EXILED Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison on Friday rejected local-level peace talks ordered by the Duterte administration after the postponement of negotiations with the communist leadership, calling it a “waste” of government funds.

“This is a stupid waste of money. It is a kind of racket with the local political followers and military agents of [President Rodrigo] Duterte pocketing the money for the fake surrenders,” Sison said in his Facebook post, sharing a news report on the issuance of an executive order for the localized talks.