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NDFP assigns Julie de Lima as interim peace panel chairperson

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The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has assigned Juliet de Lima as interim chairperson of its Negotiating Panel following the death of former chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili last month.

NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison told Kodao that de Lima is the most senior and most available among the members of the Left’s peace panel.

Sison added that de Lima, his wife, is also the “most secure for relating to the third party facilitator with matters pertaining to the NDFP section of the Joint Secretariat and Joint Monitoring Committee of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).”

Established in June 2004, the Joint Secretariat is tasked, among others, to receive and investigate complaints of human rights violations.

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) has refused to hold offices in the Joint Secretariat’s Cubao, Quezon City headquarters for several years already, however.

Signed by both parties in March 1998, the CARHRIHL is the first of four substantive agenda on the peace talks based on The 1992 GRP-NDFP Hague Joint Declaration.

The three other substantive agenda are social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, and the cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces.

The Royal Norwegian Government has been the third party facilitator of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations since 2002.

The NDFP Negotiating Panel includes Coni Ledesma, Asterio Palima and Benito Tiamzon.

It has been engaged in on-off peace negotiations with the Philippine government since 1986 after the downfall of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

‘No rush to appoint replacements’

Sison also told Kodao in an online interview that there is no rush to appoint replacements to Agcaoili and NDFP Negotiating Panel Reciprocal Working Committee vice chairperson Randall Echanis who has brutally murdered last August 10.

Sison said that the lack of peace negotiations while Duterte is in power is temporary and will not last long.

“The National Council of the NDFP has enough time to complete the NDFP Negotiating Panel with the replacements of Ka Fidel and Ka Randy and revitalizing the working committees before peace negotiations will probably resume after (GRP President Rodrigo) Duterte is gone,” Sison said.

Duterte shall end his six-year term in June 2022.

“The broad united front against Duterte expects that his successor will opt for peace negotiations,” he added. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Pahayag ni former Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista kay yumaong Fidel Agcaoili

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Ginanap noong Agosto 8 ang isang birtwal na parangal para kay yumaong NDF Chief Negotiator Fidel Agcaoili. Pumanaw si Ka Fidel noong Hulyo 23 dahil sa sakit. Iba’t ibang personalidad na mga kaibigan at nakasama ni Ka Fidel ang nagpaabot ng pakikidalamhati at nagsalaysay ng kani-kanilang kwento sa kanya.

Isa sa mga nakiramay ay ang dating alkalde ng Quezon City na si Herbert Bautista. Nakasama niya si Ka Fidel sa ilang peace talks na naganap noong mga nakaraang taon.

NPA to give military honors to Fidel Agcaoili tomorrow

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The New People’s Army (NPA) ordered all its units to render military honors to the late National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel chairperson Fidel Agcaoili on the occasion of his 76th birth anniversary tomorrow, Saturday.

“On August 8, Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Ka Fidel, all units of the NPA are directed, wherever they may be encamped, to go on formation at the break of dawn, hoist the banners of the Party, NPA and the NDF, present arms, and sing The Internationale as a way of remembering and giving Ka Fidel our snappiest Red salute,” the guerrilla army’s National Operations Command (NOC) said.

Agcaoili died of pulmonary arterial rupture in Utrecht, The Netherlands where the NDFP International Office is based last July 23.

He was cremated after a solemn tribute ceremony in Utrecht last July 31. His ashes will be eventually flown home to the Philippines in accordance with his family’s wishes.

In a statement Thursday, August 6, NPA spokesperson Jorge Madlos said they were deeply shocked and saddened by news of Agcaoili’s untimely death and extended the guerrilla army’s heartfelt sympathies to the wife, children, grandchildren, friends and colleagues of the late chief negotiator.

“Ka Fidel was a respected and beloved leader of the Filipino people and revolutionary movement. He upheld the interests and cause of the toiling masses and all the oppressed classes in Philippine society,” Madlos said.

The rebel spokesperson said Agcaoili  had always marched along the straight path of revolutionary struggle from his youth until his senior years for more than five decades.

“Although he came from a well-off family, Ka Fidel chose the path of simple living and all-out and dangerous struggle. Ka Fidel’s life, his militance, commitment and determination to advance the revolutionary struggle for national freedom and social liberation will forever serve as inspiration for all Red fighters of the NPA and for the Filipino people,” Madlos added.

Madlos recalled that wherever Agcaoili was assigned and whatever the task given him by the revolutionary movement his desire to see an end to “the oppression and exploitation of the Filipino people, as well as all the peoples of the world was always foremost in his mind.”

“It is clear that Ka Fidel was imbued with the communist spirit of selfless service to all oppressed and exploited,” Madlos said.

