Palace denies scuttling P-Noy-Joma meeting

MANILA, Philippines - Irreconcilable differences between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines have made it unlikely that the proposed meeting of President Aquino and CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison would take place, a Malacañang official clarified yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda belied insinuations by the CPP’s umbrella organization National Democratic Front that Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas scuttled the meeting.

“That is incorrect. That is just a spin of the NDF,” he told a news briefing, noting that Llamas was authorized to discuss the matter with Sison in the Netherlands, but still nothing came out of it due to the impossible conditions the CPP had imposed.

“There were certain commitments that they want from us. Those are commitments that were not acceptable to the government,” Lacierda explained, downplaying the commitment Llamas failed to make, due to the absence of a mandate.

“It’s not true that Ronald was a party spoiler. There were conditions that were not agreed upon. There was no meeting of minds,” he told Palace reporters.

The NDF attributed the failed Aquino-Sison meeting to the alleged duplicity of government representatives after Llamas failed to realize the proposed meeting in Hanoi early this year after the discussions in the Netherlands last October and November.

This was contained in a lengthy report the NDF made, in relation to the Philippine delegation to a “special track” meeting with government representatives.

The report was submitted to the NDF national council. The proposed meeting was supposed to be reminiscent of the meeting between Aquino and Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo in August 2012 that resulted in the speedy negotiations with the Moro rebels.

According to the CPP/NDF, this was supposed to “stimulate the forging of a general or common declaration for effecting truce and cooperation” between the government and the NDF.

NDF chairman Luis Jalandoni said the idea collapsed because of two issues – the government’s continued failure to release detained CPP consultants and its alleged “maneuver to trap the NDF into indefinite ceasefires.” 

Aquino open to return of Joma

In March 2012, Aquino said Sison could return to the Philippines if he wants to, especially if there is already a clear understanding in the peace talks between the government and the rebels.

“There’s no negotiation yet on his return,” said Aquino, in effect belying reports that Llamas and other left-leaning groups inside the President’s circle have been pushing for Sison’s return.

Aquino told reporters in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro that Sison’s homecoming should result in something significant to the government’s efforts to facilitate the peace process and end several decades of communist rebellion.

A reliable source revealed to The STAR that Llamas already went to Utrecht twice to convince Sison to come home.

“The objective is to create more cracks in the communist movement. But Joma does not want to come home. It is only Llamas who really wanted him to come back,” the source said, noting that Sison’s presence could create more animosities in the organization.

“If that happens, Benito and Wilma Tiamzon would get angry,” the source said, referring to the Tiamzon couple who are among the local CPP leaders and also members of the party’s central committee.

The NDF claimed that the proposed meeting between Aquino and Sison did not happen due to the government’s refusal to release rebels who are also peace consultants.

Another issue that reportedly plagued the talks is the “government’s scheme of simultaneous, unilateral and indefinite ceasefires” which, the NDF said, would allow security forces to continue violence.

NDF said the proposed meeting between Aquino and Sison was a “mere ploy or bait” to convince its negotiators to sign a government draft declaration in just one or two meetings.

“The government has deliberately refused to comply with its commitments in agreements forged with the NDF, despite the full knowledge that compliance would immediately break the impasse and cause the resumption of the formal talks,” NDF said.

The communists also scored the government for not releasing their supposed peace consultants who are covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). The agreement provides immunity from arrest to NDF peace consultants.

Some of the alleged peace consultants are leaders of the New People’s Army who are facing criminal cases.

“NDF representatives demanded the release of political prisoners, detained NDF consultants and JASIG-protected persons, as well as the investigation of the disappearances and killings of NDF consultants,” the NDF report read. – With Alexis Romero