MANILA, 13 June (PIA) – Peace advocates on Monday hailed incoming Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza for vowing transparency in the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Dureza earlier said, “Usually, when you talk behind closed doors, you don’t announce what happened. Now, it has to be very transparent. We will keep the public abreast, always.”
According to Engr. Mama S. Lalanto, al Haj, a Board Director of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) and adviser of Yes for Peace—Bayanihan para sa Kapayapaan, Kaunlaran at Kasaganahan, “Opposition to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain – Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (MOA AD-BJE) in 2008; the collapse of the talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines – National Democratic Front of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CNN) in 2011; and the recent failure of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to be enacted into law can all be rooted to the lack of transparency the fact that negotiations were held abroad and/or behind closed doors.”
For his part, Atty. Domingo B. Alidon, President of the Department of Education National Employees’ Union (DepEd NEU) said, “If true peace in the country is to be achieved, let the negotiations be transparent and held here instead of abroad. Let the conflicts be facilitated and resolved Filipinos and not by foreigners.”
The 19,000-strong DepEd NEU actively supports Yes for Peace and provides secretariat support and facilities for its education and advocacy phase which was primarily implemented as an unfunded project through the Bayanihan or collective involvement and participation of postal workers, private and public school teachers, the scouting movement and other government and non-government organizations.
Besides PHLPOst and DepEd, the government agencies behind Yes for Peace are the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the Philippine News Agency (PNA), the National Printing Office (NPO), Philippine Broadcast System (PBS) and Radio Television Malacanang (RTVM) that provided media support to chronicle campaign highlights as far back as the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos.
Meanwile, Ernesto Angeles Alcanzare, Organizer of Yes for Peace, expressed optimism and said, “Secretary Dureza’s vow is a complete turn-around from the unmovable stand of his predecessor of keeping the peace negotiations secret and exclusive despite PNoy’s commitment to make it transparent and participative. We now have very fertile ground for the serious consideration of peace negotiators to the calls of the 12,290,847 Filipinos.”
A report submitted by Alcanzare and Alidon to Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro and top DepEd officials last week shows that based on summaries forwarded by email earlier this year, 98.62% of Yes for Peace KaBayanihans agree that armed conflicts between the government and armed groups must stop; 98.22% agree that peace talks should be held anywhere here in the Philippines instead of abroad; and 99.34% agree that all Filipinos must get involved and participate in working for peace, progress and prosperity.
To follow through Dureza’s commitment to ensure transparency in the peace negotiations, Alcanzare suggested in a recent online open letter to Professor Jose Maria Sison, founding chairman of the CPP and adviser of the NDF, “you may want to live-stream and post in real-time the formal proceedings of the peace talks and/or joint statements to openly show the Filipino people that, indeed, you represent our interests and not only your own.”
It can be recalled that during the exhaustive deliberations on the draft BBL submitted by Malacanang for congressional review and approval, Yes for Peace adviser and 1-BAP party list representative Congressman Silvestre H. Bello III, incoming Labor Secretary and Chief Negotiator, took a firm principled stand and said, “It must pass through the tests of constitutionality and acceptability. Ideally, the Filipino people should get involved and participate in the process.”
Yes for Peace is a nationwide campaign to get the Filipino people involved and to actively participate in the comprehensive peace process. (RJB/JCP/PIA-NCR)
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