Deconstructing Rodrigo Duterte--is he sincere in finding peace with the CPP-NPA-NDF?

Mr. Duterte with his best friend, PNP chief Bato dela Rosa

Duterte again met his peace advisers and told them to proceed with the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines. This came after months of verbal assaults against the "Reds", accusing them of being destabilizers and even predicting their demise.

Now, Mr. Duterte is telling Labor secretary Silvestre Bello and Jesus Dureza to again start negotiations. What was telling about Mr. Duterte's current stand is his mention of the New People's Army (NPA).

Apparently, Mr. Duterte is toying with using what Gloria Arroyo used during her term---go to the grassroots and individually talk with operating units of the NPA.

Is this an honest move? Is he after finalizing a document with the Communist movement to effect lasting peace?

I don't think so.

Do you know why Mr. Duterte wants to get rid of the Communists? The NPA is the only credible armed force in the province that fight unscrupulous miners who destroy our environment. With the NPA out of the equation, Mr. Duterte's miner friends will now have a free hand destroying mountains, carving out minerals from the depths of the earth and polluting our rivers, streams and lakes.

I hope Jose Maria Sison and his group based at the Netherlands would not anymore allow themselves to be tricked by this lying bastard.

Duterte knows he is now slowly being isolated and he has only to blame himself.

When he won, Mr. Duterte enjoyed the biggest, the widest and the most credible public trust ever given by an impatient Filipino people. Most thought that Mr. Duterte holds the solutions that beset this country.

Now one and half years and we have a wobbling economy, a destabilized civil society, and a worsening moral problem. Wittingly or unwittingly, Mr. Duterte opened a Pandora's box that led to this situation.

We are the laughing stock of the world due to the antics of this man. This year, we failed to advance further ahead of the economic race with our Asian neighbors. Yes, our stock market is still afloat yet the question remains for how long? Former PSC chairman Lim says we are on the verge of being declared a "fourth world country". Participants in our stock market pales comparatively with our neighbors, even Vietnam which just got into the game several years ago.

Rising prices of goods and services, higher costs of electricity and water and an inflation rate that is now expected to breach its stable mark, are now facing us straight before our faces.

Yes, Mr. Duterte was able to animate the minds of our weary public, who just want nothing more than good roads, a stable family life free from the clutches of criminality and immorality and equitable employment for all.

It was a mistake for Mr. Duterte to make anti-criminality or anti-drugs the focal or centerpiece program of his administration. Being so inutile and so procrastinate, Mr. Duterte failed to study the situation and repercussions of his quick fixes that instead of bringing forth peace and order, it destabilized the grassroots to its core, increasing public distrust, leading to fragmentation, confusion and chaos.

Now, Mr. Duterte is paying for implementing for so many months, the wrong policy. Yes, it is popular. Yes, it cuts across socio-economic classes. Yes, everyone is a victim one way or another. And yes, it appeals to the broad masses. But, Mr. Duterte erred in applying a sinister program that works only in controlled territories as small as cities or provinces, never in an archipelagic state such as ours.

Mr. Duterte is now getting further isolated. In the next few weeks, expect Mr. Duterte to further suffer in the credibility and trust departments, as his trusted associates do what they do best--raid the public coffers with evident disdain and haughtiness.

This cannot go on any longer.

Mr. Duterte believes he has the military and the police on his side. Well, Mr. Duterte you are a very poor student of History.

Now, Mr. Duterte is probably aware of his imminent mortality that he is now seeking once more the trust and confidence of his ideological bedfellows.

As they say, the night is so lonely for men who think themselves as gods. And Mr. Duterte is definitely is of no exception.