Elusive peace

THE Philippines is a country facing a myriad of challenges as it stakes its claim to being the newest tiger economy in Asia. Not the least of these problems is the communist insurgency that has been going on for almost half a century, dragging down efforts to spur economic growth in the countryside.

Every administration since the flight of Dictator Marcos in 1986 had tried to coax the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to go to the negotiating table, but every one of them failed to forge a peace agreement with the left.

Lately, the Duterte government again extended the hand of peace and declared a unilateral ceasefire in the hopes of concluding a pact with the rebels. It even appointed a number of leftist personalities to key government posts and released more from prison to allow them to join their colleagues in the peace process.

As in the past, the road to peace has been hard and rocky. It has, for all intents and purposes, bogged down when the president suspended the ceasefire it earlier declared after army troopers were killed by New People’s Army (NPA) elements in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

Why is peace with the CPPNPA so elusive? Are the rebels not tired of a cause seemingly unattainable and rendered obsolete by the realities of modern times?

Judging from the frantic reaction of the leadership of the CPP-NPA and its political wing, the National Democratic Front (NDF), to President Duterte’s declaration of all-out war against them, it would seem that the communists truly desires peace. They are pictured in news items as a group of men and women scarred by decades of war with the government. The tiredness in their faces is palpable as they stubbornly declare their lifelong aspiration to bring relief to the Filipino people in their quest for equality, justice, and a better life in the present scheme of things.

But are they in complete control of their foot soldiers? The recent ambush in Mindanao, among other incidents of violence, indicates they are not.

In the past, the military had been accused of discreetly opposing efforts to end the insurgency because the flow of arms and funds which are rich sources of corruption would stop if peace with the communists is finally achieved. None of that had been mentioned now that President Duterte, who detests corruption in all its forms, is the commander-in-chief.

Also, despite self-defense claims of the CPP-NPA in the recent ambuscades while a unilateral ceasefire was in effect, the fatalities were invariably government soldiers. What is apparent is that the military has full confidence in the president even if they reluctantly acquiesce to the unilateral ceasefire he declared.

Given the specific circumstances attending the communist insurgency in the country, if a peace agreement is to be cast in stone it should necessarily include a provision giving land to the landless.

Land reform is the ever-present demand of the left since its inception 47 years ago.

Successive administrations since Cory Aquino’s have implemented the Comprehensive Land Reform Law but this has largely been considered insufficient and unsuccessful in alleviating the lot of the Filipino peasantry. It would therefore be a gross disservice to the cause of the CPP-NPA-NDF if the same is not included in any peace accord with the government. And it would not be a surprise if a generous land reform package will be given to the rebels if a comprehensive peace deal is concluded considering the self-admitted left of center political leanings of President Duterte.

The prospect of a radical land redistribution scheme expected to come out of a peace agreement between the CPP-NPA-NDF and the government is scary to the country’s landlords. The rich who have long dominated the economic landscape of the feudal Philippines masquerading as a 21st century economic tiger wanna-be fear the dismemberment of their estates.

Any deal that would be forged between the contending parties will surely rock the very core of the country’s social and political structure. The landed elite see this as a threat to their esteemed place in the nation’s societal totem pole.

The status quo is to the gross advantage of the land owning class and who knows the lengths they are willing to go to preserve it.— Joel Zamudio