A group of peace advocates called on the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. government to release all National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultants as a trust building measure in ongoing efforts to revive formal peace negotiations.
The Council of Leaders for Peace Initiatives (CLPI) in a statement said the arrests of Porferio Tuna, Simeon Naogsan and Wigberto Villarico last month could derail the progress and could even result in the abandonment of the process.
“Such arrests have a chilling effect on the peace process and erodes the trust that is so necessary to move forward to fulfill the promise made with on what the Oslo statement promised,” CLPI, through its lead convenor and former Ateneo Law School Dean Antonio La Viña said Thursday.
The group said that in a few weeks, on November 23, 2023, the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) will be marking the first-year anniversary of their signing of the Oslo Joint Statement announcing ongoing dialogues to revive the negotiations.
“That gave the country hope that we will be able to finally achieve a just and lasting peace of a conflict, rooted in legitimate socioeconomic and political grievances, that has gone on for decades,” CLPI said.
The GRP should release Tuna, Naogsan and Villarico who, as announced by the NDFP, are peace consultants protected by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, the group said.
The group said it is clear that there are elements in the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration that are working to block any progress towards a permanent peace agreement between the government and the NDFP.
The hawks and hardliners espousing an all-out war approach to the armed conflict in contravention to the pronouncements of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and the President himself must be exposed and condemned, it added.
The group appealed to Marcos Jr. to rein the saboteurs and reiterate his administration’s commitment to work towards a peace agreement.
It also called on the parties to move forward on the exploratory talks and agree on the framework for the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.
“It is most urgent for them to agree soonest on confidence and trust building measures, including temporary ceasefires, and protection protocols and mechanisms for all participants in the process,” it said.
CLPI said it affirm their trust in the ongoing process of discreet talks under the auspices of the Royal Norwegian Government.
“We also hold fast to our belief in the sincerity of the two Parties in pursuing this difficult but indispensable road to peace,” it added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)