The left-leaning Makabayan Bloc in the House of Representatives on Friday assailed the new conditions set by the Duterte administration for the resumption of the stalled peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front.
The group said the government appeared to have made it difficult for the peace talks to proceed by setting conditions.
“We call on the people to rally against Duterte’s militarist policy and press for the immediate resumption of the peace talks based on the previous agreements and those signed last June 9,” the group said.
The bloc made its statement even as Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Filipinos had long wised up to the empty doctrines of the insurgents that guerrilla fighters were surrendering in record numbers to the government.
Lorenzana issued the statement Thursday to belie Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison’s claims that President Rodrigo Duterte and the “pro-US militarists” in the security cluster of his Cabinet were destabilizing their own regime.
The Makabayan Bloc coalition is composed of Party-list Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna, Antonio Tinio and France Castro of ACT Teachers Party-list, Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis and Sarah Elago of Kabataan.
Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said that, in addition to holding the talks in the Philippines rather than abroad as had been done since 1992, the resumption of the peace talks would be subject to other "wishes of the President.
The other conditions were no power-sharing or a coalition government with the communist rebels, a stop to their revolutionary tax collection, and a ceasefire agreement requiring the New People’s Army encamped in designated areas and for localized peace talks to start.”
“It has long been the practice of the peace negotiations that there should be no conditions in starting or resuming the talks and instead confidence-building measures are undertaken by the two parties,” the bloc said.
But now the Duterte administration would like to reinvent the wheel of the peace talks to their specifications or tamper previously signed agreements foremost of which are the Hague Declaration, Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees which defines the agenda, conduct, and venue of the talks.
While they are setting preconditions for the peace talks, they are also working to jail the consultants of the NDF. After intensifying their verbal and legal attacks against the peace negotiators of the NDFP by vilifying them as spoiled brats, now they want the NDFP consultants to be jailed.”
According to media reports, five NDFP peace consultants—Benito Tiamzon, Adelberto Silva, Rafael Baylosis, Randall Echanis and Vicente Ladlad—were earlier allowed to travel abroad to participate in the stalled negotiations as consultants of the National Democratic Front supposedly scheduled last June 28.
“The peace negotiations have been painstakingly worked on by both parties since 1992. It should not be taken lightly as if the past agreements are not binding,” the group said. With PNA
