The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will ask local courts on Tuesday to free its 22 consultants in a bid to ensure their participation in the formal peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway this month.
The political prisoners, led by Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, could be released within two days if prosecutors would not object, said NDFP lawyer Edre Olalia, who also acknowledged that not all of them might be set free in time for the resumption of talks on August 20.
READ: Tiamzon couple: Arrest shows gov't is 'balasubas'
Olalia said failure to release any of the consultants would be a "decisive factor" on whether the talks would push through as scheduled or would be delayed until all of them were released.
Satur Ocampo, a former chief NDFP negotiator, said releasing the 22 political prisoners before August 20 would be the "best starting point" for the talks.
The Supreme Court earlier turned down a government request to release 10 consultants, saying it should instead be made before the local courts that have jurisdiction over their cases.
One such case involves the alleged purging of communists rebels, whose bodies were discovered in a mass grave in Leyte.
But the Supreme Court said the courts "shall give utmost priority to the hearing of such motions and manifestations in view of the grave importance of peace to the Filipino people."
The government is set to resume formal talks with communist rebels in a bid to end one of the world's longest-running Maoist campaigns that has killed more than 30,000 people in nearly half a century.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/08/16/left-to-press-courts-for-22-consultants-release
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