MILITANT alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Panay welcomes the latest developments on the prospects of peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). This was announced through simultaneous press conferences of both parties where they read the joint statement agreeing “to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict.”
In a joint statement signed last Nov. 23, exactly six years after then-President Rodrigo Duterte terminated the talks in 2017, “both parties recognize the need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues, and foreign security threats facing the country, and to resolve reasons for the armed conflict.”
They both acknowledge the “deep-rooted socioeconomic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiations to achieve socioeconomic and political reforms towards a just and lasting peace.”
Over the past years, while the Filipino people have suffered the brunt of the rising prices of basic commodities, such as rice, oil, and many others, there has been no significant wage increase, and human rights violations have continued and worsened. Policies and programs under Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration only furthered the suffering of the poor.
Previous peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP have resulted in significant agreements such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect of Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law (CARHIHL), and an initial draft of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), and so we urge both parties to resume the peace talks, continue and finalize the CASER which can address the issues of the lack of decent jobs and livable wage, landlessness, poverty, social injustices and continued attacks against the people.
May the government be reminded of its mandate to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. We hope that the peace negotiations may lead to significant progress in addressing the root causes of the armed conflict and achieving peace based on justice.
Bayan-Panay believes that an all-out war against the people has been proven ineffective in addressing the roots of the armed conflict and has only inflicted many serious violations against the people. Our support for the resumption of the peace talks also comes with our calls to abolish the NTF-ELCAC, junk the draconian Anti-Terror Law, and remove from the terrorist designation the NDFP, its panel members and consultants, and many other activists who are campaigning for the respect of human rights and for just and lasting peace in our country.
In order to fully participate in the negotiations, we join the call for the release of peace consultants and hundreds of political prisoners who are unjustly and unlawfully incarcerated for their political beliefs. We call on the people to join the call for the resumption of the peace talks and join the campaigns to educate more and more Filipinos about the peace process and what’s at stake for us in this process. – ELMER FORRO, secretary general, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Panay <bayanpanay2014@gmail.com>
