Estrada meets with guerrilla leaders

Estrada meets with guerrilla leaders

BAGUIO, Philippines (AP): President Joseph Estrada met leaders
of a breakaway Communist guerrilla group on Sunday as part of
government efforts to start peace talks with local guerrillas.

The leaders of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex
Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) expressed willingness to hold peace
talks with the Manila government during the meeting in the
northern mountain resort city of Baguio, an official said.

Estrada welcomed the rebels' offer, said Philippine National
Police chief Panfilo Lacson, who was among those who arranged the
meeting at the presidential mansion in Baguio, about 210
kilometers north of Manila.

The RPA-ABB broke off from the main Communist Party of the
Philippines in the early 1990s over differences in ideology and
ways to wage an armed struggle. It suffered recent setbacks due
to a series of arrests of its top guerrillas, including Nilo de
la Cruz and Arturo Tabara.

De la Cruz and Tabara, who have since been released by the
military, were among four rebel leaders who met with Estrada.