The signing of a closure agreement to the to the peace talks between the government and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (Tabara Paduano Group) remains in limbo.
Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Stephen Paduano, who recently met with Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita “Ging” Deles, said yesterday that he and RPM-P chairwoman Veronica Tabara were told that the closure agreement is still under scrutiny by the Office of the President.
The peace agreement between the government and the RPM-P-RPA-ABB was signed in December 2000. Almost 14 years after, members of the RPA-ABB, now known as Kapatiran sa Progresong Panlipunan, are still waiting for the signing and many of their leaders and members are already dead.
Paduano, who was the former national commander of the RPA-ABB, said they were also told by OPAPP that the closure agreement may be signed soon by President Benigno Aquino, although they gave no definite date.
The reported delay in the signing was traced to the failure of some government agencies to identify the alternate sites for resettlement areas of the families of RPA-ABB members in Negros island, among others.
Barangays Bagonbon and Celestino Villacin in the cities of San Carlos and Cadiz, respectively, have initially been identified as resettlement areas for RPA-ABB members.
However, it was later found out that those hinterland areas are part of the Northern Negros Natural Park, with informal settlers are now due for relocation by the provincial government, that aims to protect the remaining forest cover of the NNNP.
A DAILY STAR source said that while Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr. wants the signing of closure agreement as soon as possible, the use of NNNP as a resettlement area is non-negotiable to him.
Marañon, instead, suggested that the government should look for CARPable areas in Negros, that suit the needs of RPA-ABB members and their families, the source added.
In 2012, the Provincial Peace and Order Council of Negros Occidental passed a resolution asking OPAPP to look for alternative sites. The source, however, said there is no update on it yet.
The OPAPP had said earlier that the closure agreement is under due diligence review by the Office of the Presidential.
The signing has been awaited by members of the RPM-P-RPA-ABB since last year.
OPPAP has already completed the profiling of 716 RPM-P/RPA-ABB members all over the country, including the guns and explosives in their possessions.
The former rebel armed group has changed its name, in line with the goal of the government to transform it into a legitimate socio-economic and political organization.
Tabara, wife of the slain RPM-P founder Arturo Tabara, had said earlier that she is optimistic that the signing of their own closure agreement with the government will follow soon, after the inking of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
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