“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
THE PHILIPPINE Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) welcomes with joy and thanksgiving the Joint Statement of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front (NDFP) on a common vision for peace. This was signed at Oslo City Hall in Norway on November 23, 2023.
It is truly a remarkable gift for peace advocates in the country. It is a glorious positive sign marking the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On September 1, 2022, the PEPP wrote to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. “to reconstitute the GRP Peace Panel and resume the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, respecting the work and upholding the agreements that have been entered into by past leaderships.”
The PEPP also urged that “both parties returning to the negotiating table has the potential to mitigate human rights violations and the loss of lives consequent to this armed conflict.” We affirm the letter with renewed enthusiasm.
We hope that the Joint Statement, which is an offshoot of the informal discussions that started in 2022 between emissaries of the GRP and the NDFP and facilitated by the Royal Norwegian Government (RNG) will be realized.
We reiterate our call for the two parties to resume the formal peace talks earnestly to address the roots of the armed conflict so that a Final Peace Agreement may come to pass.
We hope that various barriers to peace will be resolved through dialogue and principled negotiations.
Finally, we call on all people of goodwill to continue working and praying for peace. Let us support this effort by the two parties and the third-party facilitator, the Royal Norwegian Government. With the power of the Holy Spirit, let us declare: Resume the GRP-NDFP Formal Peace Talks! — PHILIPPINE ECUMENICAL PEACE PLATFORM <peaceplatform2022@gmail.com>
