An Update and Discussion on

Philippine Peace Processes

Karen N. Tanada
GZO Peace Institute
NAPC NGO Council Meeting
April 18, 2012
Fernandina 88 Suites, Q.C.

THE GPH-NDFP PEACE PROCESSES

Joint Statement of GPH-CPP-NPA-NDF at the
Conclusion of the Current Round of Peace
Talks in Oslo, Norway
21 February 2011
The Parties reaffirm The Hague Joint
Declaration of 1 September 1992 and all
bilateral agreements entered into by the GRP,
now GPH, and NDFP up to the Second Oslo Joint
Statement of 3 April 2004.
The GPH submitted its separate and unilateral
affirmation with qualifications dated 15
February 2011 while the NDFP submitted on the
same date its rebuttal to said qualifications.

The Panels agreed on a general timeframe for

completing the draft comprehensive
agreements on the remaining items of the
agenda.
The draft Comprehensive Agreement on
Social and Economic Reforms (CASER) may
be completed and signed by the Panels in
September 2011;
the draft Comprehensive Agreement on
Political and Constitutional Reforms
(CAPCR) may be completed and signed by the
Panels in February 2012;
and lastly the draft Comprehensive
Agreement on End of Hostilities and
Disposition of Forces (CAEHDF) may be
completed and signed by the Panels in June
2012.

Reciprocal Working Committees (RWCs) on

Social and Economic Reforms
They agreed to have three (3) bilateral meetings to
be held in the second week of June and the second
and fourth weeks of August 2011, respectively.
The first bilateral meeting shall discuss Bases,
Scope and Applicability and the RWCs counterpart
sections on agrarian reform and rural
development for the NDFP and asset reform for
the GPH, and national industrialization for the
NDFP and industrial policy for the GPH.
They agreed to exchange their respective drafts of
the sections scheduled for discussion two weeks
before the first bilateral meeting.

THEME MATCHING
GPH RWC SER PROPOSAL

GPH

NDFP

ECONOMIC PLANNING
INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH,
INDUSTRIAL POLICY, AND
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Trade Policy

NATIONAL INDUSTRIALIZATION
and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

MONETARY and FISCAL POLICIES

FOREIGN ECONOMICS and

TRADE RELATIONS

ASSET REFORM

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGRARIAN REFORM and

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,
REHABILITATION and
COMPENSATION

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

SOCIAL PROTECTION

EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF
SERVICES

RIGHTS of the WORKING PEOPLE,

LIVELIHOOD, and SOCIAL
SERVICES

Working Groups on Political and

Constitutional Reforms

The Panels agreed to form their respective

Working Groups on Political and Constitutional
Reforms (WGs-PCR) in order to pave the way
for the eventual formation of the Reciprocal
Working Committees on Political and
Constitutional Reforms (RWCs-PCR). The RWCs
will formulate the guidelines and agenda of
their work.

The Joint Monitoring Committee

After almost seven years, the Joint Monitoring

Committee (JMC) for the CARHRIHL reconvened
and discussed the Supplemental Guidelines for
the operation of the JMC, with the view to
submitting a common draft for the consideration
of the respective Panels at a proximate future
date.
Other related matters were likewise discussed
such as a process for consolidation of the
complaints thus far received and initial
parameters for the possible conduct of joint
investigations
The JMC agreed to meet again in March 2011 and
to schedule succeeding meetings.

JASIG and Confidence-Building Measures

The NDFP acknowledged the presence of NDFP

Reciprocal Working Committee on Social and
Economic Reforms (RWC-SER) members Rafael
Baylosis and Randall Echanis. The GPH shall
continue to undertake effective remedies to
ensure their participation in the peace
negotiations as well as those of NDFP political
consultants Vicente Ladlad and Elizabeth Principe.
The NDFP also welcomed the recent release of
NDFP Consultant Angelina Bisuna Ipong.

As a measure of goodwill, the NDFP released

prisoners in the custody of the NPA.
The GPH Panel acknowledged the release by
the New Peoples Army of retired Sgt. Mario
Veluz, PO3 Jorge Sabatin and PO2 Jervel
Tugade.

