Among the first policy pronouncements he made since taking office is his disinclination to resume “peace negotiations” with the Maoist CPP-NPA-NDF. The matter of the “peace negotiations” requires a more elaborate discussion. By way of disclosure, I served the GRP negotiating team in a very marginal role in the mid-nineties, during the Ramos administration. It was clear from then on that, without a major political concession from the communists, the talks will never be restarted. As the guerrilla units are taken out one by one, the battlefield situation is bound to change dramatically against the communists.
