THE Philippine chapter of the International League of People’s Struggle (ILPS-Phils) has welcomed the decision of the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) to speed up work on the substantive agenda of the peace talks.
The government peace panel, the NDF’s said the accelerated timetable for the reciprocal working committee (RWC) and reciprocal working groups (RWGs) require them to complete their tasks in less than a year.
On Tuesday the peace talks in Oslo, Norway, lasted for less than one hour, with both the RWC and RWGs submitting their reports to the peace panels.
“This is definitely on the fast- track. More important, it is on the right track with the substantive agenda of the talks on the line,” ILPS-Phils Chairman Elmer Labog said.
Labog also noted that “hundreds of organizations and peace advocates from more than 40 countries have expressed support for the government-NDF peace talks.”
The RWC on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socioeconomic Reforms (Caser) would tackle issues, such as agrarian reform, national industrialization and independent foreign policy.
In their report to the panels, the RWC on Caser of both parties agreed to “endeavor to complete work within a period of six months.”
The government representatives to the RWC on Caser are led by Efren Moncupa, a human-rights lawyer and former political detainee, while his counterpart from the NDF is Juliet de Lima-Sison, a member of the NDF negotiating panel and wife of Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison.
The RWGs on political and constitutional reforms, for their part, agreed to hold their first meeting, also in Oslo, in sync with the RWC on Caser in October.
“The fast-track of Caser would also accelerate the process of political reforms. A year’s agreement would allow five more years for implementation under President Duterte’s term. This is beneficial to the people who all want a just and lasting peace,” Labog concluded