Bishops urge govt, NDFP to resume formal peace talks

From GMA News (Dec 24): Bishops urge govt, NDFP to resume formal peace talks

A day before Christmas, ecumenical bishops urged the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to resume formal peace talks, which have been stalled since 2011.

“May this season of hope inspire both parties to break down the dividing wall of hostility and engage in principled negotiations to end the decades-old armed conflict in the country,” Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) said in a press statement released Thursday.

Among the signatories were Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ., D.D, co-chairperson pf PEPP; Bishop Noel Pantoja, national president, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches; Rev. Fr. Rex RB Reyes Jr, general secretary, National Council of Churches in the Philippines; and Ecumenical Bishops Forum co-chairperson Bishop Emeritus Deogracias Iniguez, Jr., D.D.

They said the call for the resumption of the peace talks between the government and the NDFP was one of the recent recommendations of United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ola Almgren.

According to the group, Almgren has called for “a full and meaningful resumption of the peace process” between the government and the NDFP in the context of the human rights challenges of the Indigenous Peoples of Mindanao as one of the longer term actions to end the Lumad crisis.

The PEPP also called for a safe return of the Lumad to their communities. The group said as both the NDFP and the government have already declared ceasefires from December 23 to January 3, 2016, they hope that both parties will respect and remain faithful to their declaration of ceasefire to ensure a peaceful holiday season.

The government and the Communist Party of the Philippines earlier declared holiday ceasefires from 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 23, 2015 until 11:59 of Jan. 3, 2016.

The bishops said they also welcomed the release of the prisoner of war Pfc. Jess Adonis Lupiba by the New People’s Army (NPA) on December 1.

“We hope that other POWs will also be released before the year ends. We call on the government to reciprocate this goodwill from the NDFP by also releasing political prisoners,” they said.

The bishops also expressed special concern for NDFP consultant Eduardo Serrano, 62, who suffered a heart attack on December 16. He needs to undergo angioplasty. “We appeal to the good graces of Pres. Benigno Aquino III, for humanitarian reasons, to order the release of Mr. Serrano,” they said.

“May the blessing of the prince of peace who came into the world as a vulnerable child, remind us that our calling as Christians is to pursue peace both in our individual lives and in the life of the nation. This becomes compelling since it is the innocent and the vulnerable who continually fall victim to our ongoing civil conflicts,” they added.

Lawyer Alexander Padilla, chief government negotiator, said they are always open to talk with the NDFp, but expressed doubt that any discussion will be resumed before the Aquino administration ends its term.

“Lagi namang bukas ang pamahalaan sa negosasyon pero in the past six years laging nagkakaroon ng mahirap na sitwasyon, nagdedemand sila ng release ng prisoners pero gipit na sa oras,” he said in an interview with GMA News Online over the phone.

He said the government does not want to talk only for the sake of talk but to come up with a concrete, definite, and doable agreement with the NDFP.

Regarding Serrano, Padilla said the neither the peace panel nor President Benigno Aquino III will get involved in the case as it is already before a court.

“Ang suggestion ko na lang since may kaso na sa korte, magsumite sila ng appropriate motion sa court dahil iyon lang ang pwedeng magdesisyon,” he said.

GMA News Online is still trying to reach the NDFP for comment. 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/549036/news/nation/bishops-urge-govt-ndfp-to-resume-formal-peace-talks