MANILA, Philippines — Law enforcement authorities' consecutive arrests of three peace consultants this month has triggered a fresh crisis in peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
In a statement on Monday, October 28, Julie de Lima, chairperson of the NDFP's negotiating panel, said authorities have detained Porferio Tuna, Simeon Naogsan and Wigberto Villarico in violation of a standing agreement protecting peace consultants from arrest.
The government, through a statement from National Security Council spokesperson Jonathan Malaya over the weekend, declared the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG) void after the Duterte administration terminated the deal when it canceled peace talks in 2017.
De Lima countered this by saying the 1995 agreement requires formal procedures for termination and cannot be removed through media statements alone.
"Such agreements are the product of formal negotiations and mutual commitment, rooted in both national and international legal principles, and cannot be undone unilaterally or casually," De Lima said.
The JASIG refers to the agreement between then-President Fidel Ramos and the NDF signed in 1995 that shields all persons involved in peace talks from harassment, arrest and detention.
Dispute over whether JASIG remains in effect dates back to 2017, when then-President Rodrigo Duterte announced its termination alongside the canceled peace talks. This move allowed authorities to re-arrest NDFP consultants who had been temporarily released for the negotiations.
However, the NDFP has always maintained that a unilateral termination cannot void the immunity guarantees, which they say require formal procedures and mutual agreement to terminate.
"By repeatedly violating these protections, the GRP has disregarded its own commitments and continues to push the ongoing talks to the brink of collapse," De Lima said.
"We wish to reiterate the NDFP’s policy of openness to resume peace negotiations, but how can we possibly engage in meaningful negotiations when our negotiators and consultants are subjected to arrests, killings, and torture?" she said.
Who are the three peace consultants?
Tuna, who served as a peace consultant during the NDFP's talks with the government in Norway in 2016, was arrested on October 2 in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. He was arrested based on charges of murder, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention, but the panel said these charges are "bogus" and falsified to keep him in jail.
Meanwhile, Naogsan was arrested on murder charges in Bacarra, Ilocos Norte on October 21. He was a spokesperson for the Cordillera Peoples Democratic Front.
Three days later, Villarico was arrested in Quezon City during a joint operation by the military and police during the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. Security adviser Eduardo Año tagged him as the CPP's acting chairperson and described him as "the last Communist leader at large capable of commanding both the party and its armed wing, the New People's Army."
The supposed top brass of the party was arrested on kidnapping with murder charges. Tight-lipped on Villarico's actual position in the party, the CPP has since called for his immediate release and denounced the NDFP consultant's arrest.
De Lima said Malaya's claim that Villarico is not an NDFP consultant was false, adding that he has regularly engaged with the panel as a representative of the Southern Tagalog region and brought farmers' and workers' concerns to the fore.
Same old obstacles ahead
These arrests mark the latest in what the NDFP describes as a pattern of detentions, torture, and killings of their consultants under the current administration. While the NDFP remains open to dialogue, they argue these actions pose "both a practical and political obstacle to the ongoing talks."
"It is unacceptable that while the GRP claims to pursue peace, it simultaneously targets and imprisons those working to achieve it," De Lima said.
"These grave human rights violations demonstrate not only a disregard for JASIG and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), but also a complete lack of respect for the lives and freedoms of those working for a just resolution to the armed conflict," she added.
Over five decades of hostilities between the government and the NPA — the longest-running active rebellion in Asia — have resulted in an estimated 40,000 deaths, including civilians.