By ALMA B. SINUMLAG
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Fidel Agcaoili, panel member of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) for peace negotiations with the Government of the Philippines (GPh) in an interview here said they are ready for a truce if PNoy’s administration is ready to solve the root causes of the armed conflict.

“…hinahamon namin ang administrasyon ni PNoy na ang NDF ay handang pumasok sa isang truce and alliance sa kanyang administrasyon basta ipapakita nito na handa itong maging patriyotiko, handa itong ipatupad ang isang tunay na reporma sa lupa, handa itong ipatupad ang national industrialization, at handa itong kilalanin ang karapatan ng mga manggagawa at indigenous peoples,” (We are challenging PNoy’s administration that the NDF is ready to enter into a truce and alliance with his administration if and only if they will show that they are ready to be patriotic, ready to implement genuine land reform, national industrialization, and ready to recognize the rights of the workers and the indigenous peoples) Agcaoili said.

He also challenged the participants of the peace forum initiated by the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) that in the forging of the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) they and the Filipino people in general should actively participate.

All sectors of society, he said must be involved in the discussions of what really are the root causes of dire poverty.

“…Baka itong rehimen ni Aquino, ang akala nila ang problema lang ay korapsyon o transparency,” (The Aquino regime might think that the only problem in the country are corruption and transparency) he added.

Corruption, he said cannot be solved without solving the basic roots of Filipino problems. These roots are the domination of Philippine economy by big landlords, by the comprador bourgeoise and foreign monopoly capitalism.

This according to him cannot be done by the NDFP alone, it needs the support of the people by getting involved in the discussions and putting forward their sector’s agenda thru them (NDFP panel) or to the Philippine government panel.

For just and lasting peace

Maureen Loste, the program coordinator of the Regional Ecumenical Council in the Cordillera (RECCORD) said, that through the discussions the ecumenical movement facillitates, they are encouraging the people to participate and assert their rights to just and lasting peace.

She added that through these forums, they hope that the Filipino people will be able to ventillate and make their demands known for both parties in the peace negotiations to consider.

These forums Loste further said are necessary because there is a need to hear both sides and open a venue to look into the peoples’ plight.

It can be recalled that in the previous PEPP peace forum, the church people accepted the challenge put forth by GPh panel member, Atty. Pablito Sanidad to “popularize the clamor for peace!” # nordis.net