Lawmakers remain hopeful that the peace talks will still succeed despite the withdrawal of ceasefire declarations by the government and the communist movement.
The House Committees on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity and on Public Order and Safety urged the two parties to return to the negotiating table on February 22 to iron out differences that have triggered their respective decisions to halt the observation of unilateral ceasefire.
Reps. Alfred Vargas (LP, Quezon City), Carlos Isagani Zarate (Bayan Muna party-list), and Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers party-list) are confident that the recent events adverse to the peace process are mere temporary setback.
“I hope that this is a temporary setback in the ongoing peace talks and that both sides will still find solutions to attain longer peace,” said Vargas.
Zarate allayed fears that the withdrawal of ceasefire declarations will douse hopes for a peaceful solution to the half-a-century armed conflict.
“We call on the negotiating panels of both parties, as well as their respective working groups and committees, to focus in the crafting of an agreement on socio-economic reforms – the crux and the most crucial part of the peace process,” said Zarate, vice chairman of the House Committee on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.
“The absence of a ceasefire should not be taken as signal the agents of the state for a renewed violation of human rights,” he added.
Zarate urged peace negotiators to proceed with their February 22 scheduled meeting in Utrecht, Netherlands, adding that primary of the agenda is the release of political detainees, particularly the sickly and the elderly.
Tinio sees the withdrawal declarations as mere formality, claiming that the AFP had actually violated its own declaration to temporarily halt attacks on suspected communist party members and insurgents.
“On the ground, the AFP did not cease from conducting counterinsurgency ops even while the unilateral ceasefire was in effect,” he said.
Tinio cited alleged attacks in lumad communities in Mindanao as proof that the AFP has reneged on its own ceasefire declaration. (Ben R. Rosario)