President Rodrigo Duterte greets National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Secretary Liza Maza and Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano prior to the start of the 12th Cabinet Meeting at the State Dining Room in Malacañan Palace on February 7, 2017. (Simeon Celi Jr./Presidential Photo)
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Leftist members of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet are urging him to continue the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and National Anti Poverty Commission Secretary Liza Maza said the most substantial agenda of social and economic reforms is now on the table.
“As heads of national government agencies tasked to address poverty and improve the quality of like of the Filipino, we believe that the GRP (government of the Republic of the Philippines) should move the peace negotiations with the NDFP forward,” the Cabinet officials said.
They said the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (Caser) “is the most substantive agenda in the negotiations and is key to lasting peace and long-term poverty eradication.”
The Cabinet members added that after almost three decades of impasse, the peace negotiations under the Duterte administration “have made historic strides on many fronts.”
“The Government and the NDF have never been closer in their articulation of a shared vision of a society that addresses the root causes of war—poverty and inequality,” they said.
During the third round of the formal talks in Rome, Italy, both parties reached an understanding on the features of the problems related to agrarian reforms in the country.
According to the Joint Statement signed by both parties, the reciprocal working committees on social and economic reforms “agreed in principle to the free distribution of land to farmers and farm workers as part of the governing framework of Caser.”
The parties also agreed to accelerate the Caser negotiations by forming bilateral teams. The ground rules for the conduct of the formal meetings between the reciprocal working committees on the socioeconomic reforms was also signed during the closing ceremony of the third round.
Aside from the updates on Caser, the peace panels have also exchanged full drafts of the tentative Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms. They also exchanged views on the proposal for a federal form of government and the need for safeguards and constitutional guarantees as demanded by the people.
“While we carry on with negotiating the agreements, the agencies under the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster is working on the direct, immediate and substantial benefits that are advantageous to the poor and the marginalized sectors of society,” the secretaries said.
They added that the concern of both parties in the peace negotiations is the interest of the people.
“It is unfortunate that the talks have now come to a standstill. Let each side come to terms with the compelling reasons why we have to come to the negotiating table in the first place,” they said. (davaotoday.com)
