Instead of peace talks, GRP dangles amnesty offer

In early September this year, presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. sent a text message to The STAR saying:

“We need to continue the dialogue with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and remove the conditions that can stall our aspiration for the final peace agreement. I am very positive and confident that with mutual respect, goodwill and understanding, we can finally achieve a principled and peaceful ending of the armed conflict and be able to transform the lives of our people towards lasting peace and development.”

At the time, Galvez said exploratory talks between the two sides were ongoing and that a “mission statement” was being finalized. The exploratory talks ensued from a Nov. 23, 2023 joint statement, signed in Oslo, Norway by Luis Jalandoni for the NDFP and Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo, special assistant to President Marcos, for the GRP, that they had agreed to return to the negotiating table.

A consensus had been arrived at after nearly two years of discreet informal discussions in Oslo, facilitated by the Norwegian government, on the following:

• Cognizance of all serious socioeconomic and environmental issues and the foreign security threats facing the Philippines and the need to unite as a nation to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict;

• Principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict, resolving its roots and ending it “shall pave the way for the transformation of the CPP-NPA-NDFP;”

• Agreeing on the framework that sets the priority for the peace negotiations with the aim of achieving the relevant socioeconomic and political reforms towards a just and lasting peace; and

• Such framework setting the parameters for the final peace agreement shall be agreed upon by both parties.

Sadly, the anticipated GRP-NDFP formal peace negotiations haven’t taken place to this day. No word whatsoever has emanated from the Marcos Jr. government to explain why.

A new peace advocacy group formed earlier in July, called the Council of Leaders for Peace Initiatives (CLPI), issued a statement shortly before Marcos Jr. delivered his third State of the Nation Address in August.

The group manifested deep concern that his silence on the peace talks indicated a “return to the policy of all-out war… aimed at crushing the revolutionary movement” – and they were correct on that observation.

Thus, they urged him to make a “clear and unqualified commitment to pursue a peaceful, negotiated solution” to the prolonged armed conflict by resuming the GRP-NDF formal peace negotiations “without preconditions, on the basis of previously inked bilateral agreements and bolstered by confidence and trust-building measures from both parties.”

The CLPI also asked Marcos Jr. to appoint the new members of the GRP negotiating panel and to release the NDFP peace consultants who have been arrested and held in detention, to enable them to perform their designated roles in the negotiations.

Marcos Jr. apparently ignored the ardent request of the new peace advocacy group, whose initial convenors included two prominent Catholic Church bishops, who both had served as president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines:  Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu and Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo. Other co-convenors are United Methodist Church Bishop Ruby-Nell Estrella and two college of law deans: Antonio La Viña of the Ateneo de Manila Observatory and Manuel Quibod of the Ateneo de Davao.

Last Wednesday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), headed by Galvez, did not speak about resuming the GRP-NDFP formal negotiations towards attaining a just and lasting peace.

Instead, it once more dangled amnesty, offering it as a “holiday gift” in the spirit of the Christmas season. It called on both active and former communist rebels to avail of the government’s offer of amnesty so that they can “restart life anew as peaceful and productive citizens.”

“Amnesty is today the government’s best gift [to rebels] as it will restore your political and civil rights,” said presidential assistant and OPAPRU spokesman Wilben Mayor. “Through this mechanism, you can rebuild your life,” he added.

If granted, he claimed, amnesty could restore all suspended or lost civil and political rights resulting from criminal conviction… [and] eliminate all criminal liability for acts covered by law that will have the most significant impact on former rebels.

The amnesty program covers acts of rebellion or insurrection, conspiracy to commit rebellion, sedition, illegal possession of firearms, ammunition or explosives and other acts related to rebellion.

Mayor explained that to ensure the “holistic transformation of former combatants,” President Marcos Jr. underscored the importance of granting amnesty as a key component of these efforts.

Galvez touts the government’s amnesty program as its “best policy” for dealing with “enemies of the state.” He is obviously unmindful of the stance of Leftist revolutionaries that amnesty is welcomed only as a component of a comprehensive peace agreement to end the almost six decades of armed conflict.

The period for filing applications for amnesty, Galvez emphasized, will end in the first quarter of 2026.

This year, he claimed, has turned out to be “another very successful one for [OPAPRU] and the comprehensive Philippine peace process as a whole.” For next year, he added, he had set more aggressive initiatives, especially in transforming the lives of former rebels.

OPAPRU had helped facilitate the surrender of 2,000 loose firearms from the provinces of Basilan, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi and Lanao del Norte that has reduced the threat of gun violence in these provinces, Galvez stressed.

From the P7-billion budget of his office in 2025, he said, P5.2 billion would be used to support transformation programs and projects for former Moro and communist insurgents.

The year 2025 will be filled with challenges, but the OPAPRU is ready to face all trials head-on and is committed to deliver on their promise to attain peace via amnesty, Galvez concluded.

That, of course, remains to be seen.

A peaceful, happy new year to one and all!