The Makabayan Coalition of progressive lawmakers condemned defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s quick opposition to renewed calls for the resumption of formal negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), saying the secretary is being “openly anti-peace [and] closed-minded.
ACT Rep. Antonio Tinio, Kabataan Rep. Renee Co and Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago said Teodoro’s position is a dead-end policy that has been tried for decades and had clearly failed, pointing out that the GRP has not defeated the armed movement through sheer militarism.
“[The GRP’s] continued insistence on an all-out security solution has only prolonged the conflict, expanded militarization in the countryside, and resulted in repeated human rights violations, mass displacements, and deaths of civilians,” the legislators said.
Negotiators for peace talks resumption
Earlier, former GRP peace negotiators called for the resumption of formal peace negotiations in the wake of the Toboso killings in Negros where 19 were killed, including civilians and minors.
The statement was signed by former GRP negotiators that included former agrarian reform secretary Hernani Braganza; lawyer Efren Moncupa; Dr. Francisco Lara Jr., Roberto Ador and Jaime Aristotle Alip who were negotiators from 2014 to 2020.
“There was, in those years, a functioning and serious peace process, one that came closer to securing lasting gains than most people know,” they said.
They also warned that the aftermath of the killings in Toboso had fueled grief and anger online, particularly among young Filipinos.
The group recommended that the resumption of formal negotiations must be “without preconditions.”
Quick rejection
Teodoro, however, was quick to dismiss the call, insisting peace had been achieved in the country
“The Filipinos are at peace. They are the ones disturbing the peace. So why should we talk to them? They’re committing crimes,” he said.
He recalled government’s designation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People’s Army (NPA) and the NDFP as so-called terrorists. “So, to call for peace talks is to elevate the morality of their cause to something legitimate, which I cannot accept,” he said.
Teodoro and the Armed Forces of the Philippines claimed all 19 were armed combatants, a claimed belied by the CPP by saying only 10 were NPA fighters while the rest were civilians.
‘AFP kills children’
In a separate statement, the NDFP Special Office for the Protection of Children decried the killing of two minors in Toboso, saying it holds Marcos Jr. government and the AFP for “war crimes and grave violations of children’s rights in armed conflict.”
Coni Ledesma, long-time NDFP peace negotiator and a Negros Island native, said the killing of a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old last April 19 was “a heinous crime and a blatant violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).
Ledesma said government soldiers did not distinguish between combatants and civilians as well as failed to protect children
“The AFP’s indiscriminate firing in Toboso, which resulted in the killings of at least nine civilians, demonstrate a reckless disregard for these fundamental obligations to which the Philippine reactionary regime is party to and therefore must be held accountable to such obligations,” Ledesma said.
What further outrages the conscience is the fact that elements of the AFP even went to celebrate the outcome of their operations in an award-giving ceremony on April 24 following what they described as a ‘successful neutralization of armed insurgents,’ she added.
“This is despite full knowledge that two children were among those they massacred. Such conduct reflects not only a profound disregard for human life, but a deeply entrenched culture of impunity within the ranks of the AFP. The loss of children’s lives should never be celebrated,” Ledesma underscored.
Ending ‘war first’ policy
Makabayan said it is time to end the cycle of war-first policy that Teodoro represents.
“We call for the resumption of substantive peace negotiations that address social, economic, and political roots of armed conflict, as well as the immediate lifting of policies that intensify militarization in regions like Negros,” the progressive bloc in Congress said.
Makabayan said Teodoro should be reminded that the Marcos Jr. administration thru Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. signed the Oslo Statement in 2022 and committed to discussing the pursuit of formal peace negotiations.
“We call for decisively addressing the roots of the armed conflict. We call for socio-economic and political reforms and an end to the all-out war mindset of the regime. Lastly, we call on the people to struggle for a just and lasting peace,” it added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
