GRP and NDF agreed on fast timing for peace talks
The Filipinos can expect that before the year 2017 ends, there will be a completion on the substantive agenda of the peace talks between the negotiators of the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF).
This was after the agreement on Thursday where the negotiators of the government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the NDF agreed on an accelerated timetable for peace talks.
In less than a year, the Reciprocal Working Committee (RWC) and Reciprocal Working Groups (RWG) will complete the work on the substantive agenda on the ongoing peace negotiations.
On Tuesday afternoon (Norway Time), the accelerated timetable was agreed upon after the submission of their respective working committee and groups in simultaneous discussions.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said on a press release that both panels had come to an agreement in “record time.”
Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III, concurrent chair of the government peace negotiating panel, commend the RWC and RWGs of both panels for working hand-in-hand and agreeing on a fixed timetable for the substantive agenda in record time.
Bello was also surprised that the RWCs and RWGs were able to complete their discussions immediately.
“”We, in the government panel, were surprised that the RWC and RWGs came up with agreements in so short a time. Discussions only lasted from nine minutes to 30 minutes. It was really morale-boosting for both panels,” Bello said.
Also in Oslo, Norway, the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER), which would tackle the most important issues such as agrarian reform, national industrialization and foreign policy was also discussed.
Both parties have promised to finish the work on the CASER within half a year.
The CASER is considered the “heart and soul” of the peace negotiations between the government and the NDF, and that it would determine the outcome of the talks, Secretary Bello said.
Bello noted that the sooner the CASER is wrapped up, the better it is for the negotiations.
“Fast-tracking discussions on CASER means accelerating the process of seeking political settlement with the NDF and ending almost half a century of armed conflict with communist guerillas,” Bello said.
The GRP-NDF Working Committees on CASER would hold their first meeting in October 2016.