Published December 10, 2016 9:39pm
By ERWIN COLCOL, GMA News

The National Democratic Front (NDF) is now willing to sign a bilateral peace agreement with the government before the release of all political prisoners, an official of the communist group said Saturday.

“We are willing to sign it even ahead, but of course he (President Rodrigo Duterte) has to make a commitment and he has to implement it,” NDF adviser Luis Jalandoni told GMA News Online at the International Human Rights Day protest at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

“The NDFP will insist the release of political prisoners, [is] willing to sign a bilateral ceasefire, but Duterte has to release all political prisoners within 48 hours,” Jalandoni said. “And the agreement becomes binding and effective upon the release of all the political prisoners.”

The NDF is demanding the release of at least 400 political prisoners as part of the peace negotiations with the government.

The government has only released 21 rebel leaders since the peace talks with the NDF resumed.

The NDF said in a recent statement that “the release of political prisoners is not merely a goodwill measure but a matter of justice and compliance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law which both parties signed in 1998.”

Duterte said last Tuesday promised that he will release more political prisoners 48 hours after the NDF had signed a bilateral peace agreement with the government.

Duterte reiterated the statement on Thursday.

“I have conceded to the communists too much too soon. As yet, I have yet to see a substantive progress in the talks. They are asking for 130 detainees to be released… Sorry, I cannot do that,” Duterte said.

The government’s peace panel holding talks with the NDF had submitted a list of 200 prisoners to be releaed, under the new guidelines of the Presidential Committee on Bail, Recognizance and Parole (PCBREP).

Twenty-five of the political prisoners are elderly, sick and women.

The government and the NDF have standing unilateral ceasefires signed in August in Oslo, Norway.

The talks is scheduled to resume in Italy in January. —ALG, GMA News

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Statement from NDFP peace panel chair Fidel Agcaoili
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December 5, 2016

Lest the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) brand the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) a temperamental brat, the NDFP reiterates its appreciation to President Rodrigo Duterte for exercising initiative and political will in effecting the release last August of 19 NDFP consultants and staff and enabling the peace negotiations to move forward.

That being said, there was also a clear understanding as early as May that the four remaining JASIG-protected persons held at the New Bilibid Prisons would soon be pardoned; that all the 400 plus political prisoners would walk free through general amnesty; and that the release of 130 sick and elderly political detainees would be prioritized for humanitarian reasons.

The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) likewise upheld all previously signed agreements, including the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) which unequivocally defines the injustice underlying the continued detention of the political prisoners and the GRP’s obligation to rectify such injustice.

THREE MONTHS have passed since August, but NO OTHER political prisoners have been released through the peace process.

The NDFP takes exception to the OPAPP’s claim that freedom for political prisoners was “never possible nor even imaginable” under previous regimes and that the delays in their release have been due to the “processes (that) must be observed.” The truth is that there are many available modes that have already been used under the past regimes to release political prisoners, all in accordance with the GRP’s judicial processes.

It is a fact that once the President or other mandated or delegated authority so decides, a political prisoner can be released in a matter of days. OPAPP chief Jesus Dureza should be the first to know this, having been involved in the peace negotiations under previous administrations. The GRP peace panel members cannot feign ignorance about this either, since most of them are lawyers.

There is only one reason for the non-release: the political prisoners, including the sick and elderly, have been held hostage to pressure the NDFP into agreeing to a haphazardly drawn-up peace agreement that would redound to the revolutionary movement’s capitulation instead of addressing the roots of the armed conflict. Secretary Dureza’s threat to activists that “putting undue pressure on the government may not yield their intended results” has no other purpose than to insinuate that the GRP could drag its feet further or even scuttle the releases altogether if the people’s mass movement does not put a stop to its calls to free all political prisoners.

It is the NDFP that should be appalled at the utter bankruptcy of the GRP’s negotiating tactics which have already led to the death of Bernabe Ocasla, an elderly and ailing political prisoner whose long wait for justice ended tragically.

The families of political prisoners, human rights activists and advocates of just and lasting peace have every right to take to the streets and use other fora to protest and seek redress for grievances and denounce the GRP’s failure to comply with its obligation to give justice to the political prisoners. That is, unless Secretary Dureza is also implying that there is no more freedom of assembly and expression under the Duterte government.

