ZAMBOANGA CITY: Communist rebels on Sunday said they are open to holding peace talks with presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and even offered to temporarily suspend offensives to allow peaceful negotiations. “To pursue lasting peace and advance the welfare of the masses, the NPA open to hold talks with Sara Duterte,” Rigoberto Sanchez, a spokesman for the communist group, said. Sanchez added that the gesture was in response to Duterte’s offer of peace talks with the rebels. The rebel spokesman accused the military of being corrupt and reminded the mayor how it sabotaged the peace talks. Just recently, rebels detonated a roadside bomb in Davao City and killed 2 soldiers and injured over a dozen more in a village near Lamaman in Calinan district.

Source: Manila Times February 26, 2017 13:55 UTC