Guidelines being finalized for localized peace talks – Año
DAVAO CITY – A working group is finalizing the guidelines for the localized peace talks between local governments and communist guerrillas in case the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will not push through, Interior and Local Government OIC Secretary Eduardo Año said.
Año said local governments can start the localized peace talks with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels operating in their respective areas once the guidelines are finalized.
Under the guidelines, Año said Regional Peace and Order Councils (RPOCs) and Regional Development Councils (RDCs) would be the main platforms for peace initiatives to be immediately undertaken.
He told the local officials not to concede any aspect of governance to the communist rebels.
Año added that they would push for this approach following the pronouncement of Malacañang and the Department of National Defense throwing support to any local peace effort.
“In light of the Left’s pronouncement that they would rather oust the President than talk peace, we have no choice but to push for localized peace talks because decisions and agreements will be more genuine and enforceable,”Año said.
He added that the localized peace talks would have more impact because they would be more participatory and responsive to the specific needs and situation of the people on the ground.
Localized peace talks, he said, would address the concerns of some members of Congress that communist leaders especially those in exile abroad do not necessarily represent the demands and concerns of the rebels in the country, apparently referring to CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison who started to live in exile in the Netherlands in 1987.
“Only sincere peace talks – whether national or on the local level – can produce real and lasting peace,” Año said.
Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (PAPP) Secretary Jesus Dureza said that they have not closed the doors to peace negotiations with communist terrorists.
Dureza said President Rodrigo R. Duterte was only making an assumption when he said during the opening of the National Science and Technology Week on Friday at the SMX Convention Center that he would no longer pursue the talks after Sison allegedly said Duterte would be removed from office soon.
Duterte said: “Sabi naman ni Sison (Sison said), I will not last three years. Kaya ang sabi ko kay Sison ngayon, “Ayaw ko na makipag-usap sa inyo kasi sabi ninyo three years na lang pala ako dito. So wala na akong time makipagusap sa inyo (That’s why, I told Sison, ‘I do not want to talk to you because you said I would only last for three years. So, I do not have the time to talk to you).”
Dureza added they would seek the President’s guidance as to when to proceed with the peace talks.
Año added the existing agreements that were signed by the government with the National Democratic of the Philippines, including the draft proposals for Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), In- terim Peace Agreement (IPA), and End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces (EHDF) would be reviewed to evaluate their relevance and significance while the talks are ongoing.
Although it was not mentioned, the discussion on Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms (CAPCR) is also part of the GRP-NDFP peace talks that would have come next after both panels agree on CASER.
The resumption of the GRP-NDFP peace talks last June 28 in Oslo, Norway was cancelled for the third time after Dureza announced on June 14 that Duterte wanted to postpone it in order to engage the public before working out agreements with communist leaders.
Dureza added the President asked for three months to review the 1992 Joint Hague Agreement Declaration, 1995 Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, and 1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
The conditions set by the President for the resumption of the peace talks include the venue which he said must be in the country; no collection of revolutionary tax; no hostilities; NPA fighters should be confined to their camps; and no forming of a coalition government.