First 100 days: Youth solon lauds peace process, independent foreign policy under Duterte admin

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 7): First 100 days: Youth solon lauds peace process, independent foreign policy under Duterte admin

Kabataan Partylist Rep. Sarah Elago on Friday lauded the significant advances of President Rodrigo Duterte for his first 100 days in the peace process and the pursuit of an independent foreign policy.

In a statement, Elago said that while many of the President’s campaign promises were still in the “early phase”, great strides had been made in rekindling the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

”It is a quantum leap that his predecessors failed to do. Now, the peace process is advancing towards discussing fundamental socio-economic reforms, reforms that will benefit not only the rebels but all Filipinos. This achievement is the saving grace of the President’s 100-day performance,” Elago said.

The Philippine government resumed its formal peace talks with the NDFP back in August, while the second round of the talks has already started this week.

Elago, however, still considers the peace process as “incomplete” since there are hundreds of political prisoners awaiting amnesty.

”However, we still consider the President’s achievements in the peace process as ‘incomplete’, given the fact that most political prisoners still languish in jail, and that despite the declaration of unilateral ceasefire from both the government and the NDFP, there are still many violations,” she explained.

The lawmaker also lauded Duterte’s intensified call against United States meddling in Philippine affairs, clearly delineating his independent foreign policy.

”We laud the President’s nationalist stance, and his bravery in calling out the empty promises of the US, especially when it comes to military support,” said Elago.

The youth solon said the main criticism of the President’s performance comes from his lack of focus on issues concerning education and human rights.

“There were no significant advances or even pronouncement as regards tuition and other school fee increases, the high cost of education, commercialization, and even privatization of educational institutions,” Elago said.

Elago also noted that the administration’s relentless war against illegal drugs has left a rising toll of extrajudicial killings.

”While there are significant strides, there are also areas for improvement, especially when it comes to education and human rights,” Elago said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=929625