THE Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) has welcomed the appointment of former Representative Silvestre Bello III and lawyer Rene Sarmiento as members of the government’s peace panel.
“Their [Bello and Sarmiento] track records give fresh hope to the success of peace talks,” PEPP, the largest ecumenical religious group, said in a statement.
In Mindanao, PEPP has been actively involved in acting as third-party facilitators in the release of police officers and soldiers held captive by the Maoist insurgents in the past few months.
Bello had served as public servant under three presidents, with the forthcoming presidency of presumptive Presidency Rodrigo Duterte his fourth stint in government service.
From 1986-1992, he was appointed as Justice department undersecretary, during the late Corazon Aquino’s term.
His government work continued with then President Fidel Ramos as solicitor-general, then as Justice secretary.
His career took a shift when during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he accepted the post as chair of the government peace panel handling talks with the National Democratic Front-Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA), for 10 years.
Like Bello, Sarmiento had also served three presidents, starting with Aquino in 1986 as member of the Constitutional Commission, then as consultant of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights.
In 1996, Ramos appointed him as a member of the government team tasked with facilitating peace talks with the NDF-CPP-NPA held in the Netherlands and Norway.
During the time of Arroyo, Sarmiento was chosen as peace negotiator for both Communist rebels and Moro secessionist groups.
He also became Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner championing the rights to suffrage the marginalized such as the persons with disability and prisoners from 2006 to 2013.
With Bello and Sarmiento’s appointment, PEPP is confident that the peace talks between the government and the rebel groups will continue under the Duterte leadership.
“We laud your current positive stand on the resumption of the peace talks… We also would like to express our support and willingness as PEPP to accompany the peace process,” it said.
The group also urged the negotiators to “adhere to and honor the Hague Joint Declaration and all other previous agreements as framework of the talks. We also believe that the release of political prisoners shall serve as confidence building measure that shall prime up the talks.”
In addition, PEPP has appealed to Duterte to involve the Filipino people in the peace discussions. “With this, the PEPP would like to take an active role in awareness raising, constituency building, and mass consultations on the issues and aspects of the peace process.”
It said the church will support the effort of the President to address these issues. “We are also willing to help in any means towards this end.” (JJJ)