Is it the same as Duterte’s?
A ranking National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) official said the incoming Duterte administration needs to define the kind of federalism they espouse before the communist group decides to throw its support behind it.
“Kailangan i-define kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng federalism. Madaming forms ang federalism. Kailangan for the team of [incoming] President Duterte to define it (Federalism needs to be defined first. There are many forms of federalism. The team of [incoming President Rodrigo] Duterte has to define it,” Fidel Agcaoili, NDFP spokesman, said during a visit here this week.
He hinted that the NDFP leadership may consider Duterte’s call to adopt the federal form of government if it means “giving the national minority the right [to] self-determination, to rule their own land, have control of taxes and natural resources within their territory.”
The proposed federal government, Agcaoili explained, must also have clearly defined geographic areas, citing as examples the Bangsamoro and Cordillera regions.
“Basta may specific area okay ‘yun. Pero kung darating sa Federal Republic of Ilocos, of Bicol, parang we will just be strengthening political dynasties ‘pag nangyari yun. So they have to define it (If there are specific areas, that’s okay. But if it comes to a point [of creating] a Federal Republic of Ilocos, of Bicol], we will just be strengthening political dynasties if this happens. So we have to define it (federalism),” he explained.
PEACE AGREEMENT FIRST
In the meantime, the NDFP spokesman stressed that there should first be a peace agreement forged between the communist organization and the incoming administration before the former decides to go mainstream and finally join government.
“Only after all the agreements have been signed will there be a government of national unity peace and development. Use that as a guide when we talk about coalition government,” he said.
When asked which of the Duterte administration’s 8-point economic agenda are in line with the NDFP’s socio-economic proposals, Agcaoili said only two items need to be added to the agenda.
“Actually, eight dagdagan mo lang ng dalawa (you only need to add two more [items to the economic agenda] -carry out agrarian reform and carry out national industrialization,” the NDFP spokesman cited.
“Perhaps we can work through it. Meron din kaming gustong i-push like social policies, like higher wages, free healthcare, free education, free housing for the benefit of the people,” he added.
Agcaoili, who arrived in Davao last Tuesday, met with Duterte to discuss the possibility of resuming the long-stalled negotiations between the government and the NDFP.
Their meetings have been very fruitful, as they were able to identify issues to be tackled by the GPH-NDFP negotiating teams during their exploratory talks in Oslo, Norway next week.
The key issues include the granting of general amnesty to political prisoners, the possibility of having an interim GPH-NDFP mutual ceasefire, and the proposal of accelerating the pace of the peace negotiations between the national government and the rebel group.
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