PRIVILEGE SPEECH| Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Ariel Casilao on why peace talks should continue

Privilege Speech ni Representative Ariel B. Casilao

Anakpawis Party-list

Pebrero 13, 2016

Sigaw ng masang Anakpawis, ituloy ang GRP-NDFP Peace Talks!

Honorable Speaker, mga kasamang mambabatas, pagbati ng kapayapaan at hustisyang panlipunan!

“Kayong mga sundalo sa bundok, bumaba na lang kayo, I will find money to place you in resettlements and I will proceed with the land reform!”

Ito ang sinabi ni Pangulong Duterte noon sa kanyang press con sa Cagayan De Oro City, makailan lamang. Sa kanyang pahayag, malinaw na siya mismo ay alam na ang mga mandirigma ng New People’s Army o NPA ay mga magsasaka, na sa katunayan ay nakikibaka para sa kanilang karapatan sa lupa at laban sa monopolyo ng iilang haciendero at mga kumpanya, sa malalawak na lupa sa bansa.

Kami, sa Anakpawis at Makabayan, ay kinikilala na ang root causes ng armed conflict sa pagitan ng NPA at mga pwersa ng gubyerno ay pangunahing usaping agraryo. Kaya nga, nang umabot sa Socio-Economic Reforms agenda ang Third Round ng Formal Peace Talks, ito ay aming malugod na tinanggap at pinuri, dahil ito ay makasaysayan at para sa pakinabang ng masang magsasaka at manggagawa.

Ang kanya-kanyang Reciprocal Working Committee o RWC ng dalawang panig ay umabot na sa kasunduang “in principle” ay “free distribution of land.” Sa working draft ng Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms o CASER na isinumite ng NDFP sa GRP, sa Article XI Implementation, Section 5, sinasabi na:

“Pursuant to the provision of this Agreement, a new agrarian law shall be enacted to break up land monopoly of big landowners and prevent land remonopolization; to redistribute agricultural lands for free to the broad masses of the peasants and farmworkers …”

Kaya sa pananaw ng kilusang magbubukid at iba pang sektor, ang Third Round ng Peace Talks ay positibong hakbang para sa pagkamit ng pundamental na reporma sa lipunan at ekonomiya sa bansa.

Gayunpaman, Mr. Speaker, we are aware that these specific development in the talks will definitely upset the rich and powerful such as the landlords and foreign corporations. Genuine Agrarian Reform or the Emancipation of poor peasants run counter to their class interest of exacting land rent, plunder of surplus product which are the sources of their giant profits.

Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I will not dwell on the issues of lifting of both side’s unilateral ceasefire orders, as for obvious reasons, I am not a party, however, I still call for each other’s openness, in light of resuming the talks and accomplishing more tangible gains for the marginalized sectors in the country.

As President Duterte announced the termination of the talks, with DND Sec. Lorenzana adding that they are on “all-out war” against the NPA. I would like to remind the members of the House, that even before the present administrations, “all out war” or “total war” policies of past regimes are synonymous to systematic and massive human rights violations of civilians or unarmed population, who are usually the peasantry and indigenous peoples.

Under the Oplan Bayanihan of the Aquino presidency, farmers and Lumad fell victims to military abuses, that compelled them to annually hold the Manilakbayan ng Mindanao or the national caravan to broadcast their abused state.

We do not want a repeat systematic rights abuses against farmers and other poor sectors:

of Lumad killings, of atrocity against Alcadev Lumad school teachers,
of Haran and farmers and Lumad mass evacuations,
of non-stop extra-judicial killings against peasant leaders and activists,
of illegal arrests and filing of trumped up charges against activists,
of displacement of farmer and indigenous communities to pave way for land grabbing, land use and crop conversion such as oil palm, sugar and other products of foreign agro-corporations.

With our without the AFP’s Suspension of Military Operations or SOMO, we lament massive militarization as it did since August, in the Mindanao provinces, Abra, Masbate, Camarines Sur, Northern Samar, Quezon, Tarlac and other areas. They even occupied 18 Lumad schools in Sultan Kudarat. During the President’s first declaration of ceasefire in July, a pregnant Lumad woman was killed by para-military forces in Bukidnon.

In light of this imminent all-our war to be waged by the AFP and other government forces, I urge the House Committees on Peace, Reconcialition and Unity and Human Rights to witness first hand the impact of militarization of farmer and indigenous people communities in Mindanao, document the mass evacuation of thousands of farmers and Lumad in Manay town, Davao Oriental.

