MILF: Team PNoy win good for peace
Among the groups in an apparent celebratory mood as President Aquino’s allies appeared to dominate the senatorial race is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Among the groups in an apparent celebratory mood as President Aquino’s allies appeared to dominate the senatorial race is the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The government is shoring up its peace-building efforts in Mindanao with the release of P42 million to the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).
Close to 3,000 individuals from three adjoining villages here have fled their homes as rival Moro rebel groups continue war posturing despite localized truce.
Fighting between members of the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front broke out in Matalam, North Cotabato, on Thursday.
The lack of a ceasefire agreement between the government and communist rebels was the main stumbling block to the peace negotiations, said Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, who chairs the government panel in the talks with Moro rebels.
Malacañang shrugged. “It’s nothing new,” said Palace spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Saturday when asked to comment on threats made by the communist rebels to intensify their attacks after the government announced that it would no longer pursue peace talks.
Despite the escalating word war between Malacañang and leaders of the local communist movement, Team PNoy senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros still wants the government to pursue peace talks and maintain open communication lines with the rebel group.
Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison has accused President Aquino of being responsible for the “death” of the peace talks with the communist insurgents.
The National Democratic Front is open to the resumption of peace talks with the Aquino administration, the rebels’ chief negotiator, Luis Jalandoni, said on Wednesday.
Prospects are dimming, if not altogether lost, for a peaceful end under the Aquino administration to the longest-running and lone Maoist insurgency in Asia.
Luis Jalandoni, peace panel chairperson of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), on Wednesday declared that the communist rebel movement is still open to the resumption of peace negotiation with the Philippine government.
The difficulty of holding talks with officials of The Netherlands-based National Democratic Front (NDF) has had a lot to do with the rebels’ use of outdated jargon, Malacañang said on Monday.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Monday said the government might initiate negotiations with field units of the New People’s Army after chief government negotiator Alexander Padilla reported that a peace deal with the Communist Party of the Philippines leadership based in the Netherlands seemed unlikely for now.
