Communist rebel negotiator Fidel Agcaoili, right, (AP File Photo/Bullit Marquez)
DAVAO CITY – All released consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) are in the country and are protected from rearrest.
According to Fidel Agcaoili, chairperson of the NDFP negotiating panel, the consultants are covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), which has been in effect since 1995.
“All 17 NDFP consultants released from detention last August 2016 are in the Philipppines and are not in hiding. Those who took part in the third round of formal talks in Rome from 19 to 25 January 2017 have returned to the country as of 31 January. They are all protected from rearrest in accordance with the JASIG,” Agcaoili said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Agcaoili explained that the consultants have been placed under the jurisdiction of courts after they were released on bail.
“These consultants have been put under the effective jurisdiction of GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) courts because they were released only on bail and only for a six-month period,” Agcaoili said.
The NDFP peace negotiator added that all the travels of the consultants have been allowed by the courts.
“They have been required to secure court permission every time they went abroad to participate in the last three rounds of talks. Their bail renewal is due this month and, as reflected in the Rome Joint Statement of 25 January 2017, both their lawyers and the GRP have agreed to cooperate in this regard,” Agcaoili said.
President Duterte on Saturday suspended the negotiations with the NDFP and demanded that all released prisoners return to jails.
“Those who were released by the government, they should, on their own volition, return here and go back to prison,” Duterte said.
Duterte also directed intelligence units to monitor the locations of the peace consultants.
“I’m alerting all the intelligence communities to keep track of where they are now. Walang pardon. Walang amnesty. Wala lahat (No pardon. No amnesty. Nothing),” he said
Duterte also threatened to cancel their passports.
The NDFP debunked claims that the government has been spending taxpayer’s money for the consultants of the revolutionary movement, divulging that the Norwegian government has been paying for all of their expenses.
“The Royal Norwegian Government in its capacity as Third Party Facilitator in the peace talks has been providing for the travel expenses and accommodation of the NDFP delegation in formal and informal peace talks since the beginning,” Agcaoili said.
Meanwhile, Agcaoili said that the revolutionary movement has been waiting for the formal notice of the government peace panel as agreed upon in JASIG.
Agcaoili clarified that despite the setbacks, the NDFP was and would remain committed to continuing the peace negotiations and finding a common solution for the root causes of the conflict.
“The NDFP stands firm in its commitment to struggle for a just and lasting peace in the country in accordance with the national and democratic aspirations of the Filipino people,” Agcaoili said. SFM
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