[ABS-CBN] Philippine president Rpdrigo Duterte said he was "not so keen" on accepting the New People's Army's offer to fight Islamist rebels in the country as troops continued to pursue terrorists in Marawi City. This after the National Democratic Front of the Philippines expressed its commitment to send New People’s Army militants to fight Islamic State-inspired militants in the country. But the president said this may not be a good idea. He said, "I don’t know, but I’m not so keen about it. Anyway, it’s a show of goodwill."
Duterte said the communists may have realized that they could be rendered irrelevant if the Maute militants prevailed. He said, "They have offered to fight alongside with us against terrorism. Maybe they realized na kung manalo ang- we are overwhelmed at manalo- the ISIS will prevail in Mindanao or even a part of Mindanao, wala silang kasali sa gobyerno. The ISIS will never allow anybody to have in their company a group of persons which have... iba ‘yung ideolohiya.”
Duterte's latest pronouncement comes days after he called on the New People's Army and Moro militants to help in the fight against extremism. His decision to turn down the NDFP offer also comes in the wake of the government’s decision to suspend its talks with the communist movement.
Duterte reiterated his position that the communist militants must first issue a ceasefire document before the two sides could resume talks.