Government ‘bounty system’ endangers peace talks

Reacting to a top police official’s proposal to restore the reward system for the arrest or killing of suspected leaders of the underground Left, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said Oct. 14 that the government’s revival of its “bounty system” only exposed government’s “complete disinterest in pursuing peace negotiations.”

CPP spokesperson Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal said that the bounty system “will only make the resumption of formal peace talks more difficult.” He added that as in the past, “the funds for the ‘bounty system’ will only be used to line the pockets of high ranking military and police officers.”

Police officials have ordered the arrest of leaders of the CPP, as well as the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front after government authorities unilaterally suspended the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed by the both the Philippine government and the NDF.

Rosal clarified that the CPP-NPA and NDF are “genuinely interested in sitting down formally with the government side and seriously going through the peace talks for as long as the other side is also genuinely interested and also acts in accordance with the agreements and not keep on casting aside previous agreements and distorting facts.” (Bulatlat.com)