Duterte restores cease-fire with Reds as progress reported in Oslo talks

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Wednesday night declared anew a cease-fire with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), saying his decision was based on a “consensus” with Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“As of today, I am declaring a ceasefire. So I’m joining the Communist Party of the Philippines in its desire to seek peace for this nation,” Mr. Duterte said, adding that he hopes the cease-fire would be extended for a “long, long period.”

In ordering the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to abide by the cease-fire declaration, Mr. Duterte also urged them and everyone in government to be “friendly with the forces of the revolutionary government” for the duration of the cease-fire and the talks.

The communist movement is known to be precise in its diction, qualifying itself over the years as having the character of a state and its captured government troops in the course of an encounter as prisoners of war.

But Mr. Duterte said he regrets that so many Filipinos have died over the insurgency for “nothing” when there have always been opportunities for peace.

Before flying to Davao City yesterday afternoon, Mr. Duterte would not yet commit to a cease-fire, following the CPP's declaration of a 7-day “goodwill cease-fire” until Saturday, Aug.27.

“I have already consulted with the commanding generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Army, Navy [and] Police. And they are of the opinion that it would be good to declare a cease-fire. When? (I'll see). I decide when I'm ready,” Mr. Duterte had said.

At around 9:00 p.m. of Wednesday, the CPP expressed its intention to declare a “much longer” cease-fire following the 7-day cease-fire, although no time frame was set.

The terms for an interim cease-fire also remained a pending matter as of Tuesday's talks in Oslo, Norway, between the negotiating panels of the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

What the panels have agreed upon by Thursday was an accelerated timetable for the Reciprocal Working Committee (RWC) and Reciprocal Working Groups (RWG) to complete work on the substantive agenda of the peace talks in less than a year.

The negotiators had earlier agreed to activate these bodies working respectively on a Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms, and Political and Constitutional Reforms as well as End of Hostilities-Disposition of Forces.

“As expected, the longest session was reserved for the discussion on the Comprehensive Agreement on SocioEconomic Reforms (CASER), which would eventually tackle the most contentious issues, such as agrarian reform, national industrialization, and foreign policy,” the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said in a statement on Thursday.

The GRP-RWC on CASER is led by lawyer Efren Moncupa, a human rights lawyer and former political detainee, while his counterpart from the NDFP is Juliet de Lima-Sison, wife of Communist Party leader Jose Maria C. Sison.

The two RWCs on CASER reaffirmed their “endeavor to complete work within a period of six months.”

Government negotiator Silvestre H. Bello III noted that CASER is considered the “heart and soul” of the peace negotiations. “This committee will work on the most important issue: how to address the root causes of conflict in the Philippines in order to attain just and lasting peace. The sooner CASER is wrapped up, the better for the peace negotiations,” the OPAPP statement quoted him as saying.

Mr. Bello also said the GRP-NDF Working Committees on CASER would hold their first meeting in October to discuss its framework and outline, among other matters.

The RWGs on Political and Constitutional Reforms (PCR), for their part, agreed to hold their first meeting also in Oslo in synchronization with the RWC on CASER in October.

The RWG on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces (EOH-DOF), for its part, agreed to present their respective draft outlines for a Comprehensive Agreement on the substantive issue on Oct. 24 or the next scheduled Panel meeting, whichever comes first.

Mr. Bello said the simultaneous discussions of the substantive agenda would improve the chances of the GRP meeting its self-imposed deadline of forging a final peace agreement with the NDFP within a year. —