DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Informal talks towards the resumption of peace negotiations with communist rebels could start before December, presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza said Friday.
He also said that as far as he knows, there are no pending warrants for the arrest of National Democratic Front of the Philippines negotiator Fidel Agcaoili and adviser Luis Jalandoni, whom President Rodrigo Duterte has said want to meet with him.
READ: Communist negotiators seek meeting for return to peace talks, Duterte says
Dureza, who spoke at the Mindanao Media Forum, clarified that a prospective meeting in the Philippines between President Rodrigo Duterte and the NDFP negotiators is more of a "goodwill effort for them."
"This is not a formal negotiation, no negotiations yet," he said.
Although he said he did not want to preempt the president's decision or announcement on it, he said "the meeting may happen very soon."
On the sidelines of the forum, he told reporters the meeting could happen "before the end of November."
Potential arrest
Dureza also said that he had checked and found that there are no pending warrants of arrest against Agcaoili and Jalandoni.
He said the two would not be arrested for just being in the Philippines.
According to a Rappler report, Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año has said the two would be arrested if they set foot on Philippine soil.
"They have warrants of arrest. I will have them arrested, unless the President will order me not to effect the arrest. But for me, I will arrest them," Rappler quotes Año as saying.
Proscription
Dureza's statement comes on the heels, however, of the