A week before Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA), prominent individuals and leaders gathered at Sto. Domingo Church Compound, Quezon City for a discussion and to deliver a strong message to the Marcos regime regarding peace talks. Today, July 16, they formed the Council of Leaders for Peace Initiatives (CLPI) to push for peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

CLPI is composed of the Commission on Human Rights former commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit, Dr. Melba Maggay, Dean Manny Quibod, former Negros Occidental Gov. Lito Cosculluela, Atty. Leo Malagar, Koko Alviar, Dr. Mike Tan, Chris Millado, Bp. Ruby-nell Estrella, Bp. Colin Bagaforo, Abp. Jose Palma, Samira Gutoc, Rose Hajahay, Guiamel Mato Alim, former Ambassador Victoria Bataclan, Mitzi Tan, and Atty. Tony M.A. La Viña.

The group called on Marcos Jr to express a “clear and unqualified commitment to pursuing a peaceful, negotiated solution to the long-running armed conflict” in the Philippines. It said just peace is imperative for a better state of the nation.

On November 28, 2023, the NDFP’s Negotiating Panel and senior GRP cabinet and military officials separately announced the two sides’ intention to reopen peace talks. They publicized the joint statement signed by the NDFP Negotiating Panel and the GRP on November 23, 2023 in Oslo, Norway.

The Oslo Joint Statement is a declaration of intent or a desire to reopen the conversation and outline how it will be carried out. It was a general declaration that united the aspirations of both sides: solving “deep-rooted socio-economic and political issues” and “solving the roots of the armed conflict,” on the part of the NDFP; and on the other side, the “end of the armed struggle” and “transformation of the CPP-NPA-NDFP,” which the GRP aims for.

CLPI welcomed this statement by the GRP and NDFP. “The statement generated much hope and optimism among peace advocates,” it said. It became worrying that after the announcement, there has been no positive progress, especially prospects for the resumption of the formal negotiations. It can be recalled that some of the Marcos regime’s government officials and senior security officials have expressed their opposition to the GRP-NDFP negotiations.

“We are concerned that this silence indicates a return to the policy of all-out war by the government, aimed at crushing the revolutionary movement using the armed might of the state,” CLPI said.

CLPI also stressed that in the wake of this policy, grievous violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are undeniably recorded. This includes the outright indictment of “terrorism” and “terrorism financing” and the ongoing Red-tagging.

In the two years of the Marcos regime in power, Ang Bayan recorded 2,107 cases of human rights violations, with at least 424,679 victims. On average, there are 580 victims of human rights violations every day in the last two years.

“This can only lead to exacerbating the roots of armed conflict,” CLPI said. Even though the GRP repeatedly stressed that it significantly weakened the New People’s Army (NPA), history shows that armed resistance persists as long as the conditions justifying it persist—the widening socioeconomic and political disparities.

“In the light of heightening rivalry and tension between big powers especially in the Asia-Pacific region, we believe it is high time to pursue all avenues, especially peaceful ones, to address and bring to a negotiated solution the ongoing armed conflict, so that we can unite our people and muster our resources towards forging an independent and peaceful foreign policy,” the group said.

CLPI called for the appointment by the GRP of its negotiating panel. They all supported the release of NDFP peace consultants who will help reconstitute the NDFP panel.