“We expect that there will be no more delays. The talks have already wasted so much time. We have done our assignment and will bring to the table concrete proposals on agrarian reform and rural development, national industrialization, protection of the environment. This is a clear path to take for a just and lasting peace,” Jazmines concluded.
Media Release | 08 July 2017 The National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms (NDFP RWC SER) said rural-based sectors are looking forward […]
The Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP RWC-SER) welcomes the announcement that the fifth round of formal peace talks between the NDFP and the GRP might resume in August. At the same time, the NDFP RWC-SER condemns Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana’s earlier statement that the “government panel should consider ending the peace process.”
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has clarified that the New People’s Army (NPA) is not a target of the declaration of martial law in Mindanao, contrary to an earlier statement by GRP DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, in the fight against terrorist groups such as the Maute group and Abu Sayyaf that are attempting to affiliate with the CIA-created ISIS or Daesh.
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) makes it appear that it has cancelled the fifth round of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) because the latter has not withdrawn the order of the Communist Party of the Philippines to the New People’s Army to intensify tactical offensives against the AFP, PNP and armed auxiliaries of the GRP.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) would like to make the following factual clarifications in the face of repeated claims by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) that the majority of the political prisoners listed by the NDFP have already been released.
We, the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) urge the Negotiating Panel of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) to come back to the negotiating table and realize the fifth round of formal talks as soon as possible.
The GRP-NDFP peace negotiations are ongoing despite the fact that the 5th round of formal talks did not take place as scheduled due to the decision of the GRP panel not to participate. All the bilateral agreements that lay down the framework, processes and conditions for the entire peace negotiations, including the JASIG, remain binding, operational and in effect.
The cancellation of the fifth round of peace talks is the sole responsibility of the GRP. Its negotiating panel imposed unnecessary, last-minute and unacceptable preconditions for talks to proceed. The talks could have been an opportunity to attain substantial progress in discussing and forging the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER). The GRP cancellation of the fifth round of peace talks has effectively derailed and set back the CASER.
The GRP’s persistent demand for the immediate signing of a bilateral ceasefire agreement as precondition to the continuation of the formal talks is an outright violation of the 1992 Hague Joint Declaration. The NDFP stands by its position, priorly acknowledged and concurred with by the GRP, that the implementation of CARHRIHL and the forging of the CASER should take precedence over the crafting of a bilateral ceasefire agreement.