Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – Is a peace deal with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in the offing?
Malacañang on Wednesday said it was not yet sure, but that the recent release of four policemen in Surigao del Norte was a “welcome development.”
“This is a welcome development on the part of the NDF (National Democratic Front) to release these four policemen. Certainly we hope this is a groundbreaking event where the CPP-NPA-NDF look forward to resuming the peace process without any conditions,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.
He said the government has always been prepared to negotiate with them.
“We are hopeful that this thing would move forward,” he said.
However, Lacierda admitted that the peace talks with the NDF, the political arm of the CPP, has not been easy.
He said it was more complicated, unlike their negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which resulted in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
Asked if the release of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon could be part of the deal, Lacierda said it was unlikely since criminal charges were already filed against them.
“It’s beyond the executive branch. It’s already with the judicial branch. There’s a case that is already filed,” he said.
The Tiamzons, who were arrested in March, are being accused of leading the New People’s Army, the military arm of the CPP. They were charged for murder.
However, the NDF claimed that both were consultants involved in the peace talks and should have been covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig).
The NDF on Sunday said they released the four policemen as a “goodwill gesture to promote the peace talks” between the two parties. Both the NPA and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) issued suspension of military offensives (SOMO) to ensure the safe release of the policemen.
Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, also welcomed the move.
“We reiterate our openness and serious intent to pursue peace negotiations with the CPP/NPA/NDF on the basis of a time-bound and doable agenda. We believe that our people deserve nothing less from the two parties than that they resume peace talks which can offer a clear roadmap to a just and doable political settlement,” she said in a statement.
She said the release was a “potential building block for the resumption of peace negotiations” between the two parties.
Both parties have in the past accused each other of stalling the peace talks. Earlier this year, the NDF said the Aquino administration refused to comply with the Jasig and other bilateral agreements, saying the Philippine government must take responsibility for killing the peace negotiations.
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