Davao City – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) announced it will be holding a peace consultation coinciding with the 46th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines on December 26.
In a radio interview with Radyo ni Juan Wednesday afternoon, Jorge Madlos also known as Ka Oris, spokesperson of NDF Mindanao, said aside from the anniversary celebration, they will also be hosting a peace consultation “in relation to the ongoing efforts of the NDFP and the Government of the Philippines (GPH) to resume peace negotiations.”
“Naa pa sa informal nga mga backdoor consultation aron plantsahon ang unsa mang problema aron dili kini makababag sa resumption sa peace talks (We are still in the informal consultations to settle any problem that might hinder the resumption of peace talks),” Madlos said.
Madlos said that there is a possibility that the formal peace talks would resume.
“That’s why the NDF is holding a peace consultation on December 26,” he said.
Madlos said the peace consultation aims to gather resolutions and proposals from the participants to be submitted to the two panels – the GPH and the NDFP.
“Ang motambong mao ang nagkalain-laing sektor sa mamumuo, mag uuma, mga estudyante, kabatan-onan ug mga gikan sa relihiyosong sektor. Ug bisan mismo ang nasa LGU among ginaimbita nga motambong aron magpresent usab sila sa ilang agenda alang sa kalinaw (The peace consultation will be attended by representatives from different sectors including workers, farmers, students, youth, the religious sector and even from the local government units (LGU). We are inviting the LGU to join so that they could also present their peace agenda),” said Madlos.
Madlos said that the activity is open to public participation.
“Gawas sa imbitasyon para sa anniversary nag-invite usab kami sa katawhan nga kung makalugar kamo makatambong sa maong peace consultation aron nga masayran namo kung unsa ang mga proposal sa mga nagkalain-laing sektor sa Mindanao (Aside from inviting the people for our anniversary, we are also inviting them to attend the said peace consultation so that we would know the proposals from various sectors from Mindanao),” he said.
Madlos said that they are hopeful that the peacetalks would resume citing the NDFP’s gesture of goodwill in releasing its prisoners-of-war (POW).
“Kung madumduman man, dunay mga dinakpan sa New People’s Army (NPA) nga POW gipangbuhian kini nga wala na gi-agi pag taral sa hukumang bayan isip gesture sa confidence building tali sa NDF ug sa gubyerno sa Pilipinas (As you remember the NPA has released its prisoners-of-war without the needed trial in the People’s Court as our gesture of confidence-building with the GPH),” said Madlos.
Last December 21, the NPA has released two POWs- Corporal Benjamin Samano and Private First Class Alvin Ricarte, both belonging to the 60th Infantry Battalion.
According to a statement released by NDF-Mindanao, December 22, they will release all POWs including Samano and Ricarte, three policemen from Alegria and Malimono in Surigao del Norte, and one member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) from Bayugan in Northeastern Mindanao Region; two soldiers belonging to the 8th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and one member of CAFGU under the 26th Infantry Battalion from Northcentral Mindanao.
But the NDF’s leader expressed dismay over the continued detention of their consultants.
“Subo lang nga makapila na ka higayon nga nagrelease ang NPA ug mga bihag sa gubat apan wala pa man gyuy girelease sa national government nga mga gipriso nga mga peace consultant sa NDF (It’s sad, however, that the NDF has released prisoners-of-war for several times already but the government has not released any of our detained peace consultants),” he said.
Last May 9, 2013 GPH panel chair Alexander Padilla issued a statement saying it was the NDF and not the GPH, “that has stymied the peace talks”.
“The fact is, it is the CNN (CPP-NPA-NDF) that has brought the talks to its present impasse. They stalled the formal talks (Regular Track-RT) after its promising re-opening in February 2011 by demanding the release of captured combatants, who they subsequently alleged to be NDFP consultants, before the talks could resume. This went beyond the letter and spirit of the Oslo Joint Statement of 2011 that re-established the talks,” Padilla said.
Padilla said “the GPH is developing a new approach to peace talks that is time bound, agenda bound, with no preconditions and based on earnest consultations with the people who decry the fact that the violence has gone on for too long and demand that both sides heed their call for a peaceful resolution of the issues that they consider important and wish to put on the table.”
Meanwhile the CPP on its issued statement during its 45th founding anniversary last year said that the Aquino government “has never had any serious intention of negotiating a just peace with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.”
The CPP cited GPH’s denouncement of The Hague Joint Declaration “as a document of perpetual division” during the first formal meeting in Oslo in 2011.
“The framework agreement that has made possible more than ten major agreements, including the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL),” CPP’s statement said.
The CPP also cited that the GPH “has consistently refused to release NDFP peace consultants who have been arrested and detained in violation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).”
The CPP central committee said it “has no choice but to wait for the next regime to engage in serious negotiations.” (davaotoday.com)
