ARCHBISHOP Antonio Ledesma of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro said he remains hopeful that peace talks will eventually push through despite the recent word war between President Rodrigo Duterte's security officials and Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Joma Sison.
Ledesma said Duterte should realize that the peace talks is bigger and beyond the involved personalities, pointing out that it is about the communities affected by the war.
"Our stand is to really continue with the peace talks because it's better to have peace than all-out war kay nakita naman nato ang kadaotan na nahitabo sa Marawi (because we have already witnessed the damage that the war caused to Marawi), nakawitness na kita sa (we have witnessed the) violent extremism," Ledesma said in an interview.
Ledesma said Duterte has two opportunities to achieve peace in his midst, first the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the other, the resumption of peace talks.
Ledesma also said government officials should also listen with the grievances of the local rebel groups, pointing out that the war is not entirely black and white.
"We are also telling them to listen to the grievances of the local rebel groups, because they are also fighting for their own resources, labi na mga (especially the) Indigenous People communities, so it's not entirely black and white. There are also other interests involved here and we hope that the dialogue and peace can really bring about peace and development in all of Mindanao," he said.
Sison and the CPP recently traded barbs with Duterte after the government postponed the resumption of formal peace talks by the end of June, citing the need for further public consultation.
Frustrated with the delay in the resumption of the peace talks, Sison said the communist National Democratic Front could no longer negotiate with the Duterte administration and it would rather support to oust the President.