C. Valley rebels reject localized peace talks

ILAGAN, Isabela — Cagayan Valley leaders of the New People’s Army (NPA) have rejected the call of Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca for localized peace talks.

In a statement, Salvador del Pueblo, spokesman of the Cagayan Valley Regional Party Committee of the CPP-NPA-NDF, said such localized peace talks cannot be pursued while negotiations are ongoing between the government and the National Democratic Front, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

A local radio station read Del Pueblo’s statement last Friday.

Padaca, who was accused of conniving with communist rebels in terrorizing Isabela voters during the campaign but which she vehemently denied, vowed to pursue peace talks between the local NPA and the Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu town.

Isabela has been reputed to be a stronghold of the communist movement, with the NPA claiming to have influence on a number of municipalities near the Northern Sierra Madre mountain ranges.

Padaca’s peace initiative has drawn the support of Bishop Sergio Utleg of the Diocese of Ilagan and Alicia Mayor Napoleon Dy, president of the Isabela chapter of the League of Municipalities.

Dy is the younger brother of former governor Faustino Dy Jr., who lost to Padaca in the tightly contested May 10 gubernatorial race.

Reacting to Del Pueblo’s statement, Utleg said the local Maoist movement would lose "the opportunity to trace the roots of the armed conflict in order to find a lasting solution to it, even at the local level."

Government chief peace negotiator Silvestre Bello III refused to comment, saying he wants to personally confirm the NPA’s rejection of the local peace initiative.

For her part, Padaca said she respects the decision of the CPP-NPA-NDF’s Cagayan Valley Regional Party Committee.

Still, Padaca renewed her call for localized peace talks, giving assurance that the discussions would tackle issues within the framework of the peace negotiations between the government and the NDF.

Meanwhile, Ernesto Alcanzare, lead convenor of the Yes for Peace movement, said he will conduct a survey in key Isabela towns to ascertain if Isabelinos really want their province freed from the armed conflict between the government and the communist rebels.