Department of National Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro again demonstrated his bloodthirsty and anti-peace character when he outrightly rejected the proposals of former peace negotiators of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) to reopen negotiations. The latter forwarded this following the bloody massacre of the Toboso 19 in Barangay Salamanca, Toboso, Negros Occidental.

Pro-peace groups condemned Teodoro’s immediate dismissal of the proposal. They said this proves that the Marcos regime has no interest in addressing the roots of the armed conflict in the country. It sends the message of using only a brutal counterinsurgency campaign instead of resolving the social uprising.

Following these exchanges, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Team released an open letter and thanked those who support and push for peace talks. The team also reported developments after the GRP and NDFP signed the Oslo Joint Statement on November 23, 2023, with the Royal Norwegian Government acting as third-party facilitator.

According to the NDFP, most of the largely controversial issues related to the agreement were resolved within over more than two years of back-and-forth meetings. However, the GRP maintains a rigid position in disagreement with the NDFP regarding the disposition of the revolutionary armed forces. The GRP insists that this must be included in the framework of talks without first giving attention to resolving the social, economic, and political problems at the root of the armed conflict.

The NDFP consistently maintains that the Joint Statement should lead to the reopening of peace talks based on the sequence of substantive agenda long laid out over more than 25 years of negotiations between the NDFP and GRP. This is rooted in the principle that only the resolution of Philippine society’s current ills—such as severe poverty, lack of land and land reform, absence of industries, widespread corruption in the bureaucracy, and lack of sovereignty—can genuinely ensure a just and lasting peace.