###

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By J.V. Ayson – Dec 1, 2016
Reposted from www.manilatoday.net

Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), Kabataang Makabayan (KM) founding chairman and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison gave an analysis on the goings-on in the Rodrigo Roa Duterte presidency. Prof. Sison surely knows that the Filipino people would continue to quest for national liberation and social emancipation and to push President Duterte to carry out his campaign promises and bring genuine and meaningful social change, thus emulating the eternal example of Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez

Entering his sixth month in office, the tough-talking president is pressed to deliver his promise in his inauguration address that real change would be his government’s battle-cry. He also promised to ensure a clean and transparent government, to forge a government that cares for the poor and the defenseless, and to address bureaucratic corruption, rampant criminality, and prohibited drug proliferation as symptoms of this nation’s social disease (in line with his strongman image). The populist-oriented Duterte presidency has represented a new ray of hope that the Filipino nation’s basic socio-economic and moral issues could be addressed, that those status quo injustices such as corruption, business-as-usual and abuse of power could be put to an end, and that there would be real change, national healing, and lasting peace.

Prof. Sison pointed out that it was not fair to compare the past six years of former President Noynoy Aquino and the less than six months of Duterte. He said that the six years of Aquino have well proven that he is corrupt, brutal, incompetent and subservient to United States (US) and other foreign interests.

“It is also not fair to make predictions and make conclusions on such basis about the entire term of Duterte. Let us talk about some of the major promises and initial actions of Duterte,” he said.

“Duterte promised to fight corruption and go after the corrupt and put them in prison. But Noynoy Aquino, Butch Abad and other big fish in grand corruption related to illegal discretionary funds and pork barrel are still scot-free,” Prof. Sison offered on the president’s promise of a clean government.

“Duterte has made a few appointments of progressives to his cabinet and has expressed a strong desire to make peace with the revolutionary forces by addressing the roots of the armed conflict. We hope that he can fix the obstacles that his subordinates in the peace negotiations seem to be putting up,” he commented on the presence of progressive personalities in the cabinet.

Asked about the present ‘war’ against illegal drug operations, he said that President Duterte himself had hyped his campaign against the drug problem and many people have welcomed this. But an increasing number of people are wondering why the biggest drug lords and their supply system continue to operate while only a few municipal level drug lords and thousands of street level addict-pushers are being killed.

“Indeed, Duterte should pay more attention to solving the big social and economic problems, let the police go after the drug lords and other criminals in accordance with the law and due process and refrain from making threats about suspending the writ of habeas corpus or declaring martial law,” he reacted on the president’s recent threats of suspending the writ of habeas corpus privilege and of declaring martial law would he fail to get his way in carrying out his promise of curbing illegal drug operations, criminality, and lawlessness in a short time-table.

He explained further that these threats offend the people who had a bad experience with the Marcos dictatorship.

“He promised to industrialize the Philippines. But his key officials responsible for economic and finance policies belong to the neoliberal standpoint and are proud to continue the economic and finance policies of Aquino,” he commented on the president’s 10-point socio-economic agenda.

According to him, “Duterte still needs to respond positively to the demands of the patriotic and progressive forces for basic reforms. He should pay attention to the proposals being made by the patriotic and progressive organizations for reforms and by the NDFP now being made in connection with the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms.”

He said that it remained to be seen whether Duterte will agree to the proposals of the NDFP regarding national industrialization and land reform, expansion and improvement of social services and increased opportunities for low-income people, and small and medium enterprises.

Prof. Sison reiterated that President Duterte could easily show through the peace negotiations with the NDFP his political will and sincerity in responding to the people’s clamor for real social change.

But even right now, as he surmised, there are problems and roadblocks in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.

According to him, “The Duterte promise of granting amnesty to and releasing all the current political prisoners has practically become a mirage. The subordinates of Duterte, if not Duterte himself, are making the partial releases as a way of subordinating the NDFP to the legal and political system of the GRP and pressuring the NDFP to fall for an indefinite bilateral or joint ceasefire agreement by which the GRP can subsequently ignore the demands of the NDFP and the people for basic social, economic and political reforms.”

He elaborated that it was still the same old scheme of the GRP to effect capitulation and pacification through a prolonged or indefinite ceasefire agreement.

