‘Amnesty if Reds lay down arms’

Amnesty would only be given to communist rebels if they abandon the armed struggle, President Duterte said yesterday as he expressed hope that a “firm agreement” would be forged within the year.

Duterte also reiterated he would release the rebels from prison only if the talks succeed.

“It’s good that we’re talking to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). (It’s) doing well and we hope to have a firm agreement by the end of the year,” Duterte said during the 69th anniversary of the

Air Force in Clark, Pampanga.

“I’m not ready to release everybody, only after the success of the talks if there is one coming our way… and we can grant amnesty but they have to lay down their arms,” he added.

Duterte said he is ready to grant safe conduct pass to CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison and New People’s Army (NPA) leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon to allow them to participate in the peace talks.

Sison, who was imprisoned during the Marcos dictatorship but freed after the 1986 People Power Revolution, has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987.

The Tiamzons, meanwhile, were charged with murder and arrested in Cebu in 2014.

Negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the communists, col- From Page 1 lapsed in 2013 after the two sides failed to reach a deal on jailed rebels.

The NDF claimed their jailed comrades are covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), a 1995 deal that prohibits the arrest and detention of peace consultants.

The government panel, however, rejected the demand, saying the identities of the alleged peace consultants cannot be validated.

Last month, the Duterte administration and the NDF agreed to resume formal talks in the third week of July and to discuss a possible amnesty for political prisoners and an interim truce.

Other topics to be discussed are the affirmation of previously signed agreements and accelerated process for negotiations, including the timelines for the completion of socioeconomic, political and economic reforms and the end of hostilities.

Duterte also assembled a team that will talk to Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari, who is facing charges over the 2013 Zamboanga siege.

Duterte said he would go to Sulu to meet with the fugitive MNLF leader before they can “talk officially.”

“I’m communicating with Nur. Maybe I will go to Jolo and talk to him before we formally agree to talk,” the President said.

“I have my team already. I would not mention them now but they are ready,” he added.

One step forward

Meanwhile, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza called on peace stakeholders to push on the strides of peace “one step forward from where these are today.”

Dureza vowed to continue and make the peace process inclusive.

“We would like to invite you to continue being with us. There are a few changes but, definitely, we will continue what the previous presidential adviser on the peace process has done because secretary Ging Deles also built on the work of previous peace advisers,” he said.

To continue previous commitments, Dureza emphasized the implementation of signed agreements from past administrations in pursuing peace and development in the country.

“There will be a change of command but let me assure everyone that there will be no transition as they use to call it. We would like to use the word ‘continuity’,” Dureza said.

Dureza formally assumed his post on Monday where the turnover of OPAPP was made.

“We build on every brick on the ground. There is so much that has been done already,” he said.