Alexander Padilla, chairman of the government peace panel, said yesterday that the holding of localized peace talks, which may be initiated by local government executives, is welcome especially after the resumption of peace talks between the government and the National Democratic stalled again.
This was after disagreements over issues, like the release of jailed communist leaders, claimed by NDFP to be its consultants.
Although the CPP-NPA-NDF has been long opposing localized peace talks, as it prefers them on the national level, Padilla, who was in Negros Occidental Thursday for PhilHealth concerns, said he favors localized peace talks.
The peace process between the CPP-NPA-NDF and the government, that started in 1987 during the presidency of the late Corazon Aquino has been on and off, for more than 25 years now.
Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. has repeatedly called on the NPA remnants in Negros Occidental to join him in the fight against poverty and to abandon armed struggle.
Padilla said the NDF demand for the release of their alleged peace consultants is “unacceptable,” pointing out that some NPA leaders who had been released earlier went back to the underground movement and resumed the fight against the government.
“Time and again, he said, “we have asked the CPP-NPA-NDF to join us in searching for fair and peaceful solutions to the issues that divide us,” he also said.
“We have asked them to engage in talks that have a clear agenda and time-table, to talk, not just for the sake of talking, but to reach specific agreements that will lessen, if not eradicate, the violence on the ground, Padilla said.
Fidel Agacaoili, NDFP spokesperson and a member of its negotiating panel, said that a statement issued earlier by the Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, described the statement of Padilla as a “clear documentary evidence that the GRP/GPH is not interested in pursuing peace negotiations with the NDFP but is hell-bent on seeking the capitulation and pacification of the revolutionary movement.”
He also questioned the gains of the government peace process with the various armed groups, including the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade, claiming that the OPAPP has turned into a pork barrel racket with the recycling of RPA-ABB, among others, into AFP paramilitary groups.
But Padilla said government's doors have always been open to peaceful dialog and they have not lost hope that they can all return to the negotiating table.
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