Joma Sison wishes Duterte success ahead of inauguration

DAVAO CITY — Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison wished Rodrigo Duterte to succeed in serving the country two days prior to his inauguration as the next president of the Philippines.

"We wish him to succeed in all his efforts to serve the Filipino people, respond to the demands for full national independence, democracy, social justice and all-round development and perform his crucial role in achieving a just and lasting peace," Sison said in a video message Tuesday at a peace forum here.

He said that the incoming government is unlike previous administrations of Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III who lacked political will to advance peace talks which have been set since The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992.

Sison said one of the reasons that brought about Duterte's presidency were failures of previous administrations.

He also lauded the latter for the courage and pride to proclaim himself as the first "leftist" president in the country.

Sison who is in self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987 was offered safe passage back to the country by Duterte.

Release of political prisoners on next agenda

Last June 14-15, the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) held preliminary talks in Oslo, Norway.

Formal talks will continue in Oslo on the third week of July. Sison said the agenda would include the "affirmation of previously signed agreements, the plan to accelerate the peace negotiations on the three remaining items of the substantive agenda... and the mode of ceasefire."

The release of all political prisoners by general amnesty—a contentious issue that halted previous peace talks—would also be tackled.

Talks stalled in 2013 during the Aquino administration on disagreements over the release of jailed rebel leaders. The NDFP argued that the arrests were illegal as the jailed rebels were doing tasks for the peace panel.

The government, however, contested that identities of the rebels couldn't be validated.

The Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, which the Philippines is a signatory, prohibits the arrest and detention of peace consultants. — with reports from AJ Bolando; Video editing by Efigenio Toledo IV