Reds, AFP call for sincerity, political will in peace talks

LUCENA CITY, Quezon—The Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is calling on the communist rebels to be sincere should peace negotiations resume anew.

“Sincerity in actions will play a big factor in a peace talk,” said a Solcom statement posted Tuesday on its official Facebook page.

The command is headed by Maj. Gen. Ricardo Visaya.

Solcom said the people and soldiers in the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions have fallen victim to the “senseless violence” of New People’s Army rebels in its 46-year-old insurgency. “But Solcom still have high hopes that our insurgency problem can be addressed through a peaceful resolve,”  it said.

For his part, Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison said “political will” for the sake of peace is the key to end the more than four decades of armed conflict between government forces and the NPA.

“Political will needs to be exercised by the opposite parties in order to reach agreement on the issues towards a just and durable peace,” Sison, the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), said in an online interview on Sunday.

The Utrecht-based Sison announced on Friday that the stalled negotiations could resume in the third week of this month, after the Jan. 15-19 visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines.

Peace negotiations between the government peace panel and NDFP, the political arm of the CPP, have been stalled since 2004, with both parties adamant in pushing for their respective preconditions before the start of  talks.

Asked what the NDFP could give in return should the government agree to return to the negotiating table, Sison replied: “Do not presume that the revolutionary movement is beggarly towards those in power in Manila.”

“There is mutual give and take between the two sides of the GPH (Government of the Philippines) and NDFP in order to agree for the realization of the rights and well-being of the Filipino people. The interest of the Filipino people shall prevail,” he added.

“Friends” of both parties, according to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, have been working toward a meeting between Sison and President Aquino.

Should the President agree to the meeting, Sison said he would ask for Mr. Aquino”s “diligent and prompt attention to the course of the peace negotiations for the benefit of the Filipino people.”

Solcom, which is based in Camp Nakar in Lucan, said it would not tolerate human rights violations by state forces.

“It has been one of our advocacies to continue to promote the primacy of peace and human rights which are engraved in our IPSP (Internal Peace and Security Plan) Bayanihan,” it said.

Last month, Visaya acknowledged that although the number of guerrillas in the Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions continued to drop, the NPA rebels remained a serious threat in Southern Luzon.

Both the government and CPP have declared a ceasefire for the holidays and during the visit of Pope Francis. For the government, it is from Dec. 19, 2014 to Jan. 20, 2015 while for the CPP it was from Dec. 24 to 26; Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, and Jan. 15 to 19.