WHEN the government unilaterally terminated the peace talks in November 2017, there were already significant advancements in the negotiations.
These advancements were in the form of tentative agreements on the sections of agrarian reform and rural development and national industrialization and economic development of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER); coordinated unilateral ceasefire; and, amnesty of all political prisoners listed by the NDFP.
These agreements had been formulated and initialed by representatives of the national government and the National Democratic Front during the monthly informal or back channel talks from March to June 2018 and were subject to finalization in the aborted fifth round of formal talks on June 28, 2018.
This was why when the talks were terminated, not a few expressed disappointment.
On Sept. 12, the House Special Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity passed House Resolution 1803 urging President Duterte to resume the peace talks. This is a positive move by the committee members and contributes to calls of various other sectors and groups to continue the peace negotiations. The National Democratic Front has made it clear it is always open to the resumption of peace negotiations in accordance with all signed agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL), without preconditions.
We hope this welcome move by the House Special Committee can encourage President Duterte to go back to the negotiating table and work towards a just and lasting peace.
We hope we can all support the resumption of the peace talks and that both sides would work on this double time to reach the deadline. After all, the government and the rebels have been in negotiation for decades and there are already draft agreements. It is not impossible for both sides to come up with agreements that are acceptable to everyone and beneficial to the Filipino people.
We want to achieve genuine and lasting peace.