Based on the Joint Notes dated January 18, 2011,

the GPH shall continue to work on appropriate
measures to effect the expeditious release of all
or most of the fourteen (14) NDFP listed JASIG
consultants and personalities before the second
round of formal talks, subject to verification as
provided in the JASIG Supplemental Agreement
dated June 26, 1996, or on the basis of
humanitarian and other practical reasons.
The NDFP added four (4) names (Danilo Badayos,
Leopoldo Caloza, Alan Jazmines and Ramon
Patriarca), whose release shall be subjected to
the same process.

To build confidence and create a favorable

atmosphere on the occasion of the
resumption of the formal peace talks after
more than six years, each Party declared a
unilateral, concurrent and reciprocal
ceasefire during the formal peace talks
from February 15 to 21, 2011.

GPH says
NDFP unilaterally postponed committee
meetings on CASER set in June and
August 2011
Reason: NDFPs precondition that all if
not most of the 13 alleged JASIGcovered personalities be released before
talks resume

There was a FAILURE OF VERIFICATION: on July

26, 2011: sealed envelopes in a safety deposit
box stored by NDFP over 7 years ago in a bank
in the Netherlands.
Contrary to a JASIG stipulation, the envelopes
did NOT contain photos to match the list of
consultants, only diskettes allegedly containing
photos. But the diskettes could NOT be
decrypted.

6 released between Feb. 17 and July 25:

Angelina Ipong, Jovencio Balweg, Ma. Luisa
Purcray, Jaime Soledad. Glicerio Pernia and
Edwin Brigano were released on Aug. 3 and
Dec. 22, respectively.
Purcray and Pernia have gone underground
according to intelligence reports.

RNG-initiated meeting with GPH and NDFP chairs

Agreements at Sept. 6, 2011 meeting:
Resume committee meetings (SER, PCR and
JMC)
by end-October or early November 2011
WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS
NDFP to refrain from public tirades against GPH
(stop word war)
Carry out positive steps to facilitate talks
resumption
GPH door not closed on releases, but no
commitment to release before October 2011
talks

Major violent attacks against civilians:

kidnapping of 4 BJMP guards in Bukidnon,
abduction of Mayor Dano and escorts in Surigao,
kidnapping of six Misamis Oriental coco coir
mattress peddlers
Extortion-related attacks: burning of 10 Victory
Liner buses in Tarlac, raids on 3 mining firms in
Surigao del Norte including torching of
equipment, raid on banana plantation in
Compostela Valley, Davao, etc.

Failing verification, GPH can undertake releases as

CBMs or confidence building measures, not
precondition or obligation as NDFP claims
JASIG has become inoperative for those remaining
in the list because it is difficult for GPH to validate
the identities of detainees using pseudonyms or
aliases whom the NDFP claims are its consultants.
Effecting releases requires a lot of hard work,
coordination and bending backwards. Plus the fact
that GPH must be accountable to its publics,
including families of those slain in the conflict.

Disconnect between NDFP (Utrecht) and

CPP-NPA (in Mindanao), e.g. releases of BJMP
abductees had no declared SOMO/SOPO;
conflicting statements of Jalandoni and Jorge
Madlos re position on the mining issue, etc.
The disjunction is resolved in favor of CPP-NPA,
that is to say, for instance, violence against
even civilian targets, is justified by NDFP.

RNG representatives met with Sec. Deles and

GPH panel last week to nudge the process forward
Earlier the RNG met with NDF panel members in
Utrecht to ascertain means to restart talks
GPH willing to undertake releases as confidence
building measure (CBM) and for humanitarian
reasons
GPH asked NDF, through the RNG, to reciprocate
CBM to rebuild trust and advance the talks

Alex Padilla is an incorrigible liar

Fidel Agcaoili
Member and Spokesperson
NDF-Negotiating Panel
August 26, 2011

In his continuing tirade against the National

Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), Atty.
Alex Padilla, Chairperson of the Negotiating
Panel of the Government of the Philippines
(GPH), glosses over the fact that the New
Peoples Army (NPA) has already released seven
(7) prisoners of war (POWs) since Benigno
Aquino III became president.
Worse, Padilla also glosses over the extrajudicial killings (50), disappearances (8) and
arbitrary arrests and detention (25) committed
by the Aquino regime and the accumulated 350
political prisoners under its custody.