“The NPA recognizes and expresses its gratitude for the leadership and all the contributions of Ka Fidel, from the period of nationwide building of the Party and people’s army, to the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship, to helping develop international anti-imperialist solidarity of all the oppressed classes, and in ably representing the entire revolutionary movement in various stages of peace negotiations,” he said.

“The NPA upholds the highest tribute of the Party’s Central Committee to Ka Fidel and recognition as a hero of the Philippine revolution,” Madlos ended. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

NDFP bids farewell to Fidel Agcaoili

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The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) International Office bid its final farewell to NDFP Negotiating Panel chairperson Fidel Agcaoili in a solemn ceremony at one o’clock Friday afternoon, July 31, in Utrecht, The Netherlands (8 pm Philippine time).

His remains were cremated after the ceremony that was streamed online for select comrades, colleagues and friends worldwide.

Agcaoili died of pulmonary arterial rupture last July 23 in the Dutch city where the group’s peace panel and international office is located.

NDFP Senior Adviser Luis Jalandoni gives Agcaoili a last militant salute. (Photo by Nwel Saturay/Kodao)

His remains will be flown home to the Philippines, the NDFP said.

A tribute is planned for Agcaoili in Europe on August 8 when he would have turned 76 years old.

The Communist Party of the Philippines has declared the same day as Fidel Agcaoili National Day of Remembrance and Tribute all over the country. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

CPP declares August 8 as Fidel Agcaoili Day of Remembrance

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The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) declared August 8 to be its National Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Fidel Agcaoili, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel chairperson, who died last week, July 23.

Agcaoili would have turned 76 years old on August 8.

“The Central Committee calls on all revolutionary forces, progressives, patriotic and democratic forces, migrants and other oppressed sectors, political detainees, as well as various anti-imperialist organizations and personalities across the globe to conduct tribute meetings and other activities wherever they may be to commemorate and celebrate Ka Fidel’s life of struggle and service to the people and revolution,” the CPP’s Central Committee in a statement Wednesday, July 29, said.

Agcaoili died of pulmonary arterial rupture at the NDFP International Office in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

His remains are scheduled to be cremated Friday, July 31 in the Dutch City. His ashes will be eventually flown home to the Philippines, the NDFP said.

In its statement, the CPP said the entire revolutionary movement mourns the passing of who they regard “a hero of the Filipino revolution,” one who “gave blood and sweat, and time and talent to advance the Filipino people’s great cause to achieve national and social liberation, as part of advancing the international working class movement for socialism and communism” for five decades.

The group recalled that Agcaoili joined the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines in the 1960s and helped found the Kabataang Makabayan in 1964. He was later elected to the CPP’s Central Committee in 1970.

Agcaoili was captured in 1974 along with wife Rosario and their two sons. He spent nearly 11 years in jail as the longest-held political prisoner under Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law, enduring intense physical and psychological torture, including solitary confinement.

Upon his release, Agcaoili co-founded the human rights group Samahan ng Ex-detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) and the political party Partido ng Bayan and helped in the preparations of the 1986-1987 peace negotiations between the NDFP and the Corazon Aquino government.

In 1988, Agcaoili sought refuge in Spain due to threats from rightist elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and joined the NDFP Negotiating Panel in 1989.

He took over from long-time NDFP chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni in October 2016.

Facilitators of the Royal Norwegian Government praised Agcaoili as a negotiator.

‘Kind, dedicated negotiator’

In a tweet, Norwegian Special Envoy to the Philippine Peace Process Idun Tvedt sais she is “deeply saddened by the sudden death” of Agcaoili.

 “He was a professional and dedicated negotiator in the search for a peace solution to the armed conflict in the Philippines. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family,” Tvedt said.

Elisabeth Slattum, Tvedt’s predecessor, for her part said Agcaoili was a negotiator “with great dedication and heart for the cause.”

“In the numerous meetings and rounds of negotiation that took place in 2016-2017, he was always kind, respectful and cooperative to the Norwegian facilitators. I will remember him fondly, and I’m sending my heartfelt condolences to his wife and family,” Slattum said.

The CPP said Agcaoili’s contributions are thousands of strands woven into the broad fabric of the Filipino people’s struggle.

“His memory will always remain in the people’s hearts and will inspire them as they tread the difficult path of the national democratic and socialist revolutions,” the CPP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

Kometa

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Alay kay Fidel V. Agcaoili

Ni Jenny Linares

Maraming taong halos pahapyaw lang
kung dumaan sa ating uniberso.

Palagi na lang, kapag ako,
hindi ko na inaabutan
ang makikinang na bituin.

Masyado ba akong bata o masyadong ligaw
na kaluluwa?

