‘Only final peace deal to prompt Joma return’

Exiled communist leader Jose Ma. Sison would only return home once a final peace deal has been signed by the government and the rebels, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday.

Gazmin said the reports on Sison’s supposed return to the Philippines are mere “rumors.”

“If ever he (Sison) returns (to the country), it would have been part of negotiations that would put an end to our fight against the NPA (New People’s Army) and we already have peace,” Gazmin said in Filipino.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which Sison founded in 1968.

“If he (Sison) returns, that means we have already signed (an agreement) and the armed conflict has ended,” Gazmin said.

Gazmin said such an arrangement would not happen while the peace talks between the government and the communist rebels are ongoing.

He said the sources of information on Sison’s alleged return to the Philippines are unreliable.

“With regard to serious issues that may affect national interest, these should be studied before statements are issued,” he said.

Gazmin dismissed as a rumor reports that Sison would be offered a Cabinet post once he returns home.

Reports on Sison’s return spread last weekend, fueling speculations that he would come home for the peace talks.

Sison reportedly arrived in the country via Clark last Jan. 20 using the name “Renato Malaya.” There were reports that he was being protected by “important personalities” in Iloilo.

Sison denied these reports in an interview with radio station dzrh last Monday, saying he was still in the Netherlands and that pro-arroyo elements in the military were spreading false information about him.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday denied an allegation that she is part of the team that is convincing Sison to join the Aquino administration for national unification.

“There is absolutely no truth to the suggestion that I am part of the negotiations between the government panel and the NDF-CPP-NPA, much less the suggestion that I am acting as a ‘conduit’ for Joma Sison,” she said in a statement.

She also denied the report that she is a first cousin of Juliet de Lima, wife of Sison.