Jonathan Malaya’s recent statement taunting the revolutionary movement to “prove its sincerity” by abandoning the armed struggle, reeks of hypocrisy and dishonesty. As a revolutionary Christian organization, Christians for National Liberation (CNL) is compelled to expose these blatant lies and double standards perpetuated by Malaya and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP).

Demanding proof of the revolutionary movement’s sincerity is nothing more than an attempt to hide the GRP’s own evil intentions. As written in the Scriptures, “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive” (Romans 3:13). Was it not the AFP chief Romeo Brawner Jr. himself who said that their military operations will continue despite the signing of the Oslo Joint Statement last November 2023? Why is the GRP continuing its counterrevolutionary offensives while the CPP-NPA-NDF is asked to abandon armed struggle?

The basic assumption of a negotiation is that both parties are treated on equal footing, but Malaya’s statement reveals the opposite. He imposes on the revolutionary movement to lay down its arms while the GRP continues to bomb peasant communities and violate international humanitarian law, all the while attempting to avoid the substantive issues at the heart of the conflict: social injustice, landlessness, widespread joblessness, and the systemic oppression of the poor.

The Word of God reminds us of the perils of dishonesty and falsehood. As it is written in James 3:11, “Can both fresh water and saltwater flow from the same spring?” The answer, of course, is no. In truth, Malaya’s statement merely echoes the government’s desire to force the revolutionary movement to surrender.

We refuse to let Malaya’s lie go unchallenged. The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the entire revolutionary movement has always been clear: we are ready to negotiate peace, but it must be a just and lasting peace, one that addresses the root causes of poverty, exploitation, and inequality. But the GRP, under the mask of “peace and reconciliation,” continues to wage war against the people. Their demands for surrender are not peace negotiations. They are the demands of oppressors looking to crush legitimate resistance and struggle.

The GRP should cease this duplicity and hypocrisy, and to engage in honest, principled peace talks that focus on the fundamental issues that have driven this conflict for decades. Only then can we begin to move towards true and lasting peace, based not on surrender, but on justice.