By Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
April 17, 2019
In the experience of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in negotiating with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), the reactionary pro-US military officers at the highest level have always interfered to stop the peace negotiations for the following reasons:
- that the GRP negotiating panel cannot obtain the surrender of the armed revolutionary movement of the people through a protracted and indefinite ceasefire and 2. that the NDFP negotiating panel is gaining credit for pushing social, economic and political reforms to address the roots of the armed conflict.
Since The Hague Joint Declaration of September 1, 1992, the reactionary diehards in the military have always acted to shorten the peace negotiations under every GRP administration whenever the NDFP rebuffs their precondition for the surrender of the New People’s Army and their maneuvers to block the negotiations of social and economic reforms.
The reactionaries facilely and deceptively say that the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations have been running for 27 years since 1992. But in fact, under every administration from the Ramos regime to the current Duterte regime , peace negotiations are held only for a few months before the reactionary military diehards intervene to pressure their commander-in-chief to slow down or to declare the suspension or termination of the peace negotiations.
Under the pressure of the military, Duterte has terminated and practically killed the peace negotiations since he issued Proclamation 360 on November 23, 2017. And he has proceeded to drive more nails into the coffin of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.
He has rendered peace negotiations impossible between the official panels of the GRP and NDFP that are duly authorized by their respective principals. While Duterte is in power, there will be no peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP because of the following:
- Duterte has formally terminated the peace negotiations with the NDFP with Proclamation 360.
- He has designated the CPP and the NPA as terrorist.
- He has rejected the substantive agenda of the peace negotiations stipulated by The Hague Joint Declaration and the Joint Agreement on the Sequence, Formation and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committees.
- He has wantonly violated the safety and immunity guarantees under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) by ordering the arrest of NDFP consultants and their murder if there are no witnesses, as in the case of Randy Malayao.
- He has unilaterally scrapped the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and has dismantled the GRP section of the Joint Monitoring Committee.
- He has unleashed his military and police dogs to red-tag, frame up and kill at will social activists and suspected revolutionaries in his all-out war and pursuit of fascist dictatorship.
In view of the foregoing, there can be no genuine peace negotiations between the GRP and the NDFP while Duterte remains in power.
The so-called localized peace negotiations are patently false. No one would ever be authorized by the NDFP National Council to negotiate with the GRP or its military under conditions completely under the control of the murderous Duterte regime. And no revolutionary in his right senses would ever surrender himself to the brutal and corrupt enemy.
The CPP, NPA and NDFP are highly centralized and have a collective style of decision-making and working. No individual or part of these organizations would ever fall for a trap like the fake localized peace talks under the control and manipulation of a rapacious and bloodthirsty enemy.
It is obvious to the Filipino people and their revolutionary forces that they have no choice but to concentrate on intensifying the people’s war for a people’s democratic revolution. In fact, no reactionary regime after the Duterte regime would ever be interested in negotiating peace with them unless they intensify the people’s war and win ever greater victories.
It is actually favorable to the Filipino people and their revolutionary forces to be confronted by a tyrannical, treasonous, murderous, corrupt, and swindling Duterte regime as in the time of the fascist dictator Marcos. It is far easier to fight and win victories against a regime that makes no pretenses about being patriotic and democratic than against previous regimes that had patriotic and democratic pretenses.
While there are no GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, for as long as Duterte is in power, I find it more useful and worthwhile to concentrate on exposing the crimes of Duterte and demanding the end of his regime without being distracted by back channel talks and flip-flops by the mentally, politically and morally deranged Duterte.
As I indicated before, I am happy to have more time to do research on Philippine and global issues, write and publish my books and articles and engage in more study meetings with Filipinos and their solidarity friends in the anti-imperialist and democratic struggle.
There is a rising interest in the revolutionary resistance of the Filipino people for national and social liberation because of the flagrantly antipeople, antinational and antidemocratic character of the Duterte regime. The peoples and revolutionary forces of the world expect the Filipino people and their revolutionary forces to fight and defeat the tyrannical regime of Duterte. ###