Once more, hopes for a peaceful resolution of the armed conflict between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have sprung, with both Parties again expressing willingness to resume the stalled peace talks, the Unity Statement of the Assembly for Peace said on Tuesday.

The group said the recent holiday truce, which lasted from December 23 to January 7, was a positive step towards restoring trust and confidence between the two parties.

The group is composed of persons from the church, religious groups, politicians, legislators, government officials, peace advocates, lawyers, the academe, artists, cultural workers, concerned citizens, people’s organizations and nongovernmental organizations, and international organizations.

The group signed a petition calling for peace between the government and the communist party.

“We welcome Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea as GRP peace negotiator. We hope he will reinstate the GRP peace panel soon and undertake the release of political prisoners as a confidence building measure,” the statement said.

Previous rounds of talks have shown that bilateral agreements on substantive agenda leading to a negotiated political settlement can be reached between the Parties.

In 1998, the GRP and NDFP signed the groundbreaking Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

In 2018, an Interim Peace Agreement (IPA) was already being worked out. It contained an agreement on agrarian reform and rural development (ARRD) as well as on national industrialization and economic development (NIED); a general amnesty for all political prisoners; and an agreement for a more stable form of ceasefire.

The IPA was meant to facilitate negotiations for the remaining agenda on social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, and a permanent cessation of hostilities and disposition of forces.

“Today, for the sake of our people, we call on the GRP and the NDFP to go back to the negotiating table to finish what they started. We urge them to proceed from what has been previously achieved, using methods and processes that are already in place and shown to be working. We remind them that unreasonable demands and preconditions can only serve to derail the resumption of the talks,” said the statement.

“To the peace spoilers and saboteurs who are opposed to the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, we say enough. The persistence of mass poverty, social injustice and economic underdevelopment has fueled armed conflict for decades,” said the statement.

“It is time for the two Parties to sit down once more, find ways to compromise and cooperate in addressing the roots of the armed conflict, and achieve a just and lasting peace for our people,” the statement read.

Lastly, the group called on the people to persevere in the path of peace and justice.

“Let us support the resumption of the peace talks. If we unite and tirelessly work together for it, a #justpeace will come,” they said./STACY ANG