LABOR and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who chairs the government peace panel, said councilors should have a representative in the peace process as the government needs the support and inputs of the local officials on socio-economic reforms.
Bello, who spoke about the government’s effort on winning the peace at the national meeting of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) at SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City on Thursday, June 15, said the council should recommend an observer or adviser in the peace talks.
He cited that the Senate, House of Representatives, city and municipal mayors have their own respective advisers in the process.
“We want PCL in the peace process,” he added.
Bello said there’s a backchannel team that is negotiating with the National Democratic Front and he is hopeful that the peace talks will resume by end of July or first week of August.
There’s a big chance the peace talks will resume, he added.
He said that encounters could affect the peace process, but the level of violence will be minimized.
“We signed a bilateral ceasefire. But this is not yet implementable because we still have to agree on the parameters and definition of terms like collecting revolutionary taxes,” he said.
Bello said the government has to address the root cause of rebellion, including poverty, injustice, and corruption to win the peace.
“If we remove all these root causes. There’s no need for peace talks because there are no root causes. We will have an inclusive lasting peace,” he said.
Moreover, Bello said the government continues with the peace talks due to tactical and strategic values.
“More talk, less shootings,” he said, adding that it will also reduce violence.
Bello, meanwhile, said the communist rebels said they won’t accept the localized peace talks as “they believe it is a mechanism of the government to divide them.”