THE government and the communist rebels will discuss an amnesty proclamation and the replacement to the bilateral ceasefire agreement that will lapse on Oct. 28 once they return to the negotiating table for the second round of peace talks on Thursday, an official said Monday.
In a statement, Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza said the government was confident it would be able to strike a deal with the rebels by August next year following a successful first round of talks in Oslo last August.
‘‘The previous ceasefires were unilateral,” Dureza said.
“We need to craft mechanisms to monitor violations and resolve the conflicts and issues arising from them.”
The unilateral ceasefires declared by the government and the National Democratic Front and the NDF are indefinite, but Dureza said the government was eying a more permanent cessation of hostilities.
“These can only be done if we are able to agree on the more substantial issues of social and economic reforms. These are the more contentious issues and we expect humps and bumps during the peace negotiations,” Dureza said.
Both panels have already written drafts of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms or CASER, which has been described as the “meat” of the peace talks.
The end of hostilities and disposition of forces”•the other substantive agenda of the peace talks”•hinge on the success of CASER, along with political and constitutional reforms.
The NDF negotiators, however, reminded their government counterparts that they needed to comply with the release of all political prisoners as stipulated in the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law or CARHRIHL
“The amnesty and release of all political prisoners is an act of righting the violations of the CARHRIHL and the Hernandez political offense doctrine,” Communist Party of the Philippines chairman Jose Maria Sison said.
“The release of all political prisoners would also serve as a very big incentive for a stable kind of ceasefire.”
Before embarking on a two-day state visit to Hanoi, President Rodrigo Duterte committed to the NDF that “the most expeditious way to release political prisoners is through an amnesty proclamation.”
Labor Secretary and chief government negotiator Silvestre Bello meanwhile says a draft amnesty proclamation is ready for submission during the second round of peace talks.
“The list has been narrowed down to just over 400 from a high of more than 500,” Bello said.
“As per agreement during the formal resumption of the peace talks in August, the proclamation will only cover NDF members currently detained.”
