Never-ending peace talks

Ican’t understand, for the life of me, why the President is once again thinking of resuming the peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF. Most of us know that the Communists are terrorists and can’t be trusted but it seems as if the government wants to give it another go with Duterte saying that he no longer wants to fight with fellow Filipinos. That sentiment is good in theory but will it hold up in the real world? I guess we will once again wait and see.

I’m honestly curious what made the president change his mind. It can’t just be because he doesn’t want to fight with other Filipinos. Last November Duterte already scrapped the peace talks with the communists because they continued to attack security forces and civilians while negotiations were ongoing. What makes him think that this time will be any different? Has something happened that we don’t know about to make him go out on a limb again?

The Defense Secretary and top military advisors have already voiced their opposition to resuming peace negotiations as well as many political advisors and members of the media – which again leads me to question if the administration knows something that we don’t that would make them want to go come back to the table? Or is it just more of our president being hardheaded and trying the same tactic while hoping for a different outcome. I truly believe that unless something significant has changed this round of peace talks will once again amount to nothing.

The president actually seems to be going out of his way this time to make it happen with the rebels. He is inviting the NDF to come to Manila on the government’s dime promising them safe travel and the assurance that they won’t be arrested once they arrive for the discussion. However, he also laid down some stipulations of his own. The peace talks can only resume if the rebels agree to ceasefire and stopping the collecting of their revolutionary tax. Something I don’t see them likely to agreeing to. In addition, the government also wants to be clear to the communists that a coalition government is absolutely not part of the agreement.

It already seems like a stretch from the get go because I don’t see the NDF agreeing to the terms already laid out by the government. I would be very surprised if they agreed to come to the table without stipulations of their own one of which currently is to drop the terrorist tag assigned to them which according to the Palace spokesperson the administration won’t do until the peace talks are done.

I honestly don’t think anything will come of this. Nothing ever has before so why should this time be any different? I don’t see a light at the end of this tunnel in the foreseeable future. I don’t want to be pessimistic but it’s just my truthful assessment. Too much has happened. Perhaps when the current crop of leadership passes on the new leaders would be open to doing things differently. Either way, I think we’ve got a long wait before something significant changes.

* * * So the president has made his decision about Boracay. I’ve had quite conflicted emotions about this issue. When I first heard about it, I was 100% on board with the decision to close down the island because I have seen firsthand how it has suffered throughout the years and I truly believe that we have to act now before it’s too late – if it isn’t already. I love Boracay so I thought that a little suffering now would be well worth it if we can turn things around for our most beautiful beach.

However the issue dragged on – seesawing between total and partial closure – I began seeing other important sides of the issue as well. A closure of the island would indeed give the beach time to rehabilitate and would be important for businesses and institutions who have not complied with environmental regulations and sewage treatment disposal to make the absolutely necessary changes posthaste. But, closing the island for six months means more than just closing doors to tourists, it means taking away business for all the establishments and, more importantly, the people.

That is the biggest issue now with the approval of the sixmonth island closure. Not to mention, I am already wary of promises happening in a period of six months (where have we heard that before?) What is going to happen to all the people on Boracay who rely on tourists for their livelihood? Six months is a really long time for anyone to not have a job or steady income. This is especially true for workers such as the men and women who offer massages on the beach or the manong who sells sarongs to the guests of the numerous hotels or the teams who offer banana boating or island hopping. How will these people survive with no work (i.e. no income) for a period of six months? How will they pay their bills or feed their families?

I still believe that it will be important for the island to rehabilitate but I have to wonder if there is any other way to do it? Would closing it by zones work? Or if a full closure is absolutely necessary than there needs to be a concrete plan in place for those who will lose their jobs. Senator Nancy Binay said it best when she said that there should be information channels to employees and employers about disruptions, programs for re-employment service, unemployment insurance, cash-for-work, and direct hire job creation to help mitigate the job displacements.

While there is a calamity fund the government is proposed for the island it is important to go into the details about where this will go and how it will be distributed before the closure to ensure the transition is smooth. Additionally, the government should help displaced workers return to their jobs once operations on the island resume again.