Presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte and Jose Maria Sison. File/Composite
MANILA -- Presumptive president Rodrigo Duterte on Monday offered the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) some positions in his Cabinet assuming it accepts his offer to join his government.
In a press conference in Davao City, Duterte said he would be willing to concede four departments to the CPP:
- Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR),
- the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), - the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE),
- Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
"Ang ibibigay ko sa Communist Party of the Philippines, if they decide to join the government, 'yung DAR, DENR...Labor is the one, sabi nila pinaka-oppressed 'yan, so they are the most vigilant group in the Philippines about labor," he said.
"So they will get it [DOLE] and DSWD, at marami pang iba. But those are the only departments I can concede to them, that four. Maganda na 'yan," Duterte added.
CPP founder Jose Maria Sison earlier expressed his willingness to resume peace talks with the government if Duterte wins the presidency.
Sison was a professor of Duterte in Lyceum University Manila where he got his political science degree.
Sison, who has been in exile in The Netherlands since 1987, said returning home is also an option under a Duterte administration.
Duterte and Sison also talked online a few days before the elections.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People's Army, have been waging a rebellion since 1968. Peace talks with the group got stalled under the Aquino administration.