ALL peace-loving Filipinos should welcome the possible continuation of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
The peace process is an important venue for discussions and actions on the root causes of the armed conflict, including long-standing issues concerning civil, political, economic and social rights of the Filipino people, which are among the substantive agenda in the peace talks.
But with the continuing accusation of human rights violations by State forces, malicious pronouncements inciting rights violations and war crimes, and even the propensity for double talk, there is great distrust on the sincerity to live up to commitments and obligations. With this, it is important for both parties, especially the Duterte government, to reaffirm commitment to previously signed agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
The government and the communists have been in negotiation for decades and there are already draft agreements. Surely, both sides can come up with agreements that are acceptable to everyone and beneficial to the Filipino people.
One of the important agreements to be finalized is the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), which is considered the heart and soul of the peace talks.
NDFP’s proposed CASER contains provisions on various socio-economic concerns — agrarian reform and rural development; national industrialization and economic development; environmental protection, rehabilitation and compensation; rights of the working people; promoting patriotic, progressive and pro-people culture; recognition of ancestral lands and territories of national minorities; and ensuring economic sovereignty for national development through foreign economic and trade relations, financial, monetary and fiscal policies, and social and economic planning.
We want to achieve genuine and lasting peace. We must all be vigilant and engaged in the peace process.
