Free political prisoners, Arroyo government urged

The National Democratic Front (NDF) urged the Arroyo administration to free all political prisoners as a "goodwill and confidence-building measure" for the resumption of peace negotiations.

Jose Ma. Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines and NDF chief political consultant, said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can find "precedence" in the "unilateral act" of former President Corazon Aquino who ordered the release of all political prisoners after the fall of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

In exchange, Sison said the NDF is ready to free its two "prisoners of war" — police Chief Inspector Abelardo Martin and Maj. Noel Buan, an Army intelligence officer.

Earlier, CPP spokesman and New People’s Army chief Gregorio Rosal said they are ready to negotiate the release of Buan and Martin with the Arroyo government.

Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said yesterday the military has yet to establish contact with the NPA command in Southern Tagalog which holds Buan and Martin captive.

Ermita said Mrs. Arroyo has assured the families of the two captives that they would be released.

Meanwhile, Sison said the NDF presumes that the resumption of peace talks would mean the revival of all agreements they had forged with the government.

He said these accords include the Hague Joint Declaration, the joint agreement on safety and immunity guarantees and the comprehensive agreement on respect for human rights and international humanitarian laws.

Peace negotiations with the communist movement bogged down when the NDF withdrew from the talks after the Senate ratified the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States in 1999.

"The peace negotiations made substantial progress during the term of (former) President Ramos, until (the) Estrada (administration) deliberately scuttled them," Sison said.

In another development, the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB) and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas have expressed their desire to continue peace discussions with the Arroyo administration.

RPA-ABB national commander Carapali Lualhati said it is up to Mrs. Arroyo to recognize the accord their group signed with the peace panel headed by former Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara last December. — With Jose Rodel Clapano, Christina Mendez and Antonieta Lopez