These include holiday ceasefire from 23 December 2008 to 3 January 2009 on humanitarian grounds; ceasefire for the duration of formal meetings of the GRP and NDFP negotiating panels as goodwill and confidence-building measure and as incentive to substantive negotiations; and, ceasefire for the possible orderly and safe release of prisoners of war currently in the hands of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Agcaoili accused Confesor of lying by ‘falsely claiming’ that the GRP is agreeable to the resumption of formal meetings while setting the prolonged ceasefire as a precondition, and “spreading the lie that the GRP and NDFP negotiating panels have agreed on an undefined kind of ceasefire”.
Contradictory
In a forum organized by the Pilgrims for Peace, November 25, Rey Claro Casambre, executive director of the Philippine Peace Center (PPC) said unless the two parties proceed with the substantive agenda, peace talks would go nowhere.
Casambre said the GRP must adhere to its declared principles on peace negotiations with rebel groups.
The peace advocate cited the GRP’s Three Principles of the Peace Process and Six Paths to Peace as embodied in the Executive Order 125 issued by then Pres. Fidel Ramos on September 15, 1993 and reiterated in Executive Order No. 3 issued by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on February 28, 2001.
The three principles state that peace talks: 1) should be community-based, reflecting the sentiments,
values and principles important to all Filipinos. Thus, it shall be defined not by government alone, nor by the different contending groups only, but by Filipinos as one community; 2) aims to forge a new social compact for a just, equitable, humane, and pluralistic society. It seeks to establish a genuinely pluralistic political society; and, 3) seeks a principled and peaceful resolution of the internal armed conflicts, with neither blame nor surrender, but with dignity for all concerned.
The six paths to peace are 1) pursuit of social, economic and political reforms that address the roots of armed conflict; 2) peaceful negotiated settlement with different rebel groups; 3) programs for reconciliation, reintegration into mainstream society and rehabilitation; 4) addressing concerns arising from the continuing armed hostilities; 5) consensus-building and empowerment for peace; and, 6) building and nurturing a climate conducive to peace.
Casambre said, “There is no path to peace other than addressing the roots of the armed conflict.”
JASIG
Jalandoni said further that the GRP panel did not want to reaffirm the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) prior to the resumption of formal peace talks.
The JASIG was signed by the NDFP and GRP on February 24, 1995, and in effect provides safety and immunity guarantees to all those identified to be involved in the peace negotiations.
The NDFP said, “They [the GRP] would not guarantee the release of N DFP consultants arrested and detained in violation of the JASIG, nor withdraw false charges filed against NDFP personnel also in violation of the JASIG, unless the resumption conditioned on the prolonged ceasefire would take place.”