Padilla must understand that the current POWs

under the custody of the NPA in Mindanao have
been arrested in the course of the armed
revolution and are not protected by the Joint
Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees
(JASIG) like those 17 the GPH is obliged to
release under the terms of the JASIG and the
2011 Oslo Joint Statements.
Neither have the POWs of the NPA been the
subject of agreement between the GPH and
NDFP negotiating panels. Padilla implies the
need to exchange prisoners but perversely
accuses the NDFP of demanding such exchange.

Padilla insists on scuttling the peace

negotiations by persisting in the wrong
view that the GPH is under no obligation
to comply with the JASIG and that there
is no need for the GPH and NDFP
negotiating panels to meet before the
Reciprocal Working Committees on
Social and Economic Reforms (RWCs
SER) and other sub-panel organs of the
two sides meet, despite certain
outstanding problems that the panels
have to tackle.

Status and obstacles to the resumption of

peace negotiations
Monday, 14 November 2011
By Luis G. Jalandoni
Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel
The NDFP engages in peace negotiations in order
to address the roots of the armed conflict. Land
reform to benefit the peasantry, who comprise
75% of the population of 94 million; national
industrialization to develop the backward agrarian
economy and harness the rich natural resources;
these and other basic reforms are aimed for by
the NDFP in the peace talks.

The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992 stipulates

the substantive agenda of human rights and
international humanitarian law, socio-economic
reforms, political and constitutional reforms and
end of hostilities and disposition of forces. It is
the framework agreement, declaring that
principles of national sovereignty, democracy
and social justice shall guide the two Parties.
Neither Party may impose its constitution.
Capitulation may not be demanded.
A very serious obstacle is the GPH's undermining of basic
bilateral agreements. In February, the GPH Panel, for the first
time ever, attacked The Hague Joint Declaration as a document
of perpetual division. It has also declared that the JASIG does
not require compliance. It is only at their whim that they shall
release detained NDFP consultants covered by the JASIG. It
refuses to release the 350 political prisoners in accordance with
the clear directive of the CARHRIHL.

A huge obstacle is the US government. Its Counter

Insurgency Guide of 2009 is followed by the
Aquino regime in its Internal Security Plan, Oplan
Bayanihan. This aims to militarily defeat the New
People's Army through the triad concept of
combat, intelligence and civil-military operations.
Furthermore, the US stations interventionist troops
in the Philippines.
The NDFP is firmly committed to pursue peace
negotiations that address the roots of the armed
conflict. It is determined to overcome the
problems and difficulties with effective remedies.
It is resolute in its decision to carry forward the
people's struggle for national and social liberation.

SPECIAL TRACK on PEACE

Amid the word war between the panels of
Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the
National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP),
the NDFP said their offer of truce and alliance to
the GPH remains.
In an interview with Bulatlat.com, Luis Jalandoni,
chairman of the NDFP peace panel, said they sent a
confidential letter to President Benigno S. Aquino III
in January, offering a special track for the peace
talks. Aquino sent an emissary and based on the
initial discussion, the said emissary said it is
doable.
(Ronalyn V. Olea
Bulatlat.com)

The ten points of the peace agreement of the NDFP are as

follows:
1.Unite the Filipino people through a broad alliance of
patriotic and progressive forces and a clean and honest
coalition government for genuine national independence and
democracy against any foreign domination or control and
against subservience.
2.Empower the toiling masses of workers and peasants by
respecting their democratic rights and providing for their
significant representation in organs of the coalition
government and for assistance to the organizations,
programs and projects of the toiling masses.
3.Uphold economic sovereignty, carry out Filipino-owned
national industrialization and land reform and oppose
imperialist plunder and bureaucratic and military corruption
in order to develop the national economy.

