AMID the hazy truce between the government and New People's Army (NPA) due to recent deaths of cops who were allegedly ambushed by the rebels, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa remained open to peace negotiations.
Dela Rosa said on Friday that despite the incident, he is not losing his hope that peace will be attained before he reached his retirement in 2018.
"I'm still giving peace a chance. Kung pwedeng mag-usap, mag-usap tayo. (Ma) hirap naman [kung puro] patayan tayo dito," he said when asked for his reaction with the ongoing back channeling between the government and the revolutionary movement in Netherlands that aimed to iron out agreements before proceeding back to the negotiating table.
He said the decades-long insurgency problem in the country has been tried to be resolved by the past administration but despite the numerous peace talk attempts and initiatives, it remained unsettled. The final decision lies on the hands of President Rodrigo Duterte whether to resume the peace talk or let it stall.
The PNP chief, however, still welcomed the possibility of reviving peace talks in order to end the armed hostilities that has claimed lives of many combatants and innocent civilians.
"As I've said, walang Pilipino na gustong pumatay ng kapwa Pilipino. Kahit na gaano man, ilang year na yang mga peace talk, peace talk na yan, diba wala pa ring nangyari? Sige pa rin. Tuloy-tuloy pa rin," he said.
Dela Rosa also considered the communists' recent act of releasing the five prisoners of war (POW) including a policeman named P02 Jerome Natividad who was captured in Talakag, Bukidnon on February 9, as a sign of goodwill.
But he quickly added that aside from that, there should also be a commitment from the other party to refrain from killing cops while the peace talks are ongoing.