“The next six months will show more clearly what direction is the Duterte presidency is taking. But even now, I can say that it is best for Duterte to maintain and develop a viable alliance and cooperation with the revolutionary forces if he truly wants to serve the national and democratic rights and interests of the Filipino people,” he surmised on the future prospects of the temporary alliance between the president and the Left.

“He should know that his adversaries are already charging him within human rights violations and will certainly take advantage of the aggravation of the economic crisis,” he said regarding the present criticisms against the president.

Prof. Sison stressed out that the people should continue to praise the good acts of Duterte and criticize his bad acts.

“Whenever he talks against the violent and plundering record of US imperialism, the patriotic and progressive forces applaud him but also urge him to abrogate the unequal treaties, agreements and arrangements that have allowed the US to dominate the Philippines,” Prof. Sison reacted on President Duterte’s previous anti-US tirades.

He pointed out that the trend was for the crisis of the world capitalist system and the crisis of the domestic ruling system of big compradors and landlords to worsen. Together with that point, he said that the armed revolution as well as the progressive legal struggle will have more fertile ground to grow and gain strength; but the same crisis conditions can induce serious peace negotiations if the Duterte presidency will remain interested in these.

According to him, “There are Leftist, Centrist and Rightist elements in the Duterte cabinet, thus there are self-contradictions within the Duterte presidency. We hope that it becomes more inclined to reform rather than to reaction.”

In this regard, as he implied, the Left is the most reliable ally of Duterte against the imperialists and the oligarchy of big compradors and landlords.

“Before it is too late, Duterte should strengthen his alliance and cooperation with the forces of the Left and the toiling masses of workers and peasants. Otherwise he becomes isolated by the sustained propaganda of the yellows and their imperialist backers. His own following can be drastically eroded within the next six months if he does not have allies for effecting social, economic and political reforms and improving the living conditions of the people,” he warned on the dangerous prospects and consequences of apparent destabilization attempts against the president.

Prof. Sison said that the legal mass movement that takes the national democratic line and such revolutionary forces of the CPP, NPA and the NDFP would last longer than the Duterte presidency which has a maximum life span of six years. With that comparison, he warned that the imperialists and ultra-reactionaries might even cut short the life of this presidency if in the future this becomes extremely unpopular and isolated.

xxxxx

National Democratic Front of the Philippines
Negotiating Panel

NDFP Media Office
Statement from NDFP Peace Panel Chair Fidel Agcaoili
November 29, 2016

At 5:30 yesterday afternoon, political prisoner Bernabe Ocasla became the thirteenth political prisoner to die in detention in five years. Ocasla died in hospital after suffering a massive stroke four days ago that left him in a coma; he never regained consciousness. Detention under inhuman conditions for almost a decade took its toll on the 66-year old farmer who had long been suffering from severe hypertension.

Ocasla was on a list of more than a hundred sick and elderly political detainees whose urgent release on humanitarian grounds has been a longstanding issue raised by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) before the Duterte government. The Duterte peace panel has whittled down the list of detainees for humanitarian release to a mere 70, without at all explaining how it arrived at this number, and without any assurance that the most seriously ailing among them, like Ocasla, would be part of the “lucky few.”

As early as last May, then president-elect Rodrigo Duterte offered to release the country’s more than 400 political prisoners through general amnesty–one of many promises that have since fallen through the cracks. Twenty-one NDFP consultants and staff were set free in August, but only through conditional bail. Aside from them, the only other “releases” have come from the prolific Malacañang presses.

Enough is enough. Ocasla and the more than 400 other remaining political prisoners have been slapped with trumped-up, criminal charges based on false testimonies and planted evidence. Their continued detention is a travesty of justice and a patent violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) that the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines had formally signed in 1998. To release the political prisoners is to rectify both the injustice that has been done to them and the serious breach of the CARHRIHL.

Allowing them to continue suffering–and to die–while unjustly detained is an abomination which the NDFP cannot tolerate.

The NDFP strongly reiterates its call for the release of all the political prisoners NOW.

xxxxx

National Democratic Front of the Philippines
Negotiating Panel
NDFP Media Office
Press release
November 15, 2016

National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace panel member Benito Tiamzon decried what he called persistent disinformation from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) that the two parties are close to signing a bilateral ceasefire agreement.

