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Joma to Rody: Calm down, let’s talk

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NATIONAL Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison asked Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) President Rodrigo Duterte to allow efforts to clear the air in the face of escalating tension between the two parties following the Duterte government’s declaration of an all-out war against the Left.

Sison proposed to his former student “to consult thoroughly with his negotiating panel and the peace advocates in his own cabinet and others outside of his government and encourage and allow back-channelling efforts to clarify misunderstandings and solve immediately the current problems.” Read more

Ailing detainee back in jail after Duterte’s lifting of ceasefire

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AN AILING political prisoner recuperating in a care facility had been taken back to jail last February 4 after President Rodrigo Duterte lifted his government’s unilateral ceasefire declaration with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

Amelia Pond, teacher and curriculum developer of the Lumad school Salugpongan Ta ‘Tanu Igkanogon Learning Center (STTICLC), was brought back to Tagum District Jail by her police guards reportedly on “orders from the top.” Read more

CPP warns of massive rights violations due to GRP’s all-out war

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THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today warned of massive human and civil rights violations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as a result of the Rodrigo Duterte government’s declaration of an all-out war against the Left.

The communists said that the Duterte government’s record of more than 7,000 killings with its “Oplan Tokhang,” his constant threat to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and impose martial law-style rule to suppress political opposition pose real threats against the Filipino people.

“His record speaks for himself.  We must be ready to vigorously oppose any and all attempts to realize these threats,” the CPP said.

The underground party said the Duterte government is bound to set the “fascist dogs” in the AFP against activists and civilians, especially in areas where there are struggles for land reform and campaigns against foreign mining companies and plantations.

“In his desperate and vindictive attempt to score against the revolutionary movement, he has already targeted aboveground NDFP (National Democratic Front of the Philippines) consultants,” the CPP said.

Former activist killed

The CPP said the “Oplan Tokhang”-style killing of Glenn Ramos, 40, by military and police operatives in Barangay Ma-a, Davao City last Monday is an example of what the AFP would do.

The AFP and the PNP said they were serving a warrant for Ramos’ arrest as a suspected New People’s Army (NPA) member when a fire fight broke out after the victim allegedly refused to submit himself and instead drew a weapon.

Kodao sources however said Ramos was a civilian.  They said the raiding team used assault rifles in strafing his house.

Ramos died after sustaining two gunshot wounds.

“The entire AFP story is dubious and sounds like all the “nanlaban” (put up a fight) stories of the PNP of the past few months,” the CPP said.

Renato Olibang, Ramos’ construction boss, certifying he was a civilian at a time of his death by the hands of the PNP.

In Panay Island, a farmers’ organization complained of unwanted AFP presence and occupation of Barangay Boloc’s Hall in Tubungan, Iloilo.

Local farmers’ association Tubungan United Peasant Alliance (TUPA) said elements of the 82nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army asked for a barangay assembly last February 2 to get an approval for an encampment at the center of their community.  The soldiers were refused and were asked to leave instead.

Panay Alliance-Karapatan also reported that the community accused the military of indiscriminately firing at a farmer’s house last February 1.

Be prepared

The underground party urged members of “people’s organizations and democratic sectors” in both rural and urban areas to protest military presence (in civilian communities) and their abuses.

“They must tighten security measures and get ready to defend human and civil rights against state violence that is bound to escalate,” it warned.

The CPP said its armed wing, the NPA, will defend civilians against military abuses.

“The people’s army, the NPA, will be at the people’s side to punish the AFP’s fascist troops at every available opportunity,” it said.

The party also chided Duterte for believing his government can defeat the NPA, antagonizing all sectors supportive of the peace process, and increasingly isolating his government.

Duterte reversed on his previous positive pronouncements of the underground group and called them terrorists after AFP defeats last week.

“Defeating the NPA is a Duterte pipedream.  Other regimes before him have tried and failed. The NPA is ever ready to face his wild dogs in the AFP in battle,” the CPP said.

“Not for long, he will only have the AFP’s fascist dogs for company,” it added. (Raymund B. Villanueva/Featured photo by Southern Tagalog Exposure)

 

CPP assails Duterte’s termination of talks

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THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemned Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) President Rodrigo Duterte’s attempt to terminate formal peace talks between his administration and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

In a statement today, the CPP said Duterte has gone “berserk” in trying to upturn the entire peace process and waste the achievements attained in peace talks over the past few months. Read more

JASIG and talks termination ‘unjust, unreasonable and improper’–NDFP

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THE National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) announced today it cannot acknowledge receipt of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines’ (GRP) “cancellation” of the peace talks.

In a statement, NDFP chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili said Presidential Peace Adviser on the Peace Process’ letter dated February 7 should have been sent to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NDFP and not jointly in one letter to Prof. Jose Ma. Sison as Chief Political Consultant and himself as Chairperson of the Negotiating Panel.

