded the CPP in December 1968 and the NPA as its armed wing the following year.
The group also confirmed the deaths of their national commanders, Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, in April this year, eight months after the military said they were killed in an encounter in Samar.
p2 bacoor — joan
114K to vote in Bacoor plebiscite
BY GERARD NAVAL
THE Commission n Elections (Comelec) yesterday said more than 114,000 registered voters are expected to cast their votes on Saturday during the plebiscite in Bacoor, Cavite for the merging and renaming of its barangays.
Based on the data provided by the Comelec, there are 114,416 voters from the 49 barangays who are set to cast their votes between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. in 223 clustered precincts in 22 voting centers.
Identified as voting centers are the Bacoor National High School (Annex), Poblacion Elementary School, Bacoor Elementary School, Digman Elementary School, Sineguelasan Elementary School, Mabolo Elementary School, Maliksi Elementary School, Mambog Elementary School, Evacuation Center with Covered Court, Real Elementary School, and Silverhomes I Covered Court and Multi-Purpose Hall/Day Care Center.
Also designated as voting centers are Salinas Elementary School, City of Bacoor National High School-Salinas, Aniban Elementary School, Ligas II Elementary School, Ligas I Elementary School, Niog Elementary School, Gov. P.F. Espiritu Elementary School, Perpetual Village V Covered Court and Multi-Purpose Hall, Talaba Elementary School, Zapote Elementary School, and Longos Elementary School.
According to the Comelec, the plebiscite is being held based on Bacoor City Ordinance No. 275-2023, which will cut down the number of barangays from 49 to 23 and merge and rename 44 barangays into 18 villages.
“If approved by its constituents, there will be a reduction in the total number of barangays in the city as a result of the merging, apart from the renaming,” said the Comelec.
