COMBAT-READY In this 2016 photo, communist New People’s Army rebels gather in Misamis Oriental province to celebrate the group’s founding anniversary. —JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
MANILA, Philippines — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) said Friday it would focus on localized peace talks with communist rebels, with one of its officials saying “nothing good came out” of negotiations on a national scale.
Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Charlie Galvez said localized peace talks with communist rebels are still ongoing.
He said the government had tried a national approach in peace talks in the past, but it “ended up to nothing” compared to local peace engagements.
“We are still waiting for guidance. Sa ngayon ang ginagawa natin, ongoing pa rin ang peace talks pero ang ginawa natin ni-localize natin,” Galvez said in a press briefing.
(We are still waiting for guidance. Now, peace talks are still ongoing, but we localized it.)
“Nakita namin based sa assessment namin within the more than 50 years na negotiation natin, wala po tayong nakuhang maganda doon sa national peace talks,” he added.
(Based on our assessment, within the more than 50 years of our negotiations, nothing good came out of national peace talks.)
In explaining the choice of NTF-Elcac to focus on localized peace talks, Galvez stressed that the “dynamic of conflicts is different in different areas.”
“Iba-iba ‘yan. Iba sa Bangsamoro, iba dito sa area ng northern, iba sa Visayas, iba din sa Central Mindanao at Southern Mindanao,” Galvez said.
(It’s different. It’s different for Bangsamoro, the Visayas, and Central Mindanao and Southern Mindanao.)
“Mas maganda na ang ating localized peace engagement. Makikita natin ‘yung interest at yung issues ay nandun din, na-address ng agencies na nandun sa local,” he added.
(Localized peace engagement is better. We can see the interest and issues addressed by our local agencies.)
Asked if this means the NTF-Elcac does not have a recommendation on the national peace talks, National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos, who serves as the vice chairperson of the task force, said: “They are all localized.”
Carlos earlier said she is “done with peace talks” with communist rebels, but noted that they should be invited “to be part of change.”