“The NDFP Negotiating Panel and its consultants draw their authority from the NEC of the NDFP based in the country,” Agcaoili reminded Dureza.

“The original of the letter should also be sent by mail or courier to the NDFP Information Office in The Netherlands to be formally received by the NDFP Negotiating Panel,” Agcaoili added.

Agcaoili earlier said they have received a copy of Dureza’s notice only through electronic mail.

Agcaoili said they note Dureza’s notice was “improperly addressed.”

Unjust and unreasonable

The NDFP also scored the GRP for its unjust and unreasonable termination of the peace talks and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

“There is no fair and just reason for the GRP to terminate the peace negotiations less than two weeks after the two Negotiating Panels had successfully concluded their third round of talks in Rome, Italy,” Agcaoili said.

Agcaoili pointed out the “significant advances” made in the substantive agenda of the peace negotiations as shown by the GRP-NDFP Rome Joint Statement of January 25, 2017.

  • The signing of the Supplemental Guidelines for the Joint Monitoring Committee for the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.
  • The exchange of complete drafts of their respective Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) and their substantial agreement on the Preamble; Declaration of Principles; Bases, Scope and Applicability; and Desired Outcome. The parties have also reached common understanding on the general features of the agrarian problems in the country as well as a general agreement to a free distribution of land to farmers under the prospective CASER. The parties also approved and signed the Ground Rules for the Conduct of the Formal Meetings between the Reciprocal Workings Committees on Socio Economic Reforms meant to accelerate the discussions of drafts and hopefully craft a final common draft by the deadline set this year.
  • The exchange of drafts of their respective tentative drafts of the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms (CAPCR), as well as their respective comparative matrices of the drafts.
  • The agreement of the parties’ respective ceasefire committees to meet in The Netherlands on 22-27 February 2017 and discuss their respective drafts of the bilateral ceasefire as well as a date for the next (fourth) round of formal talks in Oslo, Norway on April 2 to 6, 2017.

In his closing statement at the Rome round of formal talks, Sison projected that, at the rate the negotiations have been going, the CASER and CAPCR can be signed by the Negotiating Panels and approved by their respective Principals in 2017 in time for the founding of a “Federal Republic of the Philippines” in 2018.

“With the above progress in the talks, it is unreasonable for any Party to unilaterally terminate the peace negotiations without just cause and squander the gains so far achieved,” Agcaoili said.

Agcaoili noted that the GRP Negotiating Panel through its chairperson Silvestre Bello III initially recommended the continuation of the talks.

“The government peace panel has recommended to the President (Rodrigo Duterte) that we stand by our unilateral ceasefire.  We look forward to meeting with our NDF counterparts for the fourth round of talks in April and to discuss the possibility of a bilateral ceasefire agreement on February 22, as agreed upon during the third round of talks held in Rome,” Bello said in a statement last February 1.

“The recommendation of the GRP Negotiating Panel to proceed with the talks as scheduled should have been heeded instead of the lies and warmongering of the peace spoilers,” Agcaoili said.

“The NDFP cannot be a party to an unjust, unreasonable and improper termination of the JASIG.  The GRP bears full responsibility for its unilateral decision,” he added. (Raymund B. Villanueva)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Malaybalay incident a ‘legitimate encounter’–NPA

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THE New People’s Army-North Central Mindanao Region (NPA-NCMR) belied accusations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that the soldiers killed in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon last February 1 were unarmed and were only deployed for “peace and development” duties.

In a rejoinder to their earlier pronouncements about the incident, NPA-NCMR spokesperson Ka Allan Juanito said Sgt. Owen Yee, Corporal Niño Christopher Talabor and Corporal Pat O. Non were engaged in psy-war (psychological warfare) operations and that their deaths was a result of a legitimate encounter. Read more

Peace spoilers won the day–Agcaoili

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PEACE spoilers won the day, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief peace negotiator said of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines’ (GRP) “cancellation” of the formal peace talks and termination of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) today.

Fidel Agcaoili blamed “spoilers in the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Department of National Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the neoliberal globalization members in the cabinet” for the collapse of their once promising peace talks with the Duterte government. Read more

GRP terminates JASIG

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THE Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) formally served the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) notice of termination of their Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

In a letter dated today, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza also told NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison and NDFP Negotiating Panel chairperson Fidel Agcaoili of the GRP’s “cancellation” of the peace talks.

“Following the President’s (Rodrigo Duterte) announcement of the cancellation of the peace talks with the CPP/NPA/NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army/NDFP) and per his instructions, the Government (GRP) is hereby serving this notice of the termination of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG),” the letter said.

In a subsequent statement issued by his office, Dureza referred to Duterte’s earlier labelling of the Left as “terrorists.”

“The Government will continue its vigilance in the preservation of law and order and in protecting our people against insurgent activities and threats of terrorism,” Dureza’s statement said.

The NDFP has yet to respond to Dureza’s letter and statement.

Dureza, GRP Negotiating Panel chairperson Silvestre Bello III, Agcaoili and Sison were co-signatories of the 1995 agreement.

GRP’s JASIG termination letter.

30-day grace period

Signed on February 24, 1995 in Nieuwegein, The Netherlands, the JASIG came into effect after the respective approval by NDFP Chairperson Mariano Orosa on April 10, 1995 and GRP President Fidel Ramos on April 25, 1995.

The agreement was intended to protect negotiators, consultants, staffers, security and other personnel who participate in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.

JASIG was also intended “to facilitate the peace negotiations, create a favorable atmosphere conducive to free discussion and free movement during the negotiations, and avert any incident that may jeopardize the peace process.”

“Without the JASIG, negotiations would not be possible.  Without the JASIG, persons involved in the negotiations would always feel or actually be under a cloud of threat and would be unable to perform their functions freely,” human rights group Karapatan said of the JASIG on its website.

The negotiations would always be at risk of being disrupted and totally jeopardized without the JASIG, Karapatan said.

The JASIG allows one party to terminate the agreement through a written notice given by one party to the other.

“In (such an) event, this Joint Agreement shall be deemed terminated 30 days after receipt of the notice of termination,” the agreement said.

According to JASIG, the termination shall take effect on March 9.

Repeatedly violated by the GRP

The NDFP has repeatedly accused the GRP of violating JASIG with the arrest of its peace consultants and personnel.

The GRP judiciary has released 19 NDFP peace consultants last August that enabled them to participate in the three formal rounds of talks in Norway and Italy.

Duterte has verbally ordered their rearrest, however, in an outburst last February 5 in Cagayan de Oro City.

The NDFP for its part said Duterte and the GRP executive branch has no jurisdiction over the released consultants but the respective trial courts where complaints are lodged against them.

Yesterday, combined GRP military and police elements arrested peace consultant Ariel Arbitrario in Davao City, bringing to four NDFP consultants under GRP custody even before Dureza’s notice and the JASIG’s termination on March 9. (Raymund B. Villanueva)

GRP verbalizes ‘all-out war’ vs NPA

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DEPARTMENT of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is going all-out against the New People’s Army (NPA) two days after Government of the Philippines (GRP) President Rodrigo Duterte’s outburst against the underground revolutionary group.

“Yes, it is an all-out war,” Lorenzana said in a press briefing at Malacañan Palace Tuesday. Read more

Duterte has no jurisdiction over consultants; talks ‘suspension’ not in any agreement–NDFP

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THE National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) said the jurisdiction over its 17 peace consultants released last August for the formal peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) lies with the judiciary and not on President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a statement, NDFP chief negotiator Fidel Agcaoili said the consultants have been put under the effective jurisdiction of the GRP courts because they were released only on bail and only for a six-month period.

Responding to Duterte’s statement that those released should voluntarily go back to prison and GRP intelligence units shall monitor the whereabouts of the peace consultants, Agcaoili clarified that it was the judiciary which granted them bails and issued them permission to travel abroad to participate in the last three rounds of talks.

“Their bail renewal is due this month and, as reflected in the Rome Joint Statement of 25 January 2017, both their lawyers and the GRP have agreed to cooperate in this regard,” Agcaoili said.

The NDFP also said all 17 NDFP consultants are in the country and are not in hiding.

“Those who took part in the third round of formal talks in Rome, Italy from 19 to 25 January 2017 have returned to the country as of 31 January. They are all protected from re-arrest in accordance with the JASIG (Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees),” Agcaoili said.

Since August, the consultants have participated in three formal peace negotiations in Norway and Italy as well as in numerous peace forums all over the Philippines and in many countries abroad to drum up support for the NDFP-GRP peace process.

Peace consultant Felix Randy Malayao said there have been three important documents that the 17 NDFP consultants have helped bring about: the NDFP-GRP Joint Statements of August 2016, October 2016 and January 2017.

The NDFP also clarified that the GRP are not paying for the expenses of its consultants.

“The Royal Norwegian Government in its capacity as Third Party Facilitator in the peace talks has been providing for the travel expenses and accommodation of the NDFP delegation in formal and informal peace talks since the beginning,” Agcaoili said.

Talks ‘suspension’ not allowed

Agcaoili said the NDFP is waiting for the formal notice from the GRP Negotiating Panel on its termination of the peace negotiations.

He clarified that the NDFP has never terminated the peace negotiations with the GRP since The Hague Joint Declaration was signed in 1992 to govern the conduct of talks.

“Only the GRP by President Joseph Estrada did when he issued a formal notice of termination in accordance with JASIG. Presidents Gloria M. Arroyo and Benigno C. Aquino suspended the peace talks. And now Duterte,”

“There is no provision for suspension in any agreements,” Agcaoili said.

The NDFP said “the JASIG defines the mode of termination.” (Raymund B. Villanueva)