Peace deal doubtful, say communists

The Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front says it is becoming increasingly doubtful that a final peace agreement will be signed with the government by next year.

In a statement released on Thursday, the party said peace talks cannot resume until the government releases 13 NDF consultants who are facing various criminal charges.

“It is becoming increasingly doubtful that the government will succeed in forging a peace agreement with the NDF due to its adamant refusal to comply with its standing obligations, particularly its commitment to release the detained consultants of the NDF covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees,” said the CPP-NDF.

“How can the government expect the NDF to sit down in peace negotiations when a significant number of its representatives who are supposed to participate in the talks are being kept behind bars by the government?”

Government chief negotiator Alexander Padilla, however, remained firm that the release of the NDF consultants must not be a precondition to the resumption of the talks.

Padilla said it will be hard to invoke the Jasig because the communists did not comply with the requirement that hard copies of photographs of Jasig-protected persons must be kept in a safety deposit box in a bank in Utrecht.

The government panel went to Utrecht in July to verify the list and found out that instead of individual photographs, the box contained encrypted diskettes.

The NDF could no longer retrieve any of the data contained in the old diskettes and have asked that they be allowed to recompose their list.

Padilla, however, said the government will reject the NDF’s new list.

“They can just include anyone and everyone whom they want to be protected by the Jasig. We cannot accept that,” he said.

The government earlier caused the dropping of charges against five NPA leaders – Jovencio Balweg, Angelita Ipong, Glicerio Pernia, Maria Luisa Pucray and Jaime Soledad.

Padilla said that from an original target date of June 2012, the signing of a final peace pact might be moved to end of next year.

Backchanneling efforts are ongoing to move the talks forward despite the setbacks, Padilla said.

At the minimum, Padilla said he hopes for a meeting between the reciprocal working committees of both panels on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms before the year ends. –Joyce Pangco Pañares, Manila Standard Today