KARAPATAN slams Teodoro’s anti-peace talks stance
KARAPATAN Public Information
PRESS RELEASE
5 May 2026
References: Maria Sol Taule, KARAPATAN Deputy Secretary General, 09452966916
KARAPATAN Public Information Desk, 09189790580
KARAPATAN slams Teodoro’s anti-peace talks stance
KARAPATAN deplored statements made by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro objecting to the resumption of the Marcos administration's peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
“Nowhere in his statements did he mention the need to address the root causes that have been driving the armed conflict in the country,” said KARAPATAN deputy secretary general Atty. Maria Sol Taule. “Instead, he said that the New People's Army were mere criminals, much like the US colonialists dismissed and publicly executed Filipinos fighting for independence as ‘bandits,’ or ‘tulisanes’ under the Brigandage Act of 1902, and imprisoned advocates for independence under the Sedition Act.”
“Nowadays, the Marcos Jr. regime brandishes the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act in filing trumped-up criminal charges against dissenters in general. Both laws send a chilling effect and significantly shrink the civic space, alongside the continuing fascist attacks by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict," she said.
“Criminalizing resistance and dissent allows for only one response, and that is brutal military and police operations to stamp them out, completely dismissing the poverty and inequality that have been fuelling the armed conflict and propelling militant protests for decades,” Taule added.
“Forced silence in the face of repression is the kind of peace Teodoro and his ilk desire. But it is this dangerous militarist mindset that feeds unrest and foments un-peace,” said Taule. “And it is war hawks like Teodoro who stand in the way of squarely addressing the people’s demands for genuine peace firmly anchored on social justice.”
“The conduct of talks to arrive at principled political resolutions to the armed conflict cannot proceed with warmongers like Teodoro calling the shots,” said Taule. “Clearing the way to just peace means clearing away the peace spoilers, those who prefer saber-rattling to productive dialogue. To give the country a chance at peace, it is Teodoro and his ilk who must stand down,” Taule concluded.
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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties. It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign. It was established in 1995.