A militant lawmaker on Monday expressed hope the government peace efforts with the communist rebels would push through next month.
“The Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms [Caser] is a make or break stage of the negotiations as the issues being discussed like the prevalence of landlessness, the lack of national industrialization and extreme economic exploitation of majority of Filipinos are among the main reasons of the almost five-decade-old armed conflict,” Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said.
“Hopefully, it can be signed this year so that the panels can move on the remaining agenda of the talks,” he added.
Zarate, chairman of the House committee on peace, unity and reconciliation, made the remarks after Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who also serves as government peace panel chairman, said formal peace talks between the government and the communist National Democratic Front were expected to resume early next month following an interim peace agreement by both parties.
“More than the bilateral ceasefire, the signing of the CASER and its thorough implementation, which would pave the way for giving lands to landless peasants and industrialize our lagging nation, would be a safeguard against armed hostilities,” Zarate said.
Zarate said it would be best, too, that the talks be conducted still in a neutral venue to ensure that no undue pressure or interference could be exerted on either party; and the negotiations could go as smoothly and unhampered as possible.
“We laud and thank the Royal Norwegian Government for the perseverance and the continuing facilitation of the negotiations, “ Zarate said.