July 25, 2017•Update: July 25, 2017
By Roy Ramos
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte surprised angry protestors outside Congress on Monday night after he delivered a two-hour State of the Nation address.
“You can shout at me here and disrespect me but this is the last time that I will talk to you,” Duterte said while surrounded by presidential guards as he spoke for approximately 10 minutes.
Shouting “we want peace”, demonstrators demanded peace talks resume between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). Talks between the government and CPP were supposed to resume in July but were suspended again following a series of attacks by rebels.
Previously, the talks were suspended in May after the president imposed martial law in the southern island of Mindanao following a siege by the Daesh-linked Maute group in Marawi..
Duterte has said he is the “first leftist president of the Philippines” but he lashed out at the communist rebels during his State of the Nation address, citing the armed wing, NPA’s, recent attacks on government troops, particularly the ambush of his presidential security convoy last week.
“Let’s respect each other,” Duterte said and asked demonstrators not to stage an ambush against him because he could not possibly talk to them if he is dead.
Duterte also addressed protesters’ issues concerning the extension of martial law on Mindanao island, clarifying it would not last forever and that he needed to quell the Maute terrorists in Marawi.
His appearance at the rally was a “security nightmare” that caught his guards by surprise, according to police chief Guillermo Eleazar, who was quoted by the Inquirer.
Eleazar said overall the event was “peaceful” and no confrontations or arrests were reported.
He estimated there were 16,500 at the event – 10,500 staging a rally against Duterte while the rest were the president’s supporters.