Ibinibintang ng militar na ang evacuation ay bunga raw ng harasment ng NPA sa mga magsasaka, gayung bago nito, ay ang pagkamatay ng isang junior officer ng militar noong February 1. Sumunod na araw, February 2, nagpatuloy ang malawakang military operations na ng 67th Infantry Battalion at kasabay nito ang pagpatay sa mga magsasakang Ruben Inidio at Boy Sumambot.

Ang pagpatay sa dalawang magsasaka ay ibinibintang ng militar sa NPA, gayung wala itong pagkakaiba sa kaso ng Lupao Massacre na naganap noong February 10, 1987, sa Nueva Ecija, na kamakailan lamang ay nasa ika-30 taong anibersaryo, kung saan namatay sa labanan sa NPA ang isang junior officer ng Philippine Army, kung kaya ibinaling nila ang kanilang galit sa komunidad ng mga magsasaka at minasaker ng 14^th Infantry Battalion ang 11 magsasaka at pinagbintangan pa silang mga myembro ng NPA.

Kaya, Mr. Speaker, mga kapwa mambabatas, I urge you to join the legitimate call for Just Peace or Just and Lasting Peace in the country. Our country had enough counter-insurgency programs from Martial Law, Total War Policy-Low Intensity Conflict or LIC, Oplan Lambat Bitag, Oplan Makabayan, Oplan Bantay Laya, Oplan Bayanihan at now Oplan Kapayapaan.

All of these programs have failed to bring an end to the NPA, and the question would be “Why?” Mr. Speaker, colleagues, si Pangulong Duterte mismo ang sumagot sa tanong na yan, noong 2014 nang siya ay Mayor pa ng Davao City. Sinabi nya mismo:

“Mahihirap, sumusuporta sa mga rebelde, di matatalo.”

Kung hindi matatalo ang NPA dahil sila ay suportado ng mahihirap, samakatuwid, napakainam na pamamaraan ang Peace Talks para pag-usapan ang mga pundamental na isyu sa likod nito.

In this light, Mr. Speaker, I would like to share some indicators on the state of rights abuses in the country.

Last month January, 4 farmers and indigenous people fell victims to extra-judicial killings, mainly due to agrarian dispute and in defense of their ancestral lands;
While the President is pushing his Peace Agenda since last year to end of year,

o 10 fell victims to extra-judicial killings, 2 to enforced disappearances and 2 to torture;

o 14 to frustrated extra-judicial killing, 14,659 to threats and harassments;

o 4,170 endangered by indiscriminate firing, bombing and artillery fire;

o And 7,841 to occupation of schools, medical, religious and other structures for military purpose.

Samakatuwid, habang ang Pangulo at ang GRP Panel ay isinusulong ang formal peace negotiations sa NDFP, ang DND, AFP at ang mga para-military groups nito ay patuloy sa paghahasik ng karahasan sa malawak na mamamayan.

Kaya, maisasalarawan sa dalawang kampo ang usaping ito:

ang kampo para sa kapayapaan: ang malawak na mamamayan, mga manggagawa, mga magsasaka, maging mga kababayan natin sa ibang bansa, maging ang Royal Norwegian Gov’t, ang mga myembro ng kabinete na sila Ka Paeng Mariano, Ka Judy Taguiwalo at Ka Liza Maza, at ang mahigit sandaang mga kagalang-galang na kinatawan ng Kamara na sumamang maging may-akda ng House Resolution No. 769 na nanawagan ng pagpapatuloy ng Peace Talks;
at ang kampo ng gusto ng All-out War: ang DND sa ilalim ni Sec. Lorenzana, ang AFP sa ilalim ni Gen. Año, ang mga haciendero, kumprador at mga neo-liberalista na kontra sa mga pundamental na sosyo-ekonomikong pagbabago at ang imperyalistang US na kaaway ng mamamayang Pilipino.

Sa kontradiksyong ito, hinihikayat namin ang Pangulong Duterte na pumanig para sa kapayapaan at hindi para sa gera. Noong una pa man, nasa likod na kami at ang malawak na mamamayan sa kanyang Peace Agenda. At hindi rin ito panahon, para kanyang talikuran.

Kaya, bilang pagtatapos, iiwan ko ang mga mahahalagang panawagang ito:

Ipagpatuloy ang Peace Talks sa pagitan ng NDFP at gubyerno at i-deliberate ang Socio-Economic Reforms at Free Distribution of Lands para sa mga magsasaka.

Igalang ang mga nakaraang agreements tulad ng:
1998 Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law o CARHRIHL, at;
1995 Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees o JASIG!