Duterte vows to pursue peace talks with rebels

by Chito A. Fuentes

STA. CRUZ, Davao del Sur - Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Monday vowed to pursue peace talks with communist rebels when he becomes president, reviving hopes that he is indeed considering a presidential run after all.

Duterte was in Sta. Cruz as guest speaker during the town’s 131st anniversary. 

Mayor Duterte flanked by Sta. Cruz Mayor Joel Ray Lopez and cousin Vice Mayor Alexis Almendras. (Photo from facebook.com/Allan Afdal Nawal)

The mayor, who had consistently resisted calls to run for president in next year’s election, this time was no longer as adamant after he was introduced as the country’s 16th president.

“Sooner or later, we will have to talk,” he told a highly-partisan crowd which braved the sweltering heat for the popular mayor of their neighboring city.

Duterte playfully asked his audience if there were any rebels around and for those present to raise their hands for him to see them.

Seeing none, the mayor cajoled them to be truthful and asked again.

The mayor then turned serious saying he is determined to see a peaceful resolution to the decades-old insurgency problem.

“Let us sit down. I’m not trying to be cocky but if I am the president, you come down and we’ll talk,” he said, prompting applause from his audience.

Sta. Cruz had been the scene of bloody skirmishes between government troops and rebels in the past.

The presence of uniformed soldiers among the crowd was a reminder of the elusive peace in this part of the country.

“(Prof. Jose Ma.) Sison said he will be willing to come home if Duterte becomes the president,” the mayor disclosed.

The mayor explained that the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines was one of his college professors.

Duterte reiterated that unlike his hardline stance against criminals, he is determined to bring about the kind of peace which Davao is known for.

“The peace in Davao is a realization of the dream of my father,” he pointed out.

The mayor’s father, the late Gov. Vicente Duterte, was the last governor of a unified Davao province which included Sta. Cruz.

Unlike his earlier resistance to the popular clamor, Duterte seemed to be warming up to a presidential run as the countdown to the filing of the certificates of candidacy draws near.

Last Sept. 26, the mayor was visibly moved by thousands who braved the rains to join a rally in Luneta to renew calls for his candidacy.

Duterte promised his supporters that he will do a final soul-searching with himself and his family.

In a text message read for him by former Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon, Duterte promised the rallyists that he will “never” leave them. (CHITO A. FUENTES)