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By Prince Golez, Manila Reporter
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Monday, February 13, 2017
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MANILA – Urging both the government and the communist group to return to the negotiating table after the suspension of the peace talks, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano expressed hope that the “collapse” of the government’s peace talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF) will not be “permanent”.
The murder of three soldiers during the recent Bukidnon clash amid the existing unilateral ceasefire declarations angered President Rodrigo Duterte who immediately scrapped the peace process and ordered government troops to “be ready to fight” and arrest all NDF consultants.
“The Duterte administration is your best chance for meaningful change, reform, and peaceful revolution. The communist NDF group should understand and give more since the administration has met them more than halfway already,” said Cayetano, who ran in the 2016 elections as Duterte’s vice presidential candidate.
According to him, only the present government has dealt with the issue thoroughly, sincerely, and considerately.
“From the communists’ side, they think we are giving too little. But on the side of the government, we feel we have already given them so much. But no other President has given this much this soon,” the senator from Taguig said.He also reminded the communists that the president appointed left-leaning members to key cabinet positions.
The NDF has criticized the government for the delay in the release of 400 political prisoners as part of the peace process. Last August, at least 14 consultants were allowed to temporarily post bail to join the formal peace talks in Oslo, Norway.
This month, Duterte, who vowed last December to release 140 political prisoners if the peace panels sign a bilateral ceasefire agreement, rejected the release of more prisoners, saying that it was “too much” and tantamount to granting rebels amnesty.
Sen. Loren Legarda, for her part, voiced her support for the “unconditional release” of all political prisoners.
“I understand that this might have to be done in batches and according to legal procedures. But let us begin with the sick detainees and those who are already seniors, 60 years old and over,” the lady senator said.
Legarda also called for an “unconditional” ceasefire agreement between the government and the communists “as it benefits both parties to the conflict.
It should likewise include an effective monitoring procedures and strict compliance mechanisms, she added.
“As someone who has been involved in negotiating releases of prisoners by the NPA (New People’s Army), I have seen the sincerity of all sides to this conflict and have witnessed the intense desire for peace. There is a reservoir of good will inside all of us that we must now draw from so guns are not drawn and fired once again,” Legarda concluded./PN
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