The government peace panel announced it will release the sick and the elderly prisoners before Christmas, allaying fears that the ongoing peace negotiations with the communists will collapse.
Is the National Democratic Front of the Philippines ready to sign a bilateral peace agreement even without the release of political prisoners?
A recent report found that before the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic of the Philippines this year, there was little interest from the media in reporting the peace process.
President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated his demand to the communists to sign a document of a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government before releasing some 100 political prisoners.
President Rodrigo Duterte likened the peace process to playing a poker game with the release of the prisoners as his “last card”.
The recent meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and the leaders of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines yielded positive results, said NDF peace consultant Wilma Tiamzon.
Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said they are appalled by some sectors attacking them on the delay of the release of political prisoners in the country.
Government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III vowed to release some 50-70 political prisoners before the international human rights day on December 10, as he extended his condolences to the family of Bernabe Ocasla, one of the 400 political prisoners who recently died of a heart attack.
Why would a wealthy country that is 9,977 kilometers away interested in finding peace for a poor country like the Philippines?
The second round of the peace talks between the government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines took place at a hotel some 18 kilometers away from the main city of Oslo in Norway.