Church leaders hail resumption of talks with CPP-NDF, PHL gov’t

A group of church leaders in the Philippines has hailed the signing of a formal commitment for the resumption of peace talks between the Philippine government and leaders of communist rebels in July as a positive development towards the attainment of lasting peace and expressed optimism it will yield positive results.

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) described the joint statement signed recently by the peace negotiators of the incoming Duterte administration and representatives of the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) as a “bridge of hope” and expressed elation at efforts being exerted by both parties to pursue peace negotiations.

“PEPP is inspired by the optimism generated by the parties’ meeting as reflected in their Joint Statement. It is a bridge of hope that principled negotiations may bear fruit and address the roots of the armed conflict,” the group said in a statement signed Saturday.

As peace advocates “guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ,” the religious leaders expressed support for the efforts of the incoming administration to resume peace talks with the CPP-NDF and encouraged everyone to pray for its success.

Following two days of preliminary-discussions in Oslo, Norway, peace negotiators sent by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and leaders from the CPP-NDF signed a joint statement indicating the formal resumption of peace talks in the third week of July.

As indicated in the joint statement, both parties will discuss the following during the resumption of the formal talks:

• affirmation of the previous agreements
• accelerated process for negotiations
• reconstitution of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG)
• amnesty proclamation
• mode of interim ceasfire

The government panel will also recommend to Duterte the immediate release of NDF consultants, other detainees covered by the JASIG and political detainees on humanitarian grounds.

CPP founder Jose Ma. Sison, who is living in exile in The Netherlands, said it was also agreed that 20 political consultants will be released ahead of the resumption of the formal peace talks so they can participate in the discussions.

PEPP consists of five church institutions/groups: the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Ecumenical Bishops' Forum (EBF).

The PEPP’s statement was signed by Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma for CBCP, Rev. Fr. Rex Reyes Jr. of NCCP, Sister Mary John Mananzan of AMSRP, Bishop Noel Pantoja of PCEC, and Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. of EBF. —ALG, GMA News