Peace deal with militia in Cordillera snagged

BAGUIO CITY—A process to fulfill the 1986 peace talks with Cordillera rebels has been snagged over Malacañang’s use of the words “closure program” because the term supposedly negates the “sipat,” a ritual to suspend hostilities that was undertaken by then President Corazon Aquino and rebel priest Conrado Balweg.

But the final word from Malacañang is that President Benigno Aquino III wants the word “closure” retained in a controversial deal with Balweg’s militia, the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA).

At a Dec. 17 briefing here, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said the government prefers the word “closure” because Mr. Aquino wants to send the signal that he is “providing closure to problems and unfinished business.”

“This is a peace process, so  ‘closure’ means after this, you are no longer armed; when this ends you are no longer an army,” Deles said.

‘Closure’ questioned

Deles, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda came here to launch the livelihood and aid projects for Cordillera towns that fulfill government obligations in the 1986 sipat.

A faction of Balweg’s CPLA and the region’s officials questioned the use of the word “closure” in a July 4 disarmament deal with CPLA chair Arsenio Humiding.

The Cordillera Regional Development Council (RDC) and Andres Nago-i, who leads the CPLA faction, complained that “closure” could be interpreted to mean an end to the sipat, and would discourage Cordillerans from supporting a third autonomy campaign for the region.

The measure, creating the Autonomous Region of the Cordilleras, was filed last week in the House of Representatives.

Asked why Malacañang refused to replace the word in its agreements with the CPLA, Deles said the Aquino administration needed to express to the public that it can provide results.

“The government did not invent the circumstances. Before the President assumed office, the public complaint was that the country has not been able to put closure to its numerous scandals. There was no closure after martial law. There was no closure after [deposed President Joseph Estrada was jailed and pardoned],” she said.

Peace agreements

“So the government has come to use [the word]  ‘close’ to mean tatapusin ng mabuti (end things properly),” she said.

Deles said the word “closure” would in fact be emphasized in future peace agreements.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp) is tasked to negotiate disarmament agreements with the CPLA, Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade, the armed group which splintered from the New People’s Army; the National Democratic Front, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Vincent Cabreza, with a report from Desiree Caluza, Inquirer Northern Luzon