4.Cancel the foreign debt and reduce the appropriations for the
military and other armed organizations of the GRP in order to
provide adequate resources and savings for economic
development, improvement of the means of livelihood, the
alleviation of poverty, the realization of gender equality,
promotion of childrens rights and welfare and healthy
environment.
5.Promote and support a patriotic, scientific and pro-people
culture through the educational system, mass media and mass
organizations, cherish the cultural heritage of the Filipino nation
and all the ethno-linguistic communities in the country.
6.Recognize the right to self-determination and autonomy of
national minorities, ensure proportionate representation in
organs of the coalition government and institutions and provide
for affirmative action to countervail long-running discrimination
and wrongs.

7.Investigate and try government officials who are liable for

treason, corruption and human rights violations.
8.Carry out a truly independent foreign policy for world peace
and economic development, oppose imperialist acts of
plunder and foreign aggression and intervention, and prevent
the basing and stationing of foreign troops and weapons of
mass destruction in the country.
9.Maintain normal trade and diplomatic relations with all
countries and develop the closest of relations with other
ASEAN countries, China, South and North Korea, Japan and
Russia, emphasizing equable exchange of goods, acquiring
goods for industrialization and guaranteeing energy supply.
10.Inaugurate a truce between the warring forces of the GRP
and NDFP for the purpose of alliance and other constructive
purposes as stated above.

Jaladoni said they are proposing specific details

to the GPH, including the formation of a
Council of National Unity that will have equal
representation from both sides.
Once the GPH signs the agreement, Jalandoni
said, the New Peoples Army (NPA) will be ready
to implement a prolonged ceasefire while talks
on political and economic reforms proceed.
It is a proposal for cooperation, Jalandoni
said, adding that the proposal is not written on
stone and may still be modified. It is a working
draft, he said.

Jalandoni cited agrarian reform with just

compensation, irrigation, food production,
development of renewable energy, steel and
pharmaceuticals. Jalandoni said the agreement
will have concrete benefits to the masses.
There should be a breakthrough somewhere.
There should be a step forward. We can start with
some projects, Jalandoni said.
Industries, he said, should not be foreign-owned,
must protect the environment and the livelihood
of the people.
Jalandoni added, however, that a more
comprehensive agreement on socio-economic
reforms must still be signed by both parties. If
basic fundamental reforms are undertaken, other
things would be easier.

Some proposals by third parties:

Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform:
*Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National
Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Association of Major
Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), Philippine Council of
Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Ecumenical Bishops' Forum (EBF).

To affirm our commitment in support of the

formal peace talks and to break the current
impasse, we call on the government to release
in recognizance under the collective
custodial guarantee of the member
churches of the Philippine Ecumenical
Peace Platform, the NDFP consultants who are
willing to be under the sanctuary of churches.
This is our way of proclaiming the gospel of
peace.

Peace advocates from diverse civil society

organisations such as Manindigan sa Peace
Talks, Kiloskapayapaan, and the Waging
Peace Philippines network
Protect the Environment and Make Peace
Meaningful for Future Generations
Protect Human Rights and End Impunity:
Release Political Prisoners on Humanitarian
Grounds, particularly, People Relevant to the
Peace Process:
Unleash Diverse Peace Initiatives in more
Participative and Creative Ways:
Resume Peace Negotiations: call on parties to
resume peace negotiations in the first quarter of
2012; Suspend Offensive Military Operations for
the duration of the peace negotiations
Draft 16 January 2012

GPH-MILF PEACE PROCESSES

Joint Statement on the 26th GPH-MILF
Formal Exploratory Talks
March 21, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Parties continued their discussions on
substantive issues, including power sharing on
governance and wealth sharing.
The Parties also approved the request of the
Office of the Secretary-General of the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to sit
as observer in the GPH-MILF peace talks.

Both Parties signed the Terms of Reference for

the consultants who will be part of their
respective delegations.
The Parties agreed to meet again in April 2012.
The Parties expressed their appreciation to his
Excellency President Benigno Simeon Aquino III
for his commitment to a just and lasting peace
in Mindanao and to His Excellency Malaysian
Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji
Abdul Razak.

