A flag bearing the logo of the NPA was recovered in an encounter. Photo from the Philippine Army
MANILA, Philippines — The electorate should vote for candidates who can sue for peace with the communist movement, the largest ecumenical formation of church leaders in the Philippines has said.
“Choose candidates who are supportive of the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines as a viable way to solve the situation of unpeace in our midst,” Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) said in a statement on Monday.
The PEPP also said the military approach to the one of the world’s longest running communist insurgency “has failed and will continue to fail.”
“For more than fifty years, the military approach to a national concern that is rooted on socio-economic injustices has bred more dissent, promoted hate and resentful hearts, economic dislocation and the deaths of thousands of Filipinos on both sides of the conflict,” they group said.
They continued: “Five decades of military conflagration has been a period of national pain. That approach has failed and will continue to fail.”
The group also said the voters should elect candidates who will address the roots of armed conflict.
“Beyond the issue of peace negotiations, vote for candidates who show their sincerity to address the roots of the armed conflict — poverty, landlessness, inaccessibility to services and inequitable distribution of resources — especially, even during times when they are not courting our votes,” the group said.
“Candidates who do not only pay lip service to peace but those who have a history and clear track record of addressing the challenges of social justice and the need for fundamental socio-economic reforms that will address the issues of poverty and inequity — the roots of the armed conflict in the country.”
President Rodrigo Duterte, who has terminated peace talks with the communist movement in 2019, said he hopes the next administration could “find peace” with the insurgents.
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