Education Secretary and Vice President Sara Duterte warned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "not to fall into the trap" of reopening the peace negotiation between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

"While she continues to ignore my challenge for ACT Teachers to condemn the NPAs, (ACT Teachers Representative France) Castro almost neatly slipped into the conversation yet another call for the reopening of the peace negotiations between the Philippine Government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). May I respectfully warn the Marcos administration not to fall into this trap," she said in a statement on Thursday.

"Castro’s assertion that the peace negotiations would address the root causes of the armed conflict was ludicrous. Instead, it would only give legitimacy to the absurdity of the terrorism perpetrated by the armed wing of the NDFP, the NPAs," she added.

This was emphasized by Duterte, as she criticized Castro's alleged "duplicitous character" that "was buttressed by her attempt to ‘lawyer’ for the terrorist NPAs" following the series of violent incidents in Masbate that traumatize the learners and teachers of a school in the province.

"I am glad that France Castro confirmed that ACT Teachers is, without a doubt, a fake representative of learners, educators, and other members of the education sector in Congress with her continued refusal to publicly and explicitly condemn the New People’s Army’s violence in Masbate," she said.

"That ACT Teachers is a sham and truly does not represent the education sector in Congress was even validated by her call for ‘forensic experts’ and the Commission on Human Rights to “see the real perpetrators of the gun firing near the schools," she added.

Duterte said the call of Castro "was a tactic intended to cast doubts over the integrity of official reports that the sighting of elements of NPA in an area near a school in Barangay Locso-an, Placer town, triggered the Masbate fighting."

"It’s no longer surprising that Castro would insinuate that government forces were behind the March 22 bomb explosion in Locso-an that wounded two government soldiers," she said. Robina Asido/DMS