Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Saturday rejected proposals from former government negotiators to revive peace talks with the New People's Army (NPA), insisting that the Philippine government will not engage in negotiations with what he described as a group responsible for disturbing public peace.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an aid distribution event for fisherfolk affected by the Balikatan Exercises in Laoag City on Saturday, Teodoro stressed that the country is already at peace and that the NPA continues to commit criminal acts, according to a report by RH Edniel Parrosa on “RH Balita.“
“No, I object to any peace talks with the NPA [New People's Army],“ the defense chief said.
“The Filipinos are at peace. They are the ones disturbing the peace. So why should we talk to them? They’re committing crimes,” he added.
The defense chief’s remarks came in response to a statement issued by a group of former peace negotiators, including Hernani Braganza, a former agrarian reform secretary; Efren Moncupa, a human rights lawyer and former member of the government peace panel; Jaime Aristotle Alip, founder of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development-Mutually Reinforcing Institutions; Francisco J. Lara Jr., a peace and conflict studies expert; and Roberto Ador, a former political detainee.
The group urged the government to resume peace negotiations with communist rebels, noting that previous talks had nearly resulted in an interim agreement before being terminated during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
They cited a recent military operation in Negros Occidental, where 19 individuals were killed, as a sign of the urgent need to resolve the decades-long insurgency.
“The nineteen (19) deaths in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental, on April 19, 2026 underscore the urgent need to finally settle this long-standing armed conflict,” the group said.
Teodoro, however, maintained that reopening talks would lend legitimacy to what he described as terrorism.
“Plain and simple, it’s terrorism. To call for peace talks is to elevate the morality of their cause to something legitimate, which I cannot accept. Hindi ko matatanggap ‘yun,” he added.
The April 19 encounter in Toboso involved troops from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), who reported that all 19 fatalities were armed combatants engaged in a firefight.
However, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) disputed the military’s account, claiming that some of those killed were civilians and denying they were NPA members.
Leftist groups have since described the incident as a “massacre.“
Despite the allegations, Teodoro expressed confidence in the military, emphasizing that soldiers come from ordinary Filipino sectors such as farmers, fisherfolk, and workers, and would not deliberately harm civilians.
