MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) are reconsidering their planned visit to Manila amid reports that President Aquino is still unsure if he will meet with them.
NDF chair Luis Jalandoni plans to pay a courtesy call to Mr. Aquino in December with Coni Ledesma, a member of the NDF negotiating panel.
In a statement, Fidel Agcaoili, vice chairman of the NDFP negotiating panel, said the government does not seem to appreciate the proposed courtesy call as a gesture of goodwill.
He noted that Jalandoni, who is in the Netherlands, faces high risk once he sets foot in Manila.
“In view of the negative attitude of (President Aquino)... to the proposed courtesy call of chairperson Luis Jalandoni... the NDFP is reconsidering the visit... to Manila in December,” Agcaoili said.
“They (government) are trying to make the NDFP look like a beggar. Worst, they are capable of arresting in Manila chairperson Jalandoni and Ms. Coni Ledesma, member of NDFP negotiating panel, to show off their reactionary power,” he added.
Agcaoili said they are considering extending an invitation to Alexander Padilla, head of the government’s peace panel, for a meeting in Hong Kong to clarify if the administration can ensure Jalandoni’s safety in Manila.
Last month, the government announced that it has reconstituted the panel that will negotiate with the insurgents.
The NDFP then said Jalandoni may visit Mr. Aquino in December to show the group’s willingness to resume the stalled peace talks with the government. The NDFP is the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which has been waging rebellion against the government for decades.
Last Sunday, however, Mr. Aquino said he will consult with his advisers before deciding to meet with representatives of the NDF.
“If I don’t listen to their advice, why appoint them in the first place? I need to talk to them first,” he said.
The CPP was formed in 1968 by Jose Maria Sison, who is on self exile in the Netherlands. The government had attempted to hold peace talks with the communist rebels but the efforts failed in 2004 after the United States and the European Union placed them on its blacklist of terror groups.
Talks between the government and the CPP were supposed to resume in Oslo, Norway in August last year but did not push through after state officials rejected a demand to release some of the group’s negotiators who are facing criminal charges.