DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday lashed out at exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison for branding the idea of localized peace talks a “waste” of government funds and said he should be ignored like a “barking dog.”

“I consider Sison’s rejection and rant as just a noisy distraction, like the barking of a dog that is best ignored,” Lorenzana said in a statement, noting that Sison’s remarks was no surprise to him.