Government peace panel won’t return to talks yet

MANILA, Philippines - The Duterte administration is not terminating peace talks with the communist National Democratic Front (NDF), but the government is not yet returning to the negotiating table, the government peace panel said yesterday.

In a press conference in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the government panel is not changing its decision not to participate in the fifth round of peace talks with the NDF, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

“There are no compelling reasons for us to change the decision that we have arrived at and which we have announced yesterday… We will see how this is going to feedback on the whole gamut of the peace process,” he said.

Government peace panel chairman Silvestre Bello III clarified that the government is not ending the peace talks.

“What is clear is we are withdrawing from the fifth round of talks. But we are not terminating the talks,” Bello said.

As to agreements signed during the previous rounds of talks, Dureza said these would not be affected and would stay. “These agreements have to be honored. Unless otherwise revoked.”

The working committees of the peace panels will also temporarily stop holding their formal meetings.

Some members of the government negotiating panel will stay in the Netherlands while others will return to the Philippines.

“I’m staying. I’m planning to meet the Filipino community,” Bello said.

Dureza reiterated that the government panel’s decisions have always been dependent on that of President Duterte.

Duterte suspended the talks with the NDF over the continued attacks of the CPP’s armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

Dureza was asked if the government is satisfied with the NDF’s explanation on why the CPP ordered the NPA to intensify its attacks against government forces after Duterte placed Mindanao under martial law. He said “there is no change of the situation.”

“That is why we are not changing the announcement yesterday. A lot of things happened, but our decision in announcing that we are not participating in the fifth round of talks was because we don’t have yet that enabling environment conducive to peace negotiation. Nothing has changed from there,” he explained.

“As you know, the peace process oversaw a lot of paths to peace. We will continue engaging those who wish to engage with us. We have to engage stakeholders. We will see how this is going to impact. Right now, we are not yet very sure how this is going to impact. We will see how this develops.

“The formal talks are off as you know. But it does not mean that we cannot do conversation,” he added.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) also called on the NPA not to complicate the situation while the peace talks are suspended.

“At the onset of the Marawi terror incident, we appealed to the NPA not to complicate the ongoing situation. Their actions only showed their true color of not giving premium to the efforts for lasting peace in our country,” PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Dionardo Carlos told The STAR.

Dureza clarified that the issues with the Maute group that has been terrorizing Mindanao are different from the issues with the NDF.

“The problem there is about extremism and terrorism that distracted ordinary governance work of the government in Lanao del Sur,” he said.

“There are other ways of seeking peaceful solutions to NDF. Stay the course, as we always say. As you know exactly, we want to see a conducive and enabling environment conducive to peace negotiations. Progress from where we are,” he added.

NDF blames gov’t

The NDF has blamed the government for disrupting the talks, accusing it of making “unreasonable demands.”

NDF chairman Fidel Agcaoili said the CPP’s order to intensify attacks against government forces was in response to the “intensified” military operations and “widespread human rights violations preceding and following the declaration of martial law in the whole of Mindanao.”

“Duterte justified his action by citing as reason the terrorist actions of the Maute group in Marawi City. But (Defense Secretary Delfin) Lorenzana declared that the NPA was also a target of AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) military operations,” he added.

Agcaoili said while Bello made a subsequent clarification that martial law was not aimed at the NPA, the military carried out “attacks” against revolutionary forces.

He said the demand for an immediate ceasefire is unreasonable “because there are no agreements on reforms in place” and “it one-sidedly demands from the NPA to stop fighting while the AFP continues its all-out war against the NPA and the people.”

“There is impunity in carrying out atrocities against the masses in the rural areas and the ensuing widespread human rights violations under martial law,” Agcaoili said.

Militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) also called on the government to resume peace talks with the NDF.

“We call on the government panel to reconsider its cancelation of participation in the talks and immediately get back to the negotiating table. The government should also stop insolently setting unjust and capitulating preconditions that hinder the advancement of the peace talks that have relatively been moving forward for almost a year now,” KMU said.

KMU also said the government panel’s cancellation of the fifth round of peace talks is “grossly unacceptable and disappointing” to Filipino workers looking forward to the discussions on agrarian reform and rural development.  

On the other hand, the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) urged Lorenzana to resign, blaming him for the suspension of the fifth round of talks. – Jose Rodel Clapano, Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mayen Jaymalin, Ding Cervantes