Senate’s active role in PH-NDF talks hailed

Terry Ridon. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

The Senate’s active role in supporting the government’s peace talks with the communists could help the negotiations succeed, a Cabinet official said Thursday.

Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) Terry Ridon lauded the effort of the Senate to proactively push for the government’s negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF), amid physical and verbal attacks between the two parties.

“We laud the initiative of the Senate to support the peace talks. A whole-of-government approach is important for the progress and success of the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front,” Ridon said in a statement.

During his meeting with the new Norwegian special envoy to the Philippines on peace efforts with the NDF, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier said there is a need for the Senate to take a more active role in the peace process.

“There is a need to involve the Senate in the peace and reconciliation efforts between the Philippines and the NDF because in the end, a law will be needed to define the relationship of the parties,” Drilon said in a statement.

On October 19, Drilon met with Idun Tvedt and Elisabeth Slattum of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss the peace and reconciliation efforts between the Philippines and the NDFP that have been sponsored by the Norwegian government.

Ridon supported Drilon’s position, saying the senator is correct in seeking Senate participation in the peace negotiations, especially in light of negotiations on the comprehensive agreement on social and economic reforms (CASER), which includes longstanding reforms such as genuine agrarian reform and national industrialization.

The PCUP chief said congressional approval is indispensable to enact the genuine agrarian reform bill and create the legal framework for national industrialization.

“Further, legislation is also needed to strengthen frameworks on environmental protection and natural resources utilization,” he added.