EVEN as President Duterte has signed the Bangsamoro Organic Law, setting into motion the process towards the realization of an “independent” Bangsamoro region, peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) is no longer moving. The Duterte administration seems to have lost the appetite to see the peace talks through for one reason or another.
This is a reflection of the two sides’ shift in perception on the current sociopolitical setup. Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman and NDFP peace panel consultant Jose Ma. Sison summed up the rebels perception this way:
“It is relatively easier and more productive for the NDFP to participate in the Oust-Duterte movement and to prepare for peace negotiations with the prospective administration that replaces the Duterte regime.”
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), for its part, has long been wary of the NDFP’s commitment in seeing the peace negotiations through. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently described the NDFP panel as “not truthful, sincere and honest except to get concessions such as the release of high-ranking party members and giving their armed components (opportunity) to recover lost grounds and mass base.”
This shows that both the Duterte administration and the NDFP are fast drifting apart, the reason why the peace talks are currently stalled.
An alternative floated by the government is the holding of talks at the local level, something that was already done in 1986-1987 when Corazon Aquino was president. In Cebu, a panel formed by the Provincial Government talked with a panel setup by the local NDFP leadership in the province. That one also failed.
The idea then was that many of the issues that sparked the insurgency could best be resolved at the local level. That argument can be faulty because the revolutionary movement sees the problem as systemic, meaning that an overhaul of the entire national setup is the solution. That cannot be addressed locally.
Besides, the rebels felt they got burned on that one. Local negotiations meant the surfacing of a number of NDFP underground personalities, a lot of them if one considers the number of regions and provinces in the country. In Cebu, rebel priest Rustico Tan led a panel that included ex-seminarian Jovito Plaza and activist Ruth Mercado. Plaza was killed weeks after the peace talks got scuttled.
Incidentally, Tan is still under detention after he was arrested again last year. Also still under detention is another NDFP negotiator at that time representing the rebels in Bohol, Roy Erecre. That is precisely why the NDFP is no longer interested in localized peace talks. But localized peace talks can still happen if the NDFP leadership at the local level defies the national leadership.
I have long been partial for a negotiated settlement of the armed conflict between the government and the NDFP. If the war could be ended via negotiations, why not? That’s better than a fight to the finish, which means more blood would be spilled. If the government and Moro rebels can do it, why cant the government and the NDFP?