Salient Features of the

MILF FINAL WORKING
DRAFT
ON COMPREHENSIVE
COMPACT

MILF PEACE PANEL DIALOGUE WITH

CATHOLIC BISHOPS

PART 1: Principles and

Transitions
ARTICLE I Aims of the Negotiations
ARTICLE II
Principles and Purposes
ARTICLE III
Transitional
Arrangements
ARTICLE IV
Preparatory Transfer
of Authority
ARTICLE V
Framework for the
Interim Period

PART 1: Principles and

Transitions
a formula of peace through
the exhaustion of all
democratic remedies
to solve a home-grown
sovereignty based conflict

PART 1: Principles and

Transitions
a formula that perfectly
blends modern day
democratic principle that
sovereignty resides in the
people and the ingredients
of Islamic principle of shura
(consultation)

PART 1: Principles and

Transitions

a proposal to correct and

solve the one-sidedness
or imbalance of totality
of relationship between
Filipinos and Moros

PART 2: The Bangsamoro

Structure of Governance

ARTICLE VI Bangsamoro
Governance
(Structure)
ARTICLE VII Elections
ARTICLE VIII
Representation in
Central Government

PART 2: The Bangsamoro

Structure of Governance

it provides for an
asymmetrical state
sub-state relationship

PART 2: The Bangsamoro

Structure of Governance

it balances the issues

of states sovereignty
and peoples right to
self-determination

PART 2: The Bangsamoro

Structure of Governance
it gives modest recognition and justice to
Mindanao, the ancestral homeland of the
unconquered Moros, as historically
considered and treaties-entrenched
foreign territory not only during the
Spanish regime in the Philippines but
even during the American regime when
they created the Moro Province which
they administered separately from Luzon
and Visayas

PART 3

ARTICLE IX
Bangsamoro Basic Law
ARTICLE X Basic Rights and Safeguards
ARTICLE XI
Administration of Justice
ARTICLE XII
Policing and Security
ARTICLE XIII Reconciliation and
Normalization Clause

Part 3

it gives modest recognition

to the Moro aspiration for a
separate national identity
as Bangsamoro, while
reclaiming their Filipino
citizenship

PART 4:
Wealth Sharing and Land
Ownership

ARTICLE XIV Wealth Sharing

Arrangements
(Finance)
ARTICLE XV Financing the
Transition
ARTICLE XVI Patrimony and
Land Ownership

PART 4:
Wealth Sharing and Land
Ownership

to have a modest share and

taste of the remaining 7-9% of
the lands, wealth and resources
of what used to be 98% at the
turn of the last century
vested and proprietary rights
will be respected

PART 5: Implementing
Period
ARTICLE XVII
Implementing
Period
ARTICLE XVIII Annexure
ARTICLE XIX
Amendments
ARTICLE XX Entry into Force

Synthesis
it is a win-win formula that benefits
not only the Moros and the
indigenous peoples, but also the
Filipinos and the government in
Manila. The dividends of peace-and
the lack of war itself-will reach every
home not only in the conflict affected
areas in Mindanao, but Mindanao as a
whole and the Philippines in general

GPH proposal or the "3-for-1" proposal

("the Proposal")
August 22, 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
It is intended as the Governments starting or
opening position on the substantive issues.
Address social and economic development
needs in a participative manner;
Reform legal and political environments to
allow meaningful autonomy and selfgovernance; and
Acknowledge the historical causes of conflict
towards reconciliation.
The three approaches are to simultaneously
undertaken. One is not a precondition to the

1.Partnership in the Economic and Social

Reconstruction of the Region
The objective of such is to break the cycle of poverty
in the ARMM, so that people are actually empowered to
undertake economic activities that benefit themselves
and their communities in order to achieve real progress.
2.Political Accord
The second component of the 3 for 1 proposal is
political settlement or peace accord which focuses
more on the do-ables in the short term rather than
dwell on contentious and divisive issues whose
solutions may take a longer time to address.
Under this component is the proposed creation of a
Bangsamoro Commission that will supervise the
implementation of the peace pact. This will be
composed of the government, the MILF and the

