NDFP to acknowledge JASIG termination; says all-out war not new

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) on Tuesday said that it plans to acknowledge the termination of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), the same day it was issued.

“We intend to acknowledge it today to enable the 30-day grace period to run.  It is actually an odd notice since it only terminates the JASIG and not the peace negotiations but has the same effect,” Fidel Agcaoili, chief peace negotiator of the NDFP said.

“It is not like the written notice of termination sent by President Estrada before.  But Dureza’s notice will do in effectively terminating the peace negotiations,” he added.

The Philippine Government earlier has terminated the JASIG with communist rebels.

Peace process adviser Jesus Dureza confirmed the termination of the JASIG in a letter addressed to NDF chief political consultant Jose Ma. Sison and NDF panel Chairperson Fidel Agcaoili.

The government and the NDF signed in February 1995 the JASIG, which guarantees safety and immunity to negotiators, consultants, and other personnel joining the peace talks.

READ: Gov’t terminates JASIG with Reds

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that it will launch an all-out war against the New People’s Army (NPA). Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the NPA remains a “security threat,” saying that state forces will “hunt them down.”

READ: AFP to wage ‘all-out war’ vs NPA—defense chief

Agcaoili said that this is not the first time that an all-out war has been declared against the revolutionary forces.

“President Cory Aquino did it in 1987 after the Mendiola massacre. Estrada too, after signing the VFA.  We are used to these threats,” Agcaoili said.

“The revolutionary movement will persist and continue the struggle for the national and social liberation of the Filipino people to bring about a just and lasting peace in the country,” he added.