The government is opting for a simpler commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the EDSA People Power on Friday, February 24, officials said.
Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said the president still desires to bring just and lasting peace in the country weeks after the unilateral interim ceasefire of both the government and Communists were ended early this month.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza and peace advocate Sowing the Seeds of Peace in Mindanao welcomed the Communist Party of the Philippines’ ‘openness’ to ink a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the government if President Rodrigo Duterte decides to send the government panel to the scheduled talks on February 22-27 in the Netherlands.
A former police officer retracted his earlier statement at the Senate and now claimed that the Davao Death Squad exists and that he is part of the vigilante group allegedly paid by former Davao City Mayor and now President Rodrigo Duterte.
Partylist lawmaker Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna urged the Palace to speed up the release of the Social Security System pension hike that was approved by President Rodrigo Duterte early this year.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said she is willing to listen to the NPA “if the NPA is willing to talk.”
The peace consultation, spearheaded by the Sisters Association in Mindanao, Exodus for Justice and Peace, and the Ateneo de Davao University Center for Engagement and Advocacy Council, urged the government to resume peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Labor Ministers’ Retreat and the 10th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Migrant Workers will review a Declaration signed ten years ago which provided for the rights of migrant workers.
To ensure the success of the bilateral ceasefire negotiations, CPP said that the government could “help facilitate the travel of the NDFP’s ceasefire committee member and consultants.”
Military and trade deals are currently in the works after a Russian delegation led by Security Council of the Russian Federation Sec. Nikolai Patrushev met with their Philippine counterparts in Davao City.
