Palace: US terror tag on CPP-NPA must stay

The Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) should not be taken off the terrorist list of the US government despite a United Nations and New Zealand government report that they should not be tagged as "terrorists," Malacañang said yesterday.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he would ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to determine the basis of a report from the United Nations Development Program, Human Development Network (HDN) and New Zealand Agency for International Development that the CPP-NPA is not a terror group.

"The fact remains that the figures will show that they have not abated the conduct of violent activities, especially when talks had collapsed or had been suspended," he said.

Ermita said there are reports that exiled communist leader Jose Ma. Sison had ordered the NPA to escalate its "violent activities" in population centers like Metro Manila.

"So maybe those who made the report in behalf of the UNDP were not well-advised," he said.

Ermita said President Arroyo’s policy on talks with communist rebels is to reach out to all rebel groups wishing to reconcile with the government.

"I think you know by now that for the nth time we keep on reconsidering the order to lift JASIG and the effectivity of JASIG and for the nth time they also continue to say that (they) are not going to continue with the talks because they have their own conditions," he said.

Ermita said the government, the military and the police will do what should be done in resolving the communist threat.

"So that the Filipino people can live in peace and hopefully with the help of some people, especially the international community, we should be able to improve the conditions on the ground so that we will not give them the chance to recruit more," he said.

Ermita said Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo could bring up the matter before the UN since he is in the United States on an official mission.