Malalaman ko na lang na naririyan pala sila kapag sila’y bumulusok na,
tulad ng maningning na kometa,

nagniningning pa rin siya
kahit ang baya’y nanatili sa dilim,

siya’y liwanag at apoy, hanggang sa magmaliw,

hindi ko man nasulyapan,
bahagya man lamang sa buhay ko’y dumaan,

kayo’y naririto pala,
kayo’y naririto pa rin,
kayo’y mananatili sa alaala
nitong bayang pinag-alayan
ng iyong mga adhikai’t dusa.

A revolutionary and peace warrior’: Tributes pour in for NDFP’s Fidel Agcaoili

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Tributes are pouring in for National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel chairperson Fidel Agcaoili hours after the group’s international information office confirmed his passing in Utrecht, The Netherlands due to pulmonary arterial rupture .

READ: BREAKING: NDFP’s Fidel Agcaoili dies

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said Filipino communists and revolutionaries feel a deep sense of sorrow and loss with Agcaoili’s passing.

“He was one of the most beloved and respected leaders of the Party, the NDFP and the Filipino people,” the CPP said in a statement.

“Over the past decades, from the underground movement, to inside prison, to international work and peace negotiations, [Agcaoili] untiringly struggled with the Filipino people and served the revolutionary movement and all the oppressed and exploited classes to achieve national and social liberation,” the group added.

The CPP said Agcaoili firmly upheld its principles at all times and he was imbued with the communist spirit to his last breath.

“The Party and all revolutionary forces, including all Red fighters of the New People’s Army, are in mourning,” the CPP said.

Agcaoili’s government counterpart, labor secretary Silvestre Bello III, told Kodao he joins all peace-loving Filipinos in grieving the passing of a revolutionary whose passion for peace is as ardent as his love for structural change on the land of his birth.

“Ka Fidel V. Agcaoili, my counterpart in the peace table in our efforts to try to end the decades-long armed conflict with the CPP-NPA (New People’s Army)-NDF, was a man of honor and conviction,” Bello said.

Bello added that Agcaoili was an instrument in making the mostly arduous tasks of talking peace smoother and a bit easier.

“It is just sad that Ka Fidel will no longer savor the lasting peace with justice that he was pursuing with passion. Goodbye to a dear friend, a revolutionary and a peace warrior,” Bello said.

Former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista, who served as adviser to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Negotiating Panel from 2016, said Agcaoili’s death is “sad news.”

“He was kind. He was flexible on the negotiating table yet strict and firm on principles,” Bautista, a Brigadier General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reserve Command, added.

Tributes from journalists

Journalists who covered the NDFP-GRP peace process only have kind words for Agcaoili.

“[The news] came as a shock. He was a generous news source, always eager to clarify issues with journalists. He will be missed,” GMA reporter Raffy Tima told Kodao.

Danny Buenafe (right) talks to (from left) Fidel Agcaoili, Jose Maria Sison and Luis Jalandoni. [Photo from Danny Buenafe]

Veteran ABS-CBN broadcaster Danny Buenafe said he had a good time covering the peace talks for more than three decades in large part because of Agcaoili.

“He was tough in taking a stand, but we all know he has a soft spot with journalists when requesting for interviews. Ka Fidel was kind and accessible with us media persons,” Buenafe said.

Buenafe, Europe-based for many years, added Agcaoili was probably the toughest among the so called three “Supremos” (top leaders), the two others being NDFP Negotiating Panel chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison and 20-year NDFP chief negotiator and Agcaoili’s direct predecessor Luis Jalandoni.

“Personally, I found Ka Fidel as the heart of the revolutionary struggle with his decisive character in the negotiating table. Ka Joma (Sison) provides the deeper intellectual discourse, and Ka Louie (Jalandoni) the fatherly approach with the soft touch. Ka Fidel provided a good balance that makes the NDF position solid,” Buenafe said.

The now retired ABS-CBN Europe Bureau Chief said he can never forget being fetched by Agcaoili and wife Rosario at the Utrecht Grand Central Station to attend a small birthday gathering for NDFP peace panel member Julie Sison at a public park several years ago.

“We will all miss him. Rest in peace, Ka Fidel,” Buenafe said.

Friends grieve

Human rights lawyer Ma. Sol Taule said Agcaoili was among the rights defenders she looked up to.

“We recognize and value his unrelenting efforts for a just and lasting peace. He (was) the boomer we all aspire to be,” Taule wrote on Facebook.

Distant relative and retired University of the Philippines professor Aurelio Solver Agcaoili for his part said Agcaoili’s death is a loss to the Filipino people.

“But we gained something [in his passing]: The thought and the resolve to do things right for our suffering people,” he told Kodao.

The CPP said it will announce the day for mourning, giving honor, and remembering Agcaoili whose remains will be flown to the Philippines in accordance with the wishes of his family.

