THE communist National Democratic Front had already signed a draft peace agreement in December 2014, but the Aquino administration rejected the pact purportedly because of the Mamasapano incident, NDF peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni said Thursday.
“The agreement contained provisions for long-term truce and cooperation as well as social economic reform and the release of NDF consultants,” Jalandoni said in a telephone interview from The Netherlands.
The agreement was dated Dec. 8, 2014 and signed by former interior undersecretary Hernani Braganza for the government, Jalandoni for the NDF and authenticated by Elisabeth Slattum, special envoy of the Royal Norwegian Government.
“[But] It did not prosper. The draft agreement was apparently rebuffed by [presidential peace adviser Teresita] Deles,” Jalandoni said, adding that Aquino even “disauthorized” Braganza to pursue talks with the communist leaders.
“At first we thought Deles only elbowed Nani [Braganza] out of the way so she could take credit, but she did nothing to follow it up,” said CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, who was also contacted in The Netherlands where he and Jalandoni have been in exile since 1987.
Both Sison and Jalandoni surmised that Deles may not have wanted to deal with Braganza on a possible peace pact with the NDF because of some unspecified “misunderstanding.”
Jalandoni said they expected the resumption of peace talks in January 2015, but it was put in the backburner after the uproar over the Jan. 25, 2015 killing of 44 police commandos in an operation to neutralize Malaysian bomb maker Zulkifli bin Hir in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
After the public condemnation of the incident, the NDF again tried to resume talks because they believed it was “doable” even in the last six months of the Aquino administration.
“We talked to them again and told them we are willing to try even if there were only a few months left in the Aquino administration. We said maybe we could pursue the truce agreement and the agreement on social economic reforms,” Jalandoni said.
“But the camp of Deles told us, ‘the runway is already short’,” Jalandoni quoted Deles as saying.
So the Aquino administration should not blame the NDF and say that the communist movement does not want peace because it is the Aquino administration who did not want peace when it was offered to them.
Jalandoni accused Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda of twisting facts when the latter accused the rebel movement of refusing to come to the negotiating table.
“The Aquino regime’s spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, should check the facts before pronouncing the false claim that ‘they (the National Democratic Front of the Philippines [NDFP]) refused to come to the table’,” Jalandoni said.
Jalandoni made the remark after Malacañang condemned the bloody attack of more than 100 NPA fighters against a convoy of more than 60 policemen in the mountainous town of Baggao, Cagayan that resulted in the death of six cops and injury to 16 others.
“His answer, in contradiction to the facts, tries to put the blame on the revolutionary movement,” Jalandoni said.
“The facts are: 1) in October, December 2014 and February 2015, the NDFP Negotiating Panel received a delegation from the Aquino regime which was led by former DAR Secretary, Hernani Braganza, close associate of then DILG Secretary Mar Roxas,” Jalandoni recalled.
“On Dec. 8, 2014, a Draft Peace Agreement was signed by both sides, authenticated by Royal Norwegian Government Special Envoy, Ms. Elisabeth Slattum, proposing truce and cooperation within the term of the Aquino government,” he said.
“On Feb. 18, 19 and 20, 2015, the team of Mr. Braganza returned and a proposal for truce and cooperation was drafted by both sides to be presented to the Aquino regime, then beleaguered with the Mamasapano fiasco,” Jalandoni said.
“These efforts were rebuffed and set aside by [Peace Process] Secretary Teresita Deles and not acted on by President Aquino. The Braganza team was disauthorized.
“The combined peace initiatives of the Braganza team, the NDFP Negotiating Panel and the Royal Norwegian Government Special Envoy thus have come to naught. The responsibiilty lies squarely on Secretary Deles and President Aquino,” he added.