Group: Gov't opts to use military option than negotiation

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines remains in the United States' 2013 watch list of trading partners that need to improve the 

MANILA, Philippines - Rights group Karapatan on Thursday claimed that the Aquino administration has left the peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines to justify its use of the military option.

Karapatan Chair Marie Hilao-Enriquez said the government peace panel opted to leave the negotiation table with the communist rebels to meet Oplan Bayanihan's self-imposed deadline and render the CPP-NPA-NDF"insignificant."

"With eight months left to Oplan Bayanihan’s self-imposed deadline... the Aquino government is again turning the table against the NDFP negotiating panel, in a bid for a graceful exit from the peace talks and to justify intensified attacks... against the ordinary tao," Hilao-Enriquez said.

She issued the statement after GPH peace panel chair, Alex Padilla "who threw a tantrum before the media and unilaterally declared the collapse of the peace talks between the GPH and the NDFP."

Hilao-Enriquez is an independent observer to the peace negotiation between the GPH and the NDFP.

"The GPH’s sincerity to resolve the causes of the armed conflict is questionable from the very beginning," she added.

Hilao-Enriquez also cited the GPH’s refusal to release the detained NDFP consultants despite the GPH’s commitment “to release most, if not all” NDFP consultants. 

The GPH’s commitment was contained in a joint statement with the NDFP in the February 2011 talks. 

"The consultants should not be in jail, in the first place, because they are covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees that was signed as early as 1995," she said. 

The NDF consultants are slapped with criminal charges.

"In the years that I have been involved in the peace negotiation as an observer, I haven’t seen any proposal from the GPH that would facilitate the resolution of the root causes of the armed conflict. 

"All the GPH want is for the CPP-NPA-NDF to lay down its arms and surrender. It’s essentially ending the peace talks. If that happens, nothing would be resolved; oppression and exploitation of the majority of the poor Filipinos will remain," she said.