“We are doing this for the future of our country. You will be enjoying the dividends of peace. You will be enjoying the dividends of this negotiations,” Labor Secretary and Government of the Philippines (GRP) Peace Panel Chair Silvestre H. Bello addressed the students of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
The college organized a forum on the peace talks on September 26 that featured Bello and his counterpart, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Peace Panel Chair Luis Jalandoni.
“Kaya tutukan niyo ito. Huwag niyong ipaubaya sa amin iyan. Don’t leave it to us. We cannot achieve peace without your support, without the support of the Filipino [people],” said Bello.
Jalandoni, for his part, had similar strong persuasions for the youth and the Filipino people’s role in the peace process.
“So kayong mga estudyante dito, sa tingin namin sa NDFP, kayo ay magiging pillars ng development sa Philippines. From the problems of poverty to a Philippines that is prosperous and developed. From a situation of many are unemployed and landlessness to a situation where the peasants and workers and other people will have employment and will be able to build our country,” said Jalandoni.
Jalandoni said GRP and NDFP panels could continue with their work and uphold their commitments, but this would not be enough.
“In the end, it is you and the people of the Philippines, who will create and develop and implement a just and lasting peace that will be of benefit for the Filipino people and for the future. So sa tingin namin kayo ang napakahalaga o essential para sa success ng peace talks,” asserted Jalandoni.
Educating the youth on peace talks, root causes of armed struggle
“When talking about peace talks, there is a need to talk or even start with The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992,” said Bello.
“The Hague Joint Declaration provided the framework for the talks. It provided that when we talk about peace, we should talk about four substantive issues,” said Bello.
“Sinabi na rin ni Sec. Bello, framework agreement ito. It states that there is parity and reciprocity between the two sides. No side will impose its constitution, its judicial and legal system on the other,” said Jalandoni of The Hague Joint Declaration.
The four substantive issues were human rights and international humanitarian law, social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, and end of hostilities and disposition of forces. These are discussed in sequence.
“And if we could agree on these three substantive issues, we will proceed to the end of hostilities and disposition of forces,” said Bello.
The GRP and the NDFP have reached an agreement on the first substantive issue.
“It was only after the 87th that we finally came up with a draft agreement on human rights and international humanitarian law. That is the first issue where we succeeded in coming into a consensus. And that was signed in March of 1998, towards the end of the term of the former President Ramos,” shared Bello.
Said signed agreement is the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).
A Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC), representing the two sides, have been set up to monitor the implementation of the CARHRIHL. The JMC met again only on September 20 in the Royal Norwegian Government Embassy in Makati since the peace talks under the past administration fell in 2011.
Heart and soul of peace negotiations
“The second [substantive issue], which to my mind is the heart and soul of the peace process, is the issue on social and economic reforms,” said Bello.
As scheduled, the GRP and NDFP exchanged a proposed framework and outline for the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) last month. This is in keeping with the August 26, 2016 Joint Statement, the result of the first round of peace talks under President Rodrigo Duterte.
Schedule was indicated in the third point of the Joint Statement: “On the methods of work, the RWCs agreed to have an exchange of proposed drafts on the CASER framework and outline on or before September 15, 2016. The exchange of drafts can be done through email.”
“According to the late Haydee Yorac, the root causes of the armed conflict…it is because of extreme poverty of our people. Napakaraming mahirap sa Pilipino kaya tayo hindi nagkakaroon ng kapayapapan. Pangalawa, yung paniwala ng bawat Pilipino na ang ating gobyerno ay walang kakayahan, and it has no intention and it has no capacity to deliver justice. Masyadong mali ang ating judicial system. At pangatlo, nakakahiya ito, kasi nasa gobyerno ako. Probably one of the worst reasons why we have an insurgency problem is because of corruption in government. Sobrang kurakot sa gobyerno,” explained Bello.
In the NDFP proposal, the main CASER objectives are: a) carry out agrarian reform and national industrialization; b) advance the rights of exploited, oppressed, discriminated and disadvantaged sectors of society; c) uphold, protect, defend and promote economic sovereignty; and d) conserve the national patrimony and protect the environment.
Tackling these objectives would address the root causes of the armed struggle, according to the NDFP.
“We think the success of the negotiations, to achieve just and lasting peace, will depend very much on [the people’s] organization, your strength, your creativity, your talents, your commitment to build up our country to a progressive, prosperous and developed country,” said Jalandoni.
