New DND chief Gibo Teodoro on peace talks with CPP: I've always been against that

Newly-appointed Defense Secretary Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday expressed opposition to possible peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“To enter into peace talks, I have always been against that,” Teodoro said in an interview on ANC.

“Why will we enter into peace talks when they can go back and run for public office? This is really a violation of our democratic process,” he added.

Teodoro pointed out that if the concerns of the CPP are a substantial issue, there are existing political processes under the Constitution for them.

“It cannot take up arms and just violate the Constitution, in the same way as we do not want rightists also to take up arms against the government. It works both ways,” he added.

For Teodoro, who first served as DND secretary during the Arroyo administration, CPP's struggle is not about ideology but taking power. 

“The ideology part, I have never been convinced that it is ideological. It’s all getting, taking power for  whatever reason. Even in other countries I mean the sole authority of the communist party in other country is a dictatorship in itself,” he said.

On the issue of red-tagging, meanwhile, Teodoro said that any violation of the law is reprehensible and should be disciplined.

However, he acknowledged the gains of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) — the group which has been linked to incidents of red-tagging by various groups — in its job.

“Well, naturally any violation of law is reprehensible and should be disciplined. However, we cannot also deny the gains made by the NTF-ELCAC in dismantling communist fronts,” he said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News