Exploratory talks between PHL, Maoists ‘ongoing’
THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT and the local Maoist movement were still in exploratory talks for the resumption of their peace negotiations, a presidential peace adviser said on Monday.
The exploratory talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines’ political wing were still “ongoing” as seen in a November mission statement by the two camps, Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr. said at a Palace briefing.
Mr. Galvez was referring to a joint communique signed by the two camps in November last year to signify their openness to peace negotiations amid “serious socioeconomic and environmental issues” as well as foreign security threats facing the country.
The Cabinet official said there are three processes under a peace negotiation, including coming up with a vision statement and a framework agreement.
“Then number three is the final peace agreement,’’ he added.
In their joint communique, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Philippine government recognized the “need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict,” citing socioeconomic and environmental issues as well as foreign aggression.
It was signed by the Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Ernesto “Anton” F. Lagdameo, Jr. on behalf of the Philippine government with Mr. Galvez and former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista as witnesses.
NDFP’s National Executive Council member Luis G. Jalandoni, Negotiating Panel interim chairperson Julieta de Lima, and member Coni Ledesma signed the agreement.
The communique acknowledges Mr. Bautista for initiating informal talks in the past years with the late NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria C. Sison, founder of the 55-year-old Maoist insurgency.
Earlier in the day, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Monday vowed to implement all signed peace agreements with various rebel groups including those covering the country’s south.
“You can depend on this Administration to implement all signed peace agreements for the security, the inclusive progress, and stability not only in Mindanao but throughout the country,” he said in a speech marking the 28th anniversary of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
He said peace processes with former revolutionary organizations including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army, and a communist-inspired partisan group were in “the advanced stages of implementation.”
He also cited the implementation of a transformation program that seeks to uplift the socio-economic conditions of MNLF combatants, their families, and communities.
The 1996 agreement is the government’s main policy framework in implementing a 1976 pact between the Philippine state and MNLF for the establishment of an autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.
The 1970s pact has two phases: the integration of MNLF members into the Philippine military and police, and the implementation of individual and community-level interventions to deliver peace dividends, according to Mr. Marcos’ office.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity engages with two primary MNLF groups: the faction led by founding Chairman Nur Misuari; and the group led by BARMM Minister of Labor and Employment Datu Muslimin Sema.
Meanwhile, Mr. Marcos called on the MNLF and other stakeholders to ensure a peaceful and credible conduct of the Bangsamoro region’s first parliament elections next year.
“The forthcoming election is an important reminder not only of the democracy that empowers us to mold our destinies but also of the visionaries who paved the way for the freedom that we all relish today,” he said.
Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, BARMM was inaugurated in 2019 following a peace negotiation between Moro separatists and the Philippine government in 2014 that paved the way for an organic law in 2018.
The first-ever parliament elections in the region was originally set for May 2022 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and the failure to come up with an electoral code. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza