By Sammy F. Martin / Philippines News Agency
THE peace panels of the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) late Wednesday sealed an agreement on an interim joint cease-fire, leading to a comprehensive settlement of the 48-year insurgency, Chief Peace Negotiator and Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III on Wednesday night said.
He said both parties also moved fast to conclude provisions on a draft Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (Caser) that is meant to address the root causes of the armed conflict.
The talks, primarily scheduled on April 2, were delayed for the next day after President Duterte alerted the government panel and laid down four conditions:
- Immediate release of captured police and military personnel;
- The signing of a bilateral cease-fire agreement;
- A stop to the extortion activities of rebels; and
- Nonrecognition of any territorial claim made by the communists.
The cease-fire takes effect as soon as the guidelines and ground rules are approved. The guidelines will govern such areas as the presence of armed groups in local communities, creation of buffer zones, prohibited, hostile and provocative acts, including the collection of revolutionary taxes; and undertaking of joint socioeconomic projects.
Also contemplated in the agreement is the formation of a joint cease-fire committee and the prospective role of a third party in monitoring the truce and other mechanisms in the implementation of the cease-fire, including the handling of complaints and alleged violations.
“Matters regarding a single government authority and taxation shall be discussed and resolved in forging the Comprehensive Agreement on Political and Constitutional Reforms within the framework of the proposed Federal Republic of the Philippines,” the joint agreement said.
The joint cease-fire agreement shall be deemed interim until a permanent cease-fire agreement is forged pursuant to a Comprehensive Agreement on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces,” the agreement further provided.
The agreement was hammered out following marathon informal conversations among the panel members.
At the opening of the formal talks on Monday, Bello welcomed the openness of the NDF “to forge an agreement on joint interim cease-fire that will accompany our peace negotiations throughout, a cease-fire that marches in step with the discussion of the socioeconomic reforms that will address the root causes of armed conflict.”
A separate formal meeting is also set today (Wednesday the Netherlands time) to harmonize provisions on the draft Caser which provides among others free distribution of land to landless farmers.