Peace not just on piece of paper

With the Lenten season, there comes hope of more peaceful and uneventful days for this week.

Before the Holy Week, we saw more hope than ever when the government peace panel ended on a bright note if we go by the result of the latest round of negotiations with their communist counterparts. Held again in The Netherlands, the fourth round of negotiations finally produced what is called as Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER).

The agreement was reached by the government with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the umbrella organization representing the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in the talks. The agreement, however, will be effective only once a permanent ceasefire agreement is forged as part of a Comprehensive Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces.

In the meantime, the two sides agreed “to forge a joint interim ceasefire agreement,” expressing the view that this will be “more stable” than the separate unilateral ceasefire declarations usually declared by the rebels and the government. “The interim joint ceasefire will be signed simultaneous to or immediately after the signing of the (CASER) expected to be finished within the year,” the joint statement said.

Despite this agreement to enter into interim joint ceasefire, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza hastened to clarify there is no truce yet between government forces and communist rebels “until enforceable ground rules are agreed upon by the parties.”

At the concluding rites, the two panels announced they also agreed on the agenda of the 5th round of formal talks on May 22 to June 2 also to be held in The Netherlands.

If we go by these statements, it would seem there is no plan to end these protracted peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF. The Norwegian government has been generously doing its best as third-party broker and host of the peace negotiations. Its generosity is only matched by its long patience to keep the peace talks on track.

Days before he assumed his new office in June last year, then President-elect Rodrigo Duterte sent already Dureza and ex-Justice Secretary Silvestre “Bebot” Bello III as his personal emissaries to The Utrecht to touch base with self-exiled CPP leader Jose Ma. Sison. Thus, the efforts to revive peace negotiations with the CPP-NPA-NDF got into smooth-sailing mode as President Duterte attended to his administration’s priorities against illegal drugs, crime, and corruption.

President Duterte subsequently designated Bello who he subsequently named as his Labor Secretary to head the government peace panel. The President never misses a chance to tease Bello as fit to this assignment being a fellow communist himself. Dureza and Bello have thus become the travelling buddies, including their usual tag-along delegates in many of these peace talks held mostly in The Netherlands.

It is not trying to make an issue of these government-paid travels of the government peace panel. But the list of official delegation keeps growing longer at each round of the peace talks. The last one held in Rome, Italy last January was no exception when the government panel members made side personal trips to the Vatican.

While the Rome venue moved the peace talks to another positive step, it was nearly put to naught when NPA rebels violated their own unilateral ceasefire declaration. President Duterte decided to suspend the peace negotiations after incidents of NPA atrocities in which at least six military and policemen were mercilessly mowed down in separate ambush attacks while supposedly there was informal truce going on.

Publicly, President Duterte spewed out fire against the butchery and treachery of the NPA rebels, telling them they have “no territory” to speak off in attacking the government troopers. In honor of the fallen soldiers and policemen, as the Commander-in-chief made clear, he would only agree to resume negotiations if the CPP-NPA-NDF would comply first with his conditions: Stop their arson and “revolutionary taxes” (which are nothing but extortion activities); release of six soldiers/policemen whom they abducted as prisoners; and, stop harassing and attacking police/military and civilians.

Presumably, the back-door talks helped put the peace negotiations back on the table. But it was not clear who did the back-door talks and if any of these three presidential conditions were met. The next thing that came out was Dureza and Bello and their counterpart CPP-NPA-NDF parties were back into each other’s arms.

And one of the key components of this latest peace deal will again cost us about P200 billion worth of one million hectares of public lands to be distributed “free” as promised under a “genuine land reform.” Pending the details how to implement this, the joint statement cited the lands for distribution will come from the remaining balance of the lands for distribution under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL). According to both parties, these resources to implement the “free” distribution of land may come from proceeds of recovered Marcos hidden wealth; the unremitted portion of foreign debt payments, subject to approval of Congress; and allocations through the annual budget of the government.

In fact, no less than the Norwegian ambassador was visibly happy during the joint press conference when she hailed this “free” distribution of land as one of the major features of the newly signed peace deal. But why are we not as happy as they are?

There is indeed reason to be hopeful this season of Holy Week because of the signing of different accords with the communist groups in relation to achieving peace in our homeland. As done in the past, the government declares unilateral ceasefire as a fitting and timely occasion to silence guns in our generally Catholic country during the observance of Lenten period.

But the newly signed interim ceasefire agreement with the CPP-NPA-NDF is, however, supposedly not in effect yet.

So how does both sides demonstrate sincerity to carry out the interim truce pact?

Peace need not just be written in a piece of paper. Those who are bound by the terms of the peace agreement must know they must also implement it to the letter and spirit on paper.

It is only then we will win peace in our land.