LUCENA CITY – The leaders of the communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have been informed beforehand of the sudden postponement of the scheduled peace talks with the government.
Still, the postponement disappointed the communist rebels.
“Before the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) make public its decision to postpone the June 21 announcement of a stand down and the resumption of talks on June 28, they had told me of their intention or unilateral decision to have some adjustments in the schedule that we had agreed on during our informal talks from June 5-10,” Fidel Agcaoili, NDFP peace panel chair, said in an online interview on Thursday afternoon.
READ: Dureza: Peace talks with Reds on June 28 canceled
When asked if the cancellation of the scheduled peace negotiation upset the NDFP, Agcaoili replied: “Of course. Because there was already a schedule that we had agreed on last June 5-10.”
Agcaoili said the government negotiators had already notified the peace talks’ third party facilitator, the Royal Norwegian Government, of the cancellation of the peace negotiation.
“The GRP also said that they are going to send a team to The Netherlands this weekend to explain to us the basis of their decision with the third party facilitator in attendance,” Agcaoili said.
But despite the temporary setback in the pursuit of peace, Agcaoili said the NDFP would welcome the arrival of the government team to explain their decision to cancel the talks and the subsequent adjustment in the schedule. /ee