Tiamzon was reacting to a news report published over the weekend in a Mindanao online daily quoting government peace panel chair Silvestre Bello III that both panels hope to ink a bilateral ceasefire agreement by December 10.

He belied Bello’s claims that the only hurdles to the forging of a bilateral ceasefire accord were technical in nature, such as coming up with common definitions of “hostile acts” and “buffer zones.”

Tiamzon said there was obviously a campaign by the GRP to drum up false news about an impending bilateral ceasefire in order to gloss over the serious obstacles put up by the GRP to the forging of a more stable ceasefire.

It was Tiamzon’s second denial in four days and the NDFP’s third rejoinder in a week to a series of news reports that have come out since November 7 that a bilateral ceasefire agreement was in the works.

Unilateral ceasefires declared by the NDFP and the GRP have remained in force since August in the absence of a notice of termination by either side.

Tiamzon stressed the improbability of signing a bilateral ceasefire agreement in the near future in the face of field reports received by the NDFP on AFP and PNP violations of their unilateral ceasefire in Panay, Eastern Visayas and Sorsogon published in Philippine Revolution Web Central (www.cpp.ph) as well as reports from Karapatan-Bicol of intensified militarization in Masbate.

In Masbate, soldiers have reportedly been conducting maneuvers in the guise of the government’s anti-drug campaign, Oplan Tokhang, going house-to-house and questioning residents. Instead of asking about drugs, however, the military has been interrogating residents about the New People’s Army. The military has been
occupying barangay halls, day care centers and even schools in Cawayan, Dimasalang and Palanas towns and have also been terrorizing the people by repeatedly conducting a census of residents in the communities.

Tiamzon said that “with the NPA restrained from mounting offensives, the AFP and PNP continue to violate the people’s rights with impunity.” Under such conditions, even the unilateral ceasefire would prove difficult to maintain, he warned.

Tiamzon also reiterated that as of mid-November, the NDFP has not monitored any development in theGRP’s pledge to release a substantial number of political prisoners by the end of this month.

There are more than 400 political prisoners in various detention facilities nationwide, including three NDFP consultants being held at the National Bilibid Prisons.

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10 October 2016/in News /
NDFP Media Office | Press Release

The second round of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations ended with some progress but uncertainties remain that serve to dampen the initial optimism on the part of the NDFP negotiators and consultants. There is now growing uneasiness and impatience among the NDFP delegation over the snail’s pace in the steps being taken to effect the release of the remaining political prisoners despite repeated promises and assurances coming from the GRP panel.

There are more than 400 political prisoners still languishing in various jails nationwide. The issue of their continued detention came up early in the talks as the new NDFP Panel Chairperson Fidel Agcaoili cited the pledge made by President Rodrigo Duterte himself last May to issue an amnesty proclamation to speed up their release. So far, the GRP has released only 22 political prisoners, most of them NDFP consultants. There have been no other releases since August.

In response to the appeal from GRP Panel Chairperson Silvestre Bello for patience, Agcaoili said that if the GRP could effect the speedy release of the 22 JASIG-protected NDFP consultants why the seemingly excruciating difficulty in releasing the rest of the political prisoners?

Under pressure from the consistent pressing of the NDFP on this issue, the GRP Panel once again promised “to do their best”. But cynicism is now growing among some of the NDFP negotiators and consultants as well as among the remaining political prisoners on account of so many unfulfilled promises.

Aside from the issue of political prisoners, reports have been coming in from the field about continuous military operations by AFP forces in NPA territory. According to NPA commands from various regions, the reason why there has been no firefights so far is mainly because NPA forces have been maneuvering to avoid armed encounters. But tensions are rising because the AFP military operations appear more and more to be taking the form of base-denial operations targeting the mass base of the NPA.

According to NPA national spokesperson Jorge Madlos, “All NPA units have strictly abided by its own unilateral ceasefire declaration. Aside from maintaining defensive posture, NPA units are conducting counter-maneuvers to avoid armed skirmishes with the AFP.” But not a few NPA units are having difficulty holding back amid threats from the AFP in its counter-insurgency intelligence operations, Madlos said.

From Northern Luzon to Southern Mindanao, Madlos claimed, there were reports of AFP units telling civilians that the ceasefire is no longer in effect to justify their operations and presence in their communities. The NPA’s Agustin Begnalen Command based in Abra said the Army’s 24th Infantry Battalion have been telling civilians in Sallapadan town that the ceasefire has ended.

