THE Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) has called on both the Aquino administration and the National Democratic Front (NDF) to resume formal peace negotiations.
PEPP, the largest ecumenical formation of Christian church leaders in the country, issued the statement after meeting here from June 29 to July 1.
Bishop Emeritus Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. of Caloocan heads the PEPP secretariat.
“We held our Fourth Church Leaders’ Summit in Cebu City from June 29 to July 1 with 63 participants representing the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines—Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum, National Council of Churches in the Philippines and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches coming from all over the country to express our support for the resumption of the peace talks between the parties,” Iñiguez said.
“As we journey with the government-NDF peace process, we resolved to amplify the call to both parties to resume the formal peace talks on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socioeconomic Reforms that has been in an impasse since February 2011,” the PEPP said in a statement.
“As peace advocates, compelled by the gospel mandate, we see it within the ambit of our mission to accompany the peace process between the government and the NDF,” the group said.
“Former Commission on Elections Chairman Christian Monsod and former National Economic and Development Authority Director General Cielito Habito briefed us on the challenges of social justice and the need for fundamental socioeconomic reforms that will address the issues of poverty and inequity—the roots of the armed conflict. We heard the explanations of former government peace panel member, Rene Sarmiento, on how the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law was crafted through an arduous process of negotiations including the contentious issue of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, which underwent a total of 17 drafts,” PEPP added.
“We were, likewise, moved by the testimonies of a health worker, a farmer and a Lumad about their experiences of injustice and the violation of their fundamental rights in their communities. We also engaged in profound conversations on how we as church leaders and our flock, can contribute to the peace negotiations in order to attain the peace our people cry for. This sharing of insights and experiences by our resource persons and our own conversations has inspired us to remain committed and steadfast in our accompaniment work with the government-NDF peace process,” the group added.
“Recent developments have also strengthened our resolve. We are enthused by the recent pronouncements of the government and NDF that they are open to the possibility of going back to the negotiating table. We are similarly encouraged by the perseverance and ready involvement of the Royal Norwegian Government in its role as third-party facilitator with the appointment of a new special envoy in the person of Ms. Elisabeth Slattum, as we also call for a more proactive facilitation,” the statement read.
PEPP asked both the government and the NDF to resume the formal peace talks immediately and address the roots of the armed conflict.
It urged NDF representatives, as well as government negotiators, to make themselves even more visible and accessible to the public, especially to the organizations accompanying this process.
This, PEPP stressed, would permit peace advocates to clarify certain issues that impede progress in the talks and create an atmosphere conducive to the peace negotiations.
“As an expression of our commitment, we will help spread the good news of peace through the creative education of our people on the government-NDF process. We will do innovative approaches to peace in our churches like popularizing peace sports, songs, dances and other art forms in support of the peace process. We will encourage our young people to be involved in different fora. We will, likewise, make our church leaders more visible in the public media expressing their full support to the talks. We will use the time and space during the election months to consolidate our ranks, strengthen our collective strategies, dialogue with different stakeholders to sustain the peace process and be more proactive when an opportunity opens up
for the resumption of the talks,” PEPP promised.
“We affirm that all signed agreements that were painstakingly negotiated by both parties in the past are signs of hope and should be honored to serve as building blocks for future agreements,” it said.
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While seeking peace or being a peacemaker is one of the cardinal mandate of the gospel, the peace process will remain stalled during the final year of the Pnoy administration. There is mutual distrust between the present regime and the communists that seems to be irreconcilable. Waiting for the new administration come 2016 is the better option for the NDF.