Manila, Feb. 5 – Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles on Friday reiterated that the government will not be the one to throw in the towel in the peace negotiations.

"Government is determined not to be the one to leave the table. Government is committed to continue to look for ways to move the process forward one way or another,” she said during her speech after receiving the 2011 Metrobank Foundation Professorial Chair for Public Service and Governance Award at the Escaler Hall of the Science Education Complex in Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City.

Also present were Commission on Human Rights chair Etta Rosales,  government peace panel members Miriam Coronel Ferrer, Yasmin Lao and Jurgette Honculada; Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña, Metrobank Foundation Executive Director Aniceto Sobrepeña, Pax Christi Pilipinas Dir. Cesar Villanueva, and members of the academe.

Deles, who delivered updates on the peace talks with various groups and shared her reflections on the peace process, related that the government is currently negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for a peace agreement, and engaging in conversations with the Moro National Liberation Front, Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army and Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade for putting closure to the peace processes.

Peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), however, has already taken a one-year standstill. “Formal negotiations have not resumed since February, soon marking one year of impasse. We reiterate our call to the CPP-NPA-NDF to seriously talk peace with government – to seriously talk peace on the table and wage peace on the ground,” Deles stated.

She expressed concern on the “sense of disconnect” created in the public mind as “actions on the ground” or acts of violence continue despite the ongoing peace processes. “People begin to have the sense that the parties are just playing games.”

“Once people lose their trust in the process, it means serious trouble for any peace table. But we persist,” Deles stated.

She also stressed that the current administration is resolved to end the decades-old armed conflicts plaguing the country. “The imperative is to conclude political settlements or closure agreements with the different groups and ensure a firm start, if not the completion of implementation of these agreements within the window that we now have – that is, within the six-year term of P-Noy.”

Deles reiterated President Benigno Aquino III’s reminder that “this government must and will implement all commitments that it makes; in other words, no false promises: GPH will not sign any agreement it cannot deliver.”

Gov’t’s legacy

The peace adviser said that while the government seriously pursues the peace processes with various armed groups, it firmly believes that peace should be won not only on the negotiating tables but must also be waged vigorously on the ground.

Through PAMANA or Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Peaceful and Resilient Communities) program, the current administration seeks to improve the peace and economic conditions of conflict communities through development projects.

“PAMANA, which also means legacy, is government’s framework and program to bring development and good governance to conflict-affected areas,” Deles explained, adding that an estimated total of P 28.5 billion worth of inter-agency programs will be converged in seven zones across the country within the President’s term.

“PAMANA is about doing things differently and bringing a new element into the exercise to ensure that development does not bring about new sources of grievance and inequity but will truly lead to sustaining community efforts to address the root causes of injustice, insecurity and conflict,” she added.

Human rights and peace

Rosales, who served as one of the reactors, emphasized inclusiveness in solving the peace dilemma. “Solving the armed conflict should involve all stakeholders.”

She also underlined the importance of “respecting human rights” to be able to “contribute in the building of peace” as she mentioned the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ new paradigm that has taken on a “whole of nation and people-centered approach” under the Internal Security Plan – Bayanihan.