The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) is pushing for Localized Peace Engagements (LPE), under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
OPAPRU Secretary Carlito Galvez said the conduct of LPEs has enabled the government to decisively push forward the country’s peace and development agenda, and achieve more concrete results as compared to national-level peace talks that were held before.
But the National Democratic Front-Negros strongly rejected the “localized peace talks” being pushed by the National Task Force–Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
“It is a vain and desperate ploy to divide the revolutionary movement and mislead the people on the question of peace negotiations and the struggle for just and lasting peace,” NDF-Negros spokesperson Ka Bayani Obrero said.
In a statement, Obrero claimed that “local peace talks” has nothing to do with genuine peace, one that is based on social justice. He said it will only serve to deodorize what he alleged as brutal counterrevolutionary war, and its attendant murderous campaigns.
He pointed out that it also seeks to destroy the revolution, by instigating capitulation as an appendage to armed counterrevolution. Hence, “localized peace talks” is packaged with a duplicitous amnesty program, Obrero added.
He said that the revolutionary forces of Negros, from the CPP’s regional committee to the branches, the NPA’s regional operational command to front operational commands, and the NDF’s allied organizations at all levels, firmly reject and oppose “localized peace talks” and will not engage, participate or even recognize such bogus peace undertaking.
If ever such talk is held in Negros, NTF-ELCAC will be talking with themselves or maybe with some former revolutionaries-turned traitors and other elements with dubious character misrepresenting the revolutionary movement, Obrero said.
“Unlike the national peace talks which have been weaponized and exploited by the left, the LPE has no obscure agenda, rather than achieving genuine peace. All agreements made by the CPP-NPA rejectionist factions under LPE adhere to the Philippine Constitution and democratic processes,” Galvez said in statement issued by OPAPRU.
“We believe that it would be pointless and unproductive for us to engage the leadership of the communist group in peace talks. These people (CPP) are unrealistic and not grounded. While these personalities enjoy a comfortable and luxurious life in another land, the people who are allegedly fighting for their cause are fighting and dying in the fringes,” he stressed./GB