3.Cultural-historical acknowledgment
corrects historical narratives and fosters appreciation of
different cultures borne out of the struggles of all Filipinos
including those of Bangsamoro identity.
11 characteristics define the proposal:
practicality
partnership arrangements
political comprehensiveness
implementability
good governance
continuous dialogue
empowered autonomy
system of cooperation in ecological and cultural issues
normalization through weapons disarmament and
demobilization
public support
historical appreciation

We are not dealing with an ordinary conflict

Opening Statement of MILF Peace Panel Chair
Mohagher Iqbal
25th GPH-MILF Formal Exploratory Talks
Feb 13, 20012
what is consoling to us is that practically all the
hard issues are on the table and clear to all parties;
for instance, power-sharing, wealth-sharing,
territory, and interim period. But if we cannot settle
these issues soon, surely, we are heading for more
headaches.
The other elements of the proposed Bangsamoro
entity or shall we officially call it now a More
substate or state like the establishment of police,
internal security force, basic law, and normalization,
among others, are equally challenging

Our negotiation is not about solving an

ordinary conflict. What we are dealing
here is about a deadly armed conflict
where thousands upon thousands of
people died or injured, and millions of
people became homeless many of whom
have not returned to their original
dwellings to this day and their lands are
taken over by other people.
It is about a home-grown sovereigntybased armed struggle that cannot be
simply addressed by giving them cash,
houses, or positions in government.

In other words, we cannot just design a

formula that is working with ordinary
conflict, because the MILF-led struggle is
different. The MILF is armed, the MILF, the
MILF has the popular backing and support,
the MILF has the organization, and the
MILF has ideology, which gives its
members not only direction and guidance,
but the reasons to undertake struggle.
What we are solving is the problem of the
Moros, a problem spawned by colonialism
and Filipino neo-colonialism.

On the practical side, do we think the MILF will

settle for something that is not lasting and is
not sure of really solving the problem? Do we
think the MILF is willing to disarm and turn over
its 12,500 firearms, granting this government
figure is correct, for something that is not sure
to happen?
Certainly, we cannot put the collective interests,
security, and future of our people at the mercy
or tyranny of the future. We need to be sure
that what we sign with the government is the
one that really addresses the Moro Question
and the armed conflict in Mindanao. A halfbaked solution is worse than no solution at all.

For almost two years within the Aquino

government, we managed to sign only few
documents: four joint statements which were
worded almost vaguely and terms of
references (TOR) for the International
Monitoring Team (IMT) and the Humanitarian,
Relief, and Development Component of the
IMT.
All these documents are certainly important
but they are not directly related to the
substantive issues of the current peace
negotiation that can propel it nearer to its
goal.

But seemingly we forgot something very

important that despite the rough-sailing in the
current peace talks, the parties have already
agreed on many things especially on the 11point formulation that the parties have
accepted last December 7, 2011, with GPHs
reservations on three issues, as part of the
basic principles of the current negotiation.
In addition, no less than His Excellency
President Benigno Noynoy Aquino III agreed
to the MILFs proposal to create a ministerial
form of government in the future Bangsamoro
entity provided that those running that state
government are elected directly by the people.

For this reason, I wish to invite my honorable

counterpart from the government to consider
seriously from now on putting all these agreed points
including the 11-point formulation above-mentioned
into formal documents and sign them, so we can tell
ourselves that indeed we have achieved something
and we are moving forward.

Recommendations by other parties:

National Solidarity Conference on Mindanao 2:
Finding the Common Ground ( Psychological.
Procedural, Substantive)
Mindanao Peaceweavers: Mindanao Peoples
Peace Agenda
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI - 7 points Self-Administered Special Bangsamoro Region
Judge Soliman Santos: simpler Constitutional
Amendment for a Bangsamoro Self-Governing
Region

Mindanao Peoples Caucus: Constitutional

Amendment for Sub-State
Moro-IP Reaffirmation of Traditional Peace
Pacts
COMIPPA - Coalition of Mindanao Indigenous
People for Peace Advocacy and other IP efforts
Womens Peace Table, other women initiatives
based on UNSCR 1325/1820