Palace still sees hope for peace with Reds

MALACAÑANG on Sunday said that it is “open and interested” to meet with communist leaders again at the negotiating table.

In a radio interview over radio dzRB, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that the Philippine government is open to resume peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) through the National Democratic Front (NDF), its negotiating panel.

“Patuloy pong bukas at interesado po tayong makipagtalakayan, at bukas din po tayo sa pagsisimula muli o resumption ng formal talks (We are open and interested to discuss and we are open to the resumption of formal talks),” Coloma said.

The Palace official even cited the surrender of 154 New People’s Army rebels in Loreto, Agusan del Sur last May as a welcome development on the issue.

Coloma said that the Aquino administration is exploring various possibilities to resume talks with the rebels.

“Ang ating pamahalaan po ay nais isulong ‘yung prosesong pangkapayapaan at patuloy pang sinusuri ang iba pang posibilidad para sa pormal na pagpapanumbalik o resumption ng negosasyon sa pagitan ng gobyerno at ng CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army/National Democratic Front),” he said.

(The government wants to pursue the peace process and we are continuously exploring other possibilities to resume formal negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF.)

Last May, President Aquino urged the NDFP to “show sincerity” in order for the stalled negotiations to resume.

However, this was met with opposition by NDFP Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison, saying that Aquino has not shown sincerity in the peace talks after he allegedly violated existing agreements, such as the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL), the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the Joint Agreement on the Formation, Sequence and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committees. AC

RELATED STORIES
154 NPA rebels surrender

Aquino wants talks with communists resumed, but…