Madlos said the AFP has yet to observe the advice of President Duterte to be friendly to the NPA adding that the AFP continues to conduct hostile operations against the NPA, “even using the drug campaign as pretext to conduct anti-NPA operations.”

In one instance, when confronted by peasants on why the soldiers were continuing with military operations despite the GRP ceasefire, the AFP officer leading the operation reportedly answered that they would then have nothing else to do adding that the NPA would not attack them anyway because the NPA has declared its own ceasefire. To have a stable ceasefire AFP forces must “return to barracks” at the level of the battalion headquarters.

In addition, reports have come in regarding political assassinations and attempted assassinations of leaders of people’s organizations such as the case of the secretary general of the Compostela Valley Farmers Association (CFA), Jimmy Saipan, who was killed in cold blood by two motorcycle riding gunmen yesterday, October 10. Saipan was a Lumad anti-mining activist opposing the exploration by the Agusan Petroleum Mineral Corp. in 12,000 hectares of Lumad lands. The CFA has also been conducting dialogue with the 66th IB for the latter to stop occupying their community. The AFP has falsely accused the CFA as a communist front organization.

Showing some impatience, the NDFP Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison and the NDFP Panel Chair Fidel Agcaoili have served notice to the other side that continued non-compliance on the issue of the remaining political prisoners can have serious consequences in the continuation of the current ceasefire and forward movement in the peace negotiations as a whole. On the other hand, compliance will boost the prospects for forging a bilateral ceasefire agreement and acceleration of the peace process.

There has been some progress in the work of the RWCs-SER, RWGs-PCR and RWGs-EHDF with agreements reached on their respective common framework and outline for the tentative draft agreements that are to be fleshed out in later rounds.

The Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and Economic Reforms RWC-SER took the longest to come up with a common framework and outline. NDFP negotiators sensed an apparent attempt on the side of the GRP to confine the discussion to existing programs of government agencies as the “solutions” without first arriving at a well thought-out understanding of the problems. This prompted NDFP RWC-SER head Juliet de Lima to remark that this was “putting the cart before the horse.”

A great chasm between the two sides exists in the appreciation of what the NDFP considers the age-old problems of rural landlessness and poverty due to the persistence of feudalism, and the absence of real industrialization that has failed to create jobs resulting in massive unemployment which forces 2,000 Filipino workers to go abroad every day to seek for work. Previous government programs have consistently failed to address the problems of rural poverty and urban mass unemployment precisely because these have been based on a superficial and faulty analysis of the deeply-seated problems.

The panels agreed to meet again in the third week of January 2017 in a foreign neutral venue with many uncertainties remaining to haunt the peace process. ###

Reference:
NDFP Media Group
Dan Borjal
dfborjal@gmail.com

by RONALYN V. OLEA August 17, 2016
Re-posted from Bulatlat

MANILA — Nine consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have been released this week.

Released on bail were Maria Conchita Araneta-Bocala, Renante Gamara, Ernesto Lorenzo, Roger Soluta, Alan Jazmines, Tirso Alcantara, Alfred Mapano and Kennedy Bangibang.

Another NDFP consultant, Jaime Soledad, was freed after the Ormoc Regional Trial Court Branch 35 dropped all the charges against him for lack of evidence.

Cristina Palabay, secretary general of human rights alliance Karapatan, said she expects other NDFP consultants to be released on bail tomorrow.

Twenty-two NDFP consultants filed petitions for bail last week after the Supreme Court issued a calling on local courts to give appropriate priority to cases involving NDFP consultants.

The government has said there are certain conditions for the release of NDFP consultants. The temporary liberty of NDFP consultants is only for the duration of the peace talks.

Other conditions include returning to the Philippines after the formal peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway and reporting to the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Norway whenever required. The GRP panel also maintained that once the participation of the NDFP consultants ceases or the peace negotiations are terminated, their respective bonds shall be automatically canceled.

Also released on humanitarian grounds were political prisoners Alex and Winona Birondo.

Palabay said the release of consultants is crucial to the resumption of formal peace talks scheduled this Aug. 20 to Aug. 27 in Oslo, Norway.

