Gov’t team for NDF talks now complete

The government has completed its peace panel that will negotiate with communist rebels of the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Government peace panel chair Silvestre Bello III yesterday said the formal talks with the NDF may resume later this month or sometime in August.

The NDF is representing the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing New People’s Army (NPA) in the peace negotiations with the government.

Named to the government peace panel were Angela Librado, who will represent the women sector, and Noel Felongco for the indigenous people.

They will join former Alaminos, Pangasinan mayor Hernani Braganza and former elections commissioner Rene Sarmiento in the panel.

Bello, concurrent labor secretary, said they would travel to Oslo, Norway for the resumption of formal peace talks with the NDF either on July 27 or sometime in August.

Librado, a lawyer by profession, is the incumbent chairman of Barangay Matina in Davao City where she also served as city councilor.

She is known for her advocacy for women’s rights.

Bello said Felongco, also a lawyer, is from Cagayan de Oro City and an anti-irresponsible mining advocate.

Bello also announced the appointment of former peace panel member Efren Moncupa as head of their reciprocal working committee on socio-economic reforms and Ateneo de Manila University School of Law dean Sedfrey Candelaria as head of the technical working committee on political and constitutional reforms.

Bello also said they would revert to using the old term “GRP” to refer to themselves instead of GPH (Government of the Philippines).

Bello said the panel has yet to appoint someone to their technical working committee on end of hostilities and disposition of forces, although he has consulted Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr.

“They have already submitted some names who will head this committee in behalf of the GRP peace panel. Or it could even be Secretary Esperon himself,” Bello said.

Braganza said four major issues would be discussed with the NDF, which include the “remaining agenda on social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms and end of hostilities and disposition of forces.”

Braganza said originally, they set the resumption of peace talks with the NDF in the third week of July, based on the signed joint statement during the preliminary talks.

“But because of the SONA (State of the Nation Address) on the 25th, the proposed date is July 27,” Braganza said.

CPP founder and NDF chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison welcomed the completion of the GRP peace panel, saying he thinks they are a reasonable lot.

“Congratulations to them… we negotiated with most of them before, with positive results, especially in the making of formal agreements,” Sison said.

Bello, Braganza and Sarmiento have been members of GRP peace panels under the administrations of Fidel Ramos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that led to the signing of at least 10 major agreements and statements with the NDFP, including the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.