The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform, the largest ecumenical formation of church leaders in the country, on Friday urged the government and the communist National Democratic Front to immediately resume peace negotiations "to address the roots of the armed conflict."
In a statement, the group said recent developments have strengthened their resolve to push for the talks, including the sharing of insights and experience of ordinary people on the human rights violations in their communities; the briefing by former Commission on Elections chair Christian Monsod and former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito on social justice and the need for fundamental economic reforms to address poverty and inequality; and the explanations of former government peace panel chairperson Rene Sarmiento on how the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) was crafted through a long process of negotiations.
"We call on the GPH (government of the Philippines) and NDFP to immediately resume the formal peace talks in order to address the roots of the armed conflict. Along with this call is our appeal to both parties to make themselves more visible and accessible to the public, especially to the organizations accompanying this process," the PEPP said.
The church leaders said the government and the NDF should move to advance their earlier pronouncement about the possibility of talking peace anew. They said they are also emboldened by the support of the Royal Norwegian Government, the third party facilitator, which appointed Elisabeth Slattum, as a new special envoy.
The formal peace talks between the government and the NDF were suspended in June 2011.
The PEPP said its members nationwide will help "spread the good news of peace."
"We will do innovative approaches to peace in our churches like popularizing peace sports, songs, dances and other art forms in support of the peace process. We will encourage our young people to be involved in different fora. We will likewise make our church leaders more visible in the public media expressing their full support to the talks," it said.
"We will use the time and space during the election months to consolidate our ranks, strengthen our collective strategies, dialogue with different stakeholders to sustain the peace process and be more pro-active when an opportunity opens up for the resumption of the talks," it added.
The PEPP statement was a result of its 4th Church Leaders’ Summit in Cebu City held from June 29 to July 1, 2015 attended by 63 participants representing the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP-men and women), Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC).
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/113549/church-leaders-alliance-prods-govt-ndf-to-resume-peace-talks-soon
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