Duterte readies for Philippine peace talks restart as rebel team arrives
Groundwork is being laid for a resumption of peace talks between the Philippine government and Maoist rebels, an aide to incoming President Rodrigo Duterte and a negotiator said on May 17, as a renewed push to end the conflict gathered pace.
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The National Democratic Front (NDF), the political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), is preparing to discuss a framework for dialogue and has already dispatched an advanced delegation to Davao City, where Duterte has been mayor for 22 years, they said.
Duterte won the largest share of the votes in the May 9 presidential election, according to an unofficial count by a poll watchdog, although the official result has yet to be confirmed.
On May 16, he said he would give four cabinet positions to the communists, including responsibility for an agency tasked with allocating land to poor farmers.
Land usage has been a factor in the on-off, four-decade conflict between government troops and Marxist guerrillas that has killed 40,000 people.
Duterte also offered a portfolio to exiled CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, who welcomed the olive branch but said he would decline a post for himself.
Jesus Dureza, a former congressman and aide to Duterte, said NDF spokesman Fidel Agcaoili was in Davao as the incoming government was preparing its position on the peace process.
"We are still preparing the new government's peace roadmap," Dureza, who will be Duterte's adviser on peace talks when he takes office on June 30, told Reuters.