 “In behalf of the entire Philippine revolutionary movement, the (CPP) extends deep sympathies to the wife and children of Ka Fidel V. Agcaoili, chairperson of the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP),” the CPP said. (Raymund B. Villanueva)

BREAKING: NDFP’s Fidel Agcaoili dies

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National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel chairperson Fidel V. Agcaoili passed away Thursday in Utrecht, The Netherlands, the group’s international information office announced.

He was 75 years old.

“The (NDFP) announces with deep sorrow the untimely passing of Ka Fidel V. Agcaoili today, 23 July 2020 at 12:45pm in Utrecht, The Netherlands. He would have turned 76 on 8 August,” it said.

“According to the doctor, the cause of his death was pulmonary arterial rupture which caused massive internal bleeding. It was not Covid-19 related,” it added.

Agcaoili, a veteran member of the Left’s peace panel, took over from his 20-year predecessor Luis Jalandoni on October 5, 2016 before the start of the second round of formal talks between the NDFP and the Duterte government in Oslo, Norway.

As chief negotiator, Agcaoili led the NDFP panel in forging major agreements with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Negotiating Panel such as free land distribution for poor farmers and national industrialization for the country that may serve as the backbone of comprehensive agreements on social and economic reforms with future Manila governments.

He became a member of the NDFP Negotiating Panel in 1992.

He was also a long-time chairperson of the NDFP Human Rights Committee.

Agcaoili was the longest-held political prisoner under the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship and was released only after the first People Power uprising in 1986.

His remains will be flown to the Philippines in accordance with the wishes of his family, the NDFP said. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

NDFP condoles with Bello for the death of sister due to Covid

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The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel condoled with Department of Labor and Employment secretary Silvestre Bello III for the “untimely death” of his younger sister due to the coronavirus disease Saturday, April 18.

In a letter, the NDFP said it shares in the grief of Bello and urged him to stay strong in fulfilling his peace advocacy and mission to help Filipino workers, including overseas workers.

Bello was the chairperson of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Negotiating Panel from 2016 to 2018. He had been a member of various government negotiating panels since the time of the Fidel Ramos government.

The labor secretary confirmed the death of his “favorite sister” he described as someone who heeds his advice.

“Catharine is my favorite. She listened to me. [She was] the first to die among 10 children,” he said.  

The victim was admitted to the hospital last March 25 and was diagnosed positive of Covid-19.

Bello said they thought Catharine was on her way to recovery and were surprised to learn of her death.

In their letter of condolence to their government counterpart, the NDFP said it is of urgent importance that all forces do their respective utmost to combat the spread of the virus, save lives and to safeguard the rights and welfare of the people as the pandemic runs loose throughout the country.

“The death of your sister shall not be in vain as we exert our common effort, as members of our respective negotiating panels, to help secure the release of all political prisoners from their vulnerable conditions in prison on humanitarian and medical grounds,” the letter reads.

“This is the cry of the times as more and more countries respond to the call of the UN Secretary General and the World Health Organization for the release of prisoners,” it adds.

The letter was signed in behalf of the NDFP Negotiating Panel by its chairperson Fidel Agcaoili, chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison, and senior adviser Luis Jalandoni. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

‘An example across the world,’ UN says of CPP’s ceasefire order

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The United Nations (UN) welcomed the temporary ceasefire order of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), saying the group’s positive response to the call for a global ceasefire in the face of the corona virus disease (Covid-19) pandemic “will serve as an example across the world.”

In a statement, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said they welcome the truce order issued by the CPP last Tuesday, March 24, against Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) armed forces.

“The Secretary-General (Guterres) encourages the parties to reach a lasting political solution and end this longstanding conflict,” Dujarric added, referring to the 51-year revolution led by the CPP.

The CPP is the first belligerent force in the world to respond to Guterres’ appeal issued last March 24.

UN’s statement on its website.

NDFP Negotiating Panel chairperson Fidel Agcaoili said the revolutionary forces in the Philippines deeply appreciates the UN recognition.

“We deeply appreciate the recognition extended by the UN Secretary General for the initiative of the revolutionary movement and the CPP to respond to his call for a global ceasefire in humanity’s common fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” Agcaoili told Kodao in an online interview.

The CPP’s unilateral ceasefire order to all units and commands of the New People’s Army and the People’s Militias took effect starting midnight of today, Thursday, March 26 and ends on 23:59 of April 15.

The GRP earlier said NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison’s advise for the CPP and its forces to observe its own ceasefire during the pandemic “is a positive development.”

The GRP earlier declared a unilateral ceasefire against the CPP, the NPA, and the NDFP effective 00:00 hour of March 19 to 24:00 hours of April 15, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo announced Wednesday evening, March 18. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)