By Junex Doronio

MANILA — Claiming that there are still 795 political prisoners, of which 17 are consultants from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), human rights groups Karapatan on Friday called on the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to release them as part of efforts to resume peace talks between the government and the Maoist insurgents who have been waging a “protracted armed struggle” for nearly 55 years.

Karapatan identified the “peace consultants” as Edilberto Silva, Vic Ladlad, Rey Casambre and Loida Magpatoc who are still being detained.

“There’s a need to do that and I think must yun. It’s a must for the BBM administration especially since they need people to talk to at the negotiating table,” pressed Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay in a press conference.

On Tuesday, November 28, the Marcos Jr. administration and the NDFP announced that they had agreed to resume peace talks to end the insurgency which started during the first Marcos regime.

“Kung wala yung mga consultants, how can the technical working groups…and committees work to discuss the rules? As they said, the rules on armed conflict dun sa pinag-uusapan sa peace talks,” Palabay said.

To recall, the previous Duterte administration had granted conditional liberty to around 20 NDFP consultants to participate in peace talks.

But then-President Rodrigo Roa Duterte — who once claimed to be a socialist to court the votes of the Left in the 2016 presidential race — ordered their mass arrest following the collapse of the peace talks in December 2017.

Palabay underscored the need to release the peace consultants as part of the Philippine government’s obligation under previously signed agreements, namely the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and the GPH-NDFP Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

“Sa totoo lang, yung Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, in the first place, if it is recognized, if it is upheld, in the first place, those consultants should not have been inside jails naman, di ba? So once that is recognized, what should follow is the release of NDFP consultants and all political prisoners,” she further said.

(ai/mnm)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — History is seemingly in the making with the resumption of peace negotiations between the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) which launched a Maoist-type “armed struggle” that began during the regime of the President’s late father and has persisted for nearly 55 years now.

Norway, reputed as one of the safest and most developed countries in Europe, has agreed to host the peace talks, six years after they were terminated by the Duterte administration which vowed but failed to crush the longest Maoist insurgency in this part of Southeast Asia.

“The parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict,” read a joint statement issued by both sides, signed in Oslo, Norway last Thursday, November 23.

“The parties acknowledge the deep-rooted socioeconomic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation.”

Presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. noted that both sides have agreed to “a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict.”

He expressed hope that ”This joint communiqué highlights a significant milestone in the quest of the Filipino people to achieve peace, reconciliation, and unity.”

“We will start anew… really a fresh start,” Galvez said.

For her part, NDFP chief negotiator Julieta De Lima-Sison, widow of the late CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison said they will raise some “impediments” such as the release of peace consultants and political prisoners, as well as the terrorist designation of the NDFP.

She added that the “timeline is still being discussed. Maybe next year.”

On the other hand, Connie Ledesma, consultant and wife of former priest and NDFP Chairman Luis Jalandoni, disclosed that the NDFP will also push for the abolition of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).

“What we can only answer and the most certain thing is we have signed a joint statement and we are eager to move faster,” Ledesma said.

(ai/mnm)