Palace cites 4 ‘compelling reasons’ to resume peace talks with Reds
Malacañang said yesterday it will return to the peace negotiation table with the communist rebels if they comply with four compelling reasons for the talks to resume.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the four compelling reasons so peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s
Army/National Democratic Front (CPP/NPA/NDF) can resume include a cessation by the CPP/NPA/NDF of the following: the so-called ‘revolutionary tax,’ ambushes on military personnel, the burning of property, and provocative and hostile actions.
According to Abella, the said actions from the NDF may “provide compelling reason and could put at ease, to some extent, the apprehension of the military and the administration.”
“After all, when guns are silent, we can better listen to each other. We need to take in good faith the President’s vision for a peaceful, just and inclusively prosperous Philippines. He has already taken the first steps forward. We wait for NDF to respond,” he said in a text message.
In a statement on Sunday, the CPP said it will have the NPA expedite the release of six ‘prisoners of war’ - four soldiers and two paramilitary elements, it captured in Alegria in Surigao del Norte, Columbio in Sultan Kudarat, Talakag in Bukidnon and Lupon in Davao Oriental. It added that this is a positive gesture to resume the peace negotiation.
The CPP also urged President Duterte not to waste the gains of the first three rounds of the formal peace negotiations even as it called for a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza yesterday said the government shares the same commitment to work for lasting peace. However, he said there has to be a compelling reason to continue the peace talks.
“We welcome and respect the positive position coming from the leadership of the CPP/NPA/NDF,” Dureza said in a statement.
Abella also said that President Duterte has already gone to great lengths to deliver peace in the land compared to the attempts of the previous administrations.
“The GRP has in fact moved closer to the NDF position, much closer than previous administrations have. PRRD has instituted socio-economic reforms, moved towards political and constitutional reforms; charted an independent foreign policy; opened up to national industrialization and land reform. He has also opened his Cabinet to the participation of political ‘progressives’,” he said.
Leftist Cabinet members include Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy Taguiwalo, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, and National Anti-Poverty Council lead convenor Liza Maza.
Maza and Mariano were scheduled to meet with President Duterte last night to try and convince him to resume the formal peace talks.
Abella added that the NDF probably “pushed the envelope too fast and too soon in demanding for the full release of political prisoners prior to any signed agreement and for lifting the ceasefire ahead of their deadline.”
“While it is understandable that suspicions linger about the motives of the parties on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum, some ‘compelling reasons’ need to be provided for talks to resume,” he said.
Duterte terminated the ceasefire and peace talks after three soldiers were brutally killed by members of the NPA while there was still an effective bilateral ceasefire between the two parties.
The government and the NDF are set to meet in Utrecht, The Netherlands on February 22 to 27 to discuss the possible bilateral ceasefire agreement.
Military, police ops suspended
In General Santos City, military and police operations have been suspended in parts of Sultan Kudarat province to facilitate the release of two Army soldiers who were seized by NPA rebels in Columbio town last February 2.
Sultan Kudarat Governor Sultan Pax Mangudadatu said he had asked police and Army units operating in Columbio town and the neighboring areas to cease their operations until after the negotiations for the release of the abducted soldiers are finished.
The governor, who also chairs the Regional Peace and Order Council of Region 12, said he had talked to one of the leaders of the NPA unit that is holding Sgt. Solaiman Calocop and Private 1st Class (Pfc) Samuel Garay, both of the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion (IB), as “prisoners of war” or POWs.
Mangudadatu said the rebels assured him that the two soldiers are alive and being treated properly.
“I told them that if they want to be friends with the people of Sultan Kudarat, they should immediately release the two soldiers,” he said.
Motion to cancel bail
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 32 has submitted for resolution a motion of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) seeking to revoke the bail of National Democratic Front peace consultant Rafael Baylosis who was freed to join the peace talks.
The motion was submitted for resolution after Baylosis submitted his comment to the manifestation and motion for the issuance of recommitment order and automatic cancellation of bond filed by the OSG.
Earlier, the OSG asked the court to order the re-arrest of the NDF consultants who were temporarily released to participate in the peace negotiations with the government officials in Oslo, Norway. (With reports from Cris G. Odronia and PNA)