First of all, I would like to congratulate the  European Forum for Freedeom and Peace for organizing this conference and discuss the question of peace and democracy.  As the title of the conference says,  we can weave the future together.

Today, I will speak mainly about the peace process between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines  (NDFP) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines ( GRP).  This peace process has been going on for 32 years – since 1992. It has experienced highs and lows, suspensions, terminations, reactivations, and it is still going on today.  There is still no peace in the Philippines.

Most of you have probably heard of the peace processes in Mindanao, in Southern Philippines.  While I will talk more about the peace process that I am involved in, I can share with you a bit about the peace process in Mindanao.

There were actually two peace processes in Mindanao.  The first was the settlement of the armed struggle between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines- the GRP.  This happened in 1989 with the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

 The second peace process was the settlement of the armed struggle between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the GRP.  This took place in January 24, 2014. The result of the signing of the peace process was the creation of the  Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The basic issue that the Muslims in Mindanao were fighting for was secession.  They later amended their demand and agreed for autonomous regions. 

Why two peace processes, you ask.  The first armed struggle was led by Nur Misuari , the founder of the MILF.  When he agreed to stop the armed struggle and agreed to the  setting up of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), there were many Muslims who did not agree with him.  They felt their primary objective for waging the armed struggle had not been met.  So they formed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).  The MILF later also signed a peace agreement with the GRP and agreed to have the  Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao of BARMM.

Both the ARMM and BARMM cover five provinces in Mindanao that are predominantly populated by Muslims.

Because the desire for secession has still not been met, a group  from the MILF also broke away and formed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, (BIFF).  They are a small group and still continue their armed struggle today, although with lesser intensity.

I am not involved in the liberation struggle of the Moro people.  I am a member of the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations with the GRP. 

And you may ask – what is the relation between the MILF and the NDF.  We are two different organizations.  But we are friends.  Years ago, there was an agreement signed between our two organizations, and we have helped each other through the years.

A civil war  has been waging in the Philippines since 1969.  It is a war between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army.  It is a war between the  Manila government and the national democratic forces in the countryside.  These forces are led by the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

Peace talks between both sides began in 1992.  The aim is to end the civil war by addressing the roots causes of the armed struggle

The Philippines is a semi-colonial and semi feudal society.    Semi-colonial because although the Philippines is supposed to be independent, to this day, US imperialism continues to control the Philippines economically, politically, militarily and culturally. 

US imperialism has kept the Philippines  an underdeveloped country.  While it is rich in natural resources like iron, gold, copper, nickel, oil, among others, these resources are sucked up by imperialist countries leaving 90% of the Filipino people  poor.  One tenth of the population leave the Philippines as migrants to support their families back home.

We are a semi-feudal society.  The feudal mode of production still exists.  75% of the population are peasants.  And most of the peasants  do not  own the land they till.  The land is owned by the landlords and big multinational corporations. 

 The aim of our revolutionary struggle is to free the Philippines  from the clutches of US imperialism, change the semi-feudal economy and have a government that is not corrupt nor subservient to US imperialism.  We want a Philippines  where the rights of the people are upheld.  We are fighting for a Philippines where we can independently decide our own destiny and develop the country so that there will be jobs for all, land for the landless and social benefits for all.

The  New People’s Army started the armed struggle  in 1969 .  The Communist Party of the Philippines that had been reestablished in 1968 founded the New People’s Army. The Communist Party of the Philippines also founded the NDF in 1973.

Today, the New People’s Army has more than 100 guerrilla fronts in 78 out of 84 provinces in the Philippines.  The provinces where they are not found are those where the MILF have their forces.  This is part of our mutual agreement with the MILF.

It was the GRP that  initiated peace talks with the NDF.   The first fruit of the talks was when both sides met in The Hague, the Netherlands,  in 1992 to discuss the framework for holding peace talks.

The result was the signing of the first peace document, The Hague Joint Declaration, on September 1, 1992.  It is a short two page document which states that formal peace negotiations will be held to resolve the armed conflict.  It states further that the common goal of the negotiations shall be the attainment of a just and lasting peace.  The substantive agenda will include human rights and international humanitarian law, socio-economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms and end of hostilities and disposition of forces.

The document also  says that “ the holding of peace negotiations must be in accordance with mutually acceptable principles, including national sovereignty, democracy and social justice, and no precondition shall be made to negate the inherent character and purpose of peace negotiations.”

There is logic in the agenda.   The first point in the agenda is to talk about human rights and international humanitarian law.  This is to ensure that both sides uphold human rights, and international humanitarian law, or the rules of war. Then we will negotiate on socio- economic reforms, which addresses the roots of the armed conflict.  And after that, negotiate on political and constitutional reforms.  Only when this is all negotiated and agreements have been signed, can we discuss the end of hostilities and disposition of forces.

  Actually, we have already signed an agreement on the first agenda.   It is called the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.  It is a beautiful document.  It is not a document of motherhood statements, but a down to earth document looking at the concrete conditions of human rights and international humanitarian law. 

For example, the document recognizes the right of the victims and their families to seek justice for violations of human rights.  It calls for the right not to be subjected to forced evacuations, food and other forms of economic blockade and indiscriminate bombings.  Among the tenets in the part of International Humanitarian Law, prohibits the desecration of the remains of those who have died in the course of the armed conflict or while under detention, and other such provisions.  It  calls for a Joint Monitoring Committee, composed of three members from the GRP and three members from the NDFP, to monitor the implementation of the document.

In the years of peace talks, we have also signed other significant documents.  There is the document on safety and immunity guarantees.  This is to ensure that those taking part in the peace talks will be safe from arrest and harm.  Unfortunately, this has been violated over and over again.  Many of our NDFP peace consultants are in prison.  Several have been arrested, tortured and killed.

We have insisted that talks be held in a neutral venue.  That is why peace talks are held outside the Philippines. This is for the safety of the negotiators and consultants.  While the talks are held outside the Philippines, not all those involved in the talks live outside the Philippines.  Their safety should be guaranteed by the document on safety and immunity.  But it has not. 

After the agreement on the first point of the agenda, was signed,  we started  negotiating on the  second agenda point which is socio- economic reforms.  The discussions on this agenda item started as early as 1992.  We are still discussing socio-economic reforms.  This is because this agenda item is actually addressing the roots of the armed conflict.

For the NDF, among the points we bring up  on socio economic reforms are agrarian reform and rural development, national industrialization, environmental protection, rights of the working people, foreign economic and trade relations, financial, monetary and fiscal policies, etc.

We were deep into discussing socio-economic reforms during the time of President Duterte.  The discussions even reached a point where both sides agreed on free distribution of land to the landless.  That was a great achievement.

And then President Duterte terminated the talks.  He did not give any reason for the termination.  After that, he put the CPP, NPA and NDF in the terrorist list in the Philippines.  Arrests of the NDF consultants took place.  They are still in prison to this day.

However, in 2022, there was again an initiative to resume the talks.  This was under the presidency of the current President Marcos.  A document  was signed In Oslo, Norway,  last November 23,2023.

Part of that document reads:

“Cognizant of the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues, and the foreign security threats facing the country, the parties recognize the need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict.

The parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict.

The parties acknowledge the deep-rooted socioeconomic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation with the aim of achieving the relevant socioeconomic and political reforms towards a just and lasting peace. ”

Not much has developed since then.  The NDFP Negotiating Panel and Team are ready to continue working on a peace agreement with the GRP.  But we must ensure that the peace agreement will address the root causes of the armed conflict.  If it does not, there will be no peace.  If the roots of the armed conflict are addressed and the measures agreed upon will be implemented, then, hopefully, there will be peace and freedom in the Philippines.  We still look forward to that day