Rep. Ruby Sahali, chairperson of the Special Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity during the second round of the formal talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Oslo, Norway last October 2016. Beside her is House Deputy Speaker Bai Sandra Sema. (Zea Io Ming C. Capistrano/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Mindanao lawmakers lamented the suspension of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
“The Filipino nation is grieving over the unceremonious cessation of the peace talks between the Government and the NDFP caused by the recent turn of unfortunate events,” said Rep. Ruby Sahali, chairperson of the House of Representatives Special Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity on Tuesday.
In her Facebook post, Sahali said the optimistic start of the peace negotiations is now “replaced with uncertainty.”
“Our people are now enveloped with feelings of fear as pockets of hostilities have begun to grip the countryside,” she said.
Sahali also expressed concern on the possible “outbreak” of hostilities following the termination of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees by the government on Tuesday.
Sahali added that despite the recent development, they remain hopeful that peace will be attained.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process formally sent a written notice to the NDFP peace panel on the termination of the JASIG, an agreement which grants immunity from arrests to members of the peace panels.
NDFP peace panel chairperson Fidel Agcaoili said even if the government cited only the termination of JASIG, “the notice will do in effectively terminating the peace negotiations.”
For his part, Bayan Muna Rep.Carlos Isagani Zarate, vice-chairman of the SCPRU described the termination of the peace negotiations as “very unfortunate.”
“We hope that the President will reconsider his decision because in less than a year the peace talks have significantly progressed. In the same breath, the peace process should continue even without a ceasefire in place,” he said.
North Cotabato Rep. Nancy A. Catamco said with the cancellation of the peace talks “both parties will surely be arriving to a crossroad of even greater problems.”
“How I wish the parties could continue with the substantive peace talks, with or without the unilateral ceasefire declarations of both parties, by respecting the degree of restraint that the armed forces of both sides is putting at stake just to heed the call of peacebuilding. If we don’t, it’s likely that we cannot attain peace and development even up to the next generation,” she said.
Catamco also called for “restraint, sobriety, mutual respect and faith” in the on-going peace negotiations and called on the President to also reconsider his position.
“Time and again, we reiterate that we should all be ready for the occasional bumps and occlusions along the road to peace. This setback is only one of them,” she said.
Zarate also said that the advances made during the past six months since the resumption of the formal talks after a long impasse should be given a chance.
“A chance should be given to negotiate and iron out the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) and the bilateral ceasefire even with the collapse of the unilateral ceasefires. There is still hope that the CASER and bilateral ceasefire can be forged this year with substantive progress in the January third round of talks,” he said.
“As peace advocates, we continue and reiterate our call for the continuation of the peace process for the greater interests of our people. More than ever, this is the opportune time to further push for just and lasting peace,” he said.
The three Mindanaoan lawmakers were present during the last two rounds of talks between the government and the NDFP.
During the third round of talks in Rome, Italy, five of the 10 lawmakers who were present as observers were from Mindanao. They were Deputy Speaker Bai Sandra Sema, and SCPRU Vice-Chair Jesus Sacdalan from North Cotabato. (davaotoday.com)
