The Defense department said on Tuesday that the government is serious in pursuing peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed component, the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
During the traditional joint Department of National Defense-Armed Forces of the Philippines New year’s Call at Camp Aguinaldo, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said “the government is serious in talking with the CPP-NPA because we have not had a good relationship and because we want to have peace.”
Earlier, CPP founding Chairman Jose Ma. Sison expressed his desire to resume the stalled peace talks with the government which he said could start after the visit of Pope Francis early this month.
While there was no formal meeting between the two parties, both panel have signified their interest in returning to the negotiating table, according to Secretary Teresita Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Sison had said that he was optimistic that both sides could still reach a breakthrough within the remaining months of the Aquino administration.
The CPP-NPA, however, had issued pre-conditions for the resumption of the talks, including the release of arrested communist consultants, particularly Benito and Wilma Tiamzon.
Gazmin said, however, that the conditions aired by the CPP-NPA could be taken up during the negotiations.
“That is under negotiation, it could be talked about. It could be given or not, depending on the talks but what is important here is both parties are amenable to sitting down and talk to each other,” he said.
Formal talks between the GPH and CPP-NPA collapsed in 2004 after rebels accused former President Arroyo of reneging on several agreements, among them the release of all political prisoners in the country and the removal of the terrorist tag on the CPP-NDF-NPA.
During the early part of the Aquino administration, there were efforts to revive the peace negotiations but these too bogged down.
The government eventually suspended the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees after the peace talks failed.
Switching to another topic, Gazmin reminded the 125,000-strong AFP officers and soldiers that their mandate, as enshrined in the Constitution, is to remain non-partisan especially now that the presidential elections is drawing near.
The AFP chief said all AFP personnel should commit themselves to provide genuine public service and not to engage in politicking.
“In anticipation of the forthcoming national elections in May 2016, I wish to remind the members of our armed forces to strictly abide with their constitutional mandate, that they should not be involved in partisan politics, and they shall not engage directly or indirectly in any partisan political activity, except to vote,” Gazmin said.
“It is likewise the time for us to rededicate ourselves to the ideals of genuine public service,” said Gazmin.
“It is the moment to renew our pledge to the nation and, true to our constitutional mandate, we should faithfully discharge our security duties and functions,” he added.
Gazmin’s call comes in the wake of a separate statement by President Benigno Aquino III to the soldiers not to be persuaded by political deceit as there would be attempts to solicit their support during the 2016 elections.
In 2005, the military was dragged in the infamous “Hello Garci” scandal during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which involved rigging the results of the 2004 presidential elections.
Several key military officers, including the former chief of the intelligence of the armed forces, Vice Admiral Tirso Danga were mentioned in the taped conversation of then Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano which came out in public as the infamous “hello Garci” tape recordings.