Eastern Visayas groups for peace talks resumption with Reds

TACLOBAN CITY, March 6 (PNA) -- Various groups based in Eastern Visayas urged President Rodrigo Duterte to resume peace negotiations between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF). 

The group named “Kamurayawan” (local term for peace) is composed of church leaders, local politicians, militant groups, peasant groups, educators, and students. 

Bishop Jaime Moriles, a leader of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Eastern Visayas and one of the lead convenors of Kamurayawan, said “the dismal rehabilitation of Eastern Visayas has stunted the growth of the region and has mired our people in poverty.” 

He said poverty can be addressed through the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER), the supposed next agenda of peace negotiations. 

“Farmers have barely recovered from the destruction caused by successive disasters. The situation in urban centers is not different too with displacements, job insecurity, and low wages,” Moriles said. 

Joshua Sagdullas, representative of the youth sector in the campaign and officer of the University of the Philippines Tacloban campus student council said abandoning the peace talks would mean “disservice to the Filipino people.” 

“The negotiations and afterwards, the implementation of the pro-people CASER has all the potentiality to steer the country to the road of just and lasting peace. Free education can finally be overjoyed by the Filipino youth should CASER be hammered through the negotiation,” he added. 

The group also stressed that the President’s all-out war declaration against the NDF-New People’s Army, will never be an alternative route to achieving peace in the country. 

In Tacloban CIty, Councilor Gerry Uy passed a resolution of support endorsing the resumption of peace talks between the government and rebels. Copy of the city council resolution will be forwarded to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza. 

“The city council of Tacloban upholds the thrust of the new government to achieve a just and lasting peace, progress and national reconciliation by resolving one of the longest armed conflicts in the world,” Uy added.(PNA)
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