Butuan City – Religious leaders in Mindanao are pushing incoming president Rodrigo R. Duterte to restart the stalled peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic front of the Philippines (NDFP), political wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) also asked Duterte to take a closer look at the issues concerning the lumads (natives).
The PEPP said Duterte’s plan to release a number of prisoners of war (POW) puts him in a position to push for the resumption of the peace talks.
“We maintain that talks should adhere to and honor the Hague Joint Declaration and all other previous agreements as framework of the talks. We also believe that the release of political prisoners shall serve as a confidence-building measure that shall prime up the talks,” the PEPP said in a statement released to the media after a Mindanao-wide assembly held on May 18 at the Assumption College in Davao City.
The group cited the appointments of Atty. Silvestre Bello III and Atty. Rene Sarmiento as members of the GPH panel and said their track records give fresh hope to the success of the peace talks.
PEPP also appealed to Duterte to keep the people abreast of developments in the peace talks as well as hold consultations with all stakeholders.
The PEPP asked the Duterte administration to solve the killings of several lumads in various parts of Mindanao, particularly the ALCADEV massacre in Surigao del Sur and other incidents in Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, particularly the Pangantucan, Paquibato, and Kidapawan massacres.
The religious group also called on Duterte to disarm, dismantle and disband paramilitary groups in some areas in Caraga and Davao regions, in central Mindanao and northern Mindanao.
“The church will support the effort of the president to address these issues. We are also willing to help in any means towards this end,” PEPP leaders said.
The letter was signed by 28 religious leaders and officers of PEPP, including the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum and Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the resumption of peace talks and the apprehension of suspects in the lumad killings should be a priority under the Duterte administration, a bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) church said.
IFI Bishop Felixberto Calang said the church has already arranged a meeting with president Duterte and Mindanao bishops, priests, nuns, pastors of different religious groups to raise the major issues hounding Mindanao.
Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos of the Diocese of Butuan, who is also former president of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, is hoping that peace will finally reign in Mindanao under the Duterte administration.
http://www.mb.com.ph/mindanao-religious-leaders-back-gph-cpp-npa-ndf-peace-talks/
The PEPP said Duterte’s plan to release a number of prisoners of war (POW) puts him in a position to push for the resumption of the peace talks.
“We maintain that talks should adhere to and honor the Hague Joint Declaration and all other previous agreements as framework of the talks. We also believe that the release of political prisoners shall serve as a confidence-building measure that shall prime up the talks,” the PEPP said in a statement released to the media after a Mindanao-wide assembly held on May 18 at the Assumption College in Davao City.
The group cited the appointments of Atty. Silvestre Bello III and Atty. Rene Sarmiento as members of the GPH panel and said their track records give fresh hope to the success of the peace talks.
PEPP also appealed to Duterte to keep the people abreast of developments in the peace talks as well as hold consultations with all stakeholders.
The PEPP asked the Duterte administration to solve the killings of several lumads in various parts of Mindanao, particularly the ALCADEV massacre in Surigao del Sur and other incidents in Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, particularly the Pangantucan, Paquibato, and Kidapawan massacres.
The religious group also called on Duterte to disarm, dismantle and disband paramilitary groups in some areas in Caraga and Davao regions, in central Mindanao and northern Mindanao.
“The church will support the effort of the president to address these issues. We are also willing to help in any means towards this end,” PEPP leaders said.
The letter was signed by 28 religious leaders and officers of PEPP, including the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum and Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the resumption of peace talks and the apprehension of suspects in the lumad killings should be a priority under the Duterte administration, a bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) church said.
IFI Bishop Felixberto Calang said the church has already arranged a meeting with president Duterte and Mindanao bishops, priests, nuns, pastors of different religious groups to raise the major issues hounding Mindanao.
Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos of the Diocese of Butuan, who is also former president of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines, is hoping that peace will finally reign in Mindanao under the Duterte administration.
http://www.mb.com.ph/mindanao-religious-leaders-back-gph-cpp-npa-ndf-peace-talks/
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