Special coverage of the GRP-NDFP peace talks
Re-posted from Kodao Productions 8/8/2016

August 26, 2016

OSLO, Norway—The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) signed six major agreements at the end of their five-day “friendly and cordial” formal peace talks.

The negotiations ended as it began–with laughter and banter that reflected “historic and unprecedented” achievements:

1. Reaffirmation of previously-signed agreements;
2. Reconstitution of NDFP’s list of Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees
(JASIG)-protected personnel;
3. Acceleration of the peace negotiations with a set timeline for the three remaining substantive agenda—socio-economic reforms, political
and constitutional reforms, and cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces;
4. Release of political prisoners in pursuit of peace and in due consideration of the JASIG;
6. The GRP will recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the issuance of an amnesty proclamation of NDFP-listed political prisoners,
including those convicted for their political beliefs, subject to concurrence of Congress; and
7. The Communist Party of the Philippines will declare a new indefinite unilateral ceasefire by the New People’s Army and the People’s Militias effective August 28 in response to Duterte’s indefinite and unilateral ceasefire which took effective August 21.

The GRP and NDFP panels also agreed to meet again for the second round of formal talks on October 8-12 in Oslo, Norway.

Both panels said their new agreements reversed the frustrations of the past 15 years and put the peace process back on track.

Duterte’s direct hand

Both panels credited Duterte’s “brave and unique” approach to peace-building for the success of the first round of talks.

“We cannot achieve this successful and very significant step forward in the peace negotiations without the strong commitment of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, and the spirit of goodwill and friendliness of our counterparts,” said Luis Jalandoni, Chair of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, in his closing statement.

“Not only has President Duterte walked the extra mile. He has also taken a step back to give the NDF space under his democratic and inclusive government,” Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza for his part said.

NDFP panel member said Coni Ledesma said that the talks reflected the Duterte government’s determination to seek peace through negotiations with CPP, NPA and the NDFP.

“It is like black to white. Malaki ang kaibahan ng Duterte administration sa mga nakaraang rehimen,” Ledesma said.

What went before

Previous GRP panels under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino governments failed in reaching as many agreements with the NDFP in their formal talks in 2004 and 2011, respectively.

While the Duterte government’s peace panel agreed with the NDFP to reaffirm all 10 major agreements forged under the Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada governments, the Arroyo and Aquino governments sought to dismiss them.

Teresita Deles, peace adviser to both the Arroyo and Aquino, was reported to have said that The Hague Joint Declaration is “a document of perpetual division” while immediate past GRP panel head Alexander Padilla wanted a new track separate from the declaration.

Deles has also reportedly petitioned the Royal Norwegian Government, third party facilitator to the peace negotiations, to stop funding the GRP-NDFP Joint Secretariat of the JMC-CARHRIHL.

Vital participation of consultants and advisers

At this morning’s closing ceremony, both panels acknowledged each other’s consultants and advisers who directly participated in the formal talks.

Sixteen NDFP consultants recently released from various prisons across the Philippines were able to join the negotiations.

Also released but failed to join the talks were Loida Magpatoc and couple Alex and Winona Birondo. The Birondos have yet to secure their passports from the Department of Foreign Affairs while Magpatoc is still on her way to Europe from Manila.

Not released in time for the first round of talks were political detainees Renato Baleros Sr. and Edgardo Friginal.

The NDFP are also asking for the immediate release of convicted consultants Emeterio Antalan, Leopoldo Caloza and Eduardo Sarmiento from The National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City.

The GRP for its part presented Tarlac congressman Victor Yap as its panel adviser for the House of Representatives while Quezon City and Angeles City mayors Herbert Bautista and Edgardo Pamintuan, respectively, were presented as peace advisers for local government units.

Historical

GRP negotiating panel chair Silvestre Bello III thanked the NDFP for its patience and candidness and said he is looking forward to forging a final peace agreement with their counterparts.

NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison added that the closing of the first round of talks is historical.

“Maluwag ang pagtanggap ng parehong panig sa paninindigan ng bawat isa. Parehong naghanap ng mapagkaka-isahan,” Sison said.

As the closing ceremony concluded, both panels, their consultants-advisers and respective staff sang the ‘Happy Birthday’ song for newly-released NDFP Consultant for Panay Concha Araneta-Bocala who is celebrating her 66th birthday today. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)

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