DAVAO CITY — The country must put an end to the decades-long communist insurgency, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said on Thursday, as he made a renewed call to the rebels to return to the fold of the law while he is still in office.
“Tell them I don’t want war. Tell them to come down here. Let them know that this is my policy, I’m now laying down the policy. I will guarantee it, but I don’t know about the next president,” President Duterte said in a speech during the inauguration of the new Leyte Provincial Capitol and distribution of land certificates in Palo, Leyte.
“I’ve been calling for this for at least three years. If they surrender, I’ll accept them. But if they take their time and wait to decide, then the problem there is I’m about to step down from the Presidency. But if I stay a bit longer, then they will get to experience it, I’ll distribute lands. We have to end this stupid war.”
Aside from attending the inauguration rites, the President led the partial turnover of completed housing units in Peace and Prosperity Village in San Isidro, Leyte.
He also spearheaded the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) to representatives of the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs).
During the inauguration, President Duterte unveiled the project marker of the new government structure together with Leyte Governor and Leyte Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC) Chairperson Leopoldo Dominico Petilla.
Following his event in Palo, President Duterte also inaugurated the Tacloban City Bypass Road and unveiled the project marker in a ceremony in Barangay Caibaan, Tacloban City.
The 6.4-kilometer Tacloban City Bypass Road starts at Daang Maharlika in Barangay Nula-tula and ends along the same road in Barangay Caibaan.
The newly completed project is expected to ease traffic congestion in the area, improve road network accessibility, increase development potentials, and reduce travel time from 1.5 hours to just 30 minutes.
At least 1,000 motorists per day are seen to benefit from the new infrastructure project.
Joining the President were Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Agrarian Reform Acting Secretary Bernie Cruz, Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo del Rosario, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority Director General Isidro Lapeña.
Also present were Public Works and Highways Acting Secretary Roger Mercado, National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino Escalada Jr., Leyte 5th District Rep. Carlos Nicolas Cari, Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, and other officials.
