Although the peace talks with the communists has ended up the way other peace talks did in the past, Malacañang remained optimistic about coming up with a common denominator with the National Democratic Front to whom the government now makes an offer for a halt in hostilities.
In a press briefing in Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said it was proof of the Aquino administration’s sincerity that it has made the first move of an offer of a ceasefire with the communist insurgents.
Lacierda said the government hopes the NDF would reconsider the suggestion of the Philippine government peace negotiating panel, which the Palace saw as a good starting point for both panels to regain composure after a 16-month lay-off resulting from a deadlock over an issue as neither party  wanted to give in.
He cited the need for both panels to at least agree on something from where they could start talking, apparently in reaction to the NDF demand for the release of detained communist rebels, citing the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) rendering immunity from arrest to communist rebels committing a crime consistent with the political struggle.
“The whole purpose of the peace negotiations is to really arrive at a mutually agreed upon peace framework. Now, if a ceasefire would help along the peace agreement, it’s something that is worth discussing,” Lacierda said.
Government has called on the NDF to consider a halt in hostilities between government forces and communist insurgents if only to spare civilians and non-combatants who were being dragged into a conflict that saw many casualties on both sides.
During last week’s Royal Norwegian Government-hosted meeting between the government peace emissaries and the NDF in Oslo, the Philippines’ chief negotiator asked the NDF to stop the use of landmines in war zones, which they claimed violate the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, also known as CARHRIHL.
Interestingly, the NDF made a parallel demand aimed at restructuring the JASIG list, which has been obliterated beyond recovery from a data disc that did not outlive the GRP-NDF peace talks dating back 30 years ago.
“The devil is in the details. We hope that something can be ironed out and we would leave that with the negotiators and also with the NDF negotiators for them to thresh out whatever obstacles there are,” said Lacierda.
The communist group said it was also prepared to implement a joint ceasefire offered by the government, but gave no dates of when such a plan would take place.
Relatedly, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday maintained that the detained “consultants,” whose release was sought by the National Democratic Front (NDF) as part of their demands for the resumption of the peace negotiations with the government, were facing criminal charges they must answer before various courts.
Still, AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. stressed that the military remained supportive of President Aquino’s peace initiatives with the communist organization.
“Those who have pending cases, they should face the charges against them because these are crimes against people. They should answer all the chargers filed against them,” Burgos said.
“We have to uphold the Rule of Law… and if you have committed a crime, you should first be made answerable,” added Burgos.
The NDF, during last week’s informal talks with government negotiators in Oslo, Norway, reiterated its demand for the Aquino administration to free 14 persons it claimed were its consultants, among them New People’s Army (NPA) commander Tirso Alcantara, alias ka Bart, and Alan Jazmines, who is tagged as a member of the CPP’s central committee.
Alcanatara and Jazmines are facing various criminal charges and are now detained in Fort Bonifacio and Camp Crame, respectively.
The Jasig is an agreement signed by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines or the GRP and the NDFP in February 1995. It provides protection and immunity to all participants in the peace talks.
Jasig-protected persons are consultants and personnel of both parties supposedly immune from arrest and any other form of harassment.
But the Philippine government stressed these individuals must remain in jail after being arrested for various crimes, including murder.
The NDF, however, said both sides “have agreed to continue meaningful discussions... to pave the way for resumption of the formal talks in the peace negotiations in order to resolve the armed conflict.”
“We have been supporting all the peace initiatives of the government. We’re supporting the peace initiatives but when somebody is talking about peace, it should be translated down the line… this is supposed to be translated down to lower units,” Burgos said.
Burgos also challenged the communist group to put a stop to the NPA’s planting of landmines and other acts of violence if only to show their sincerity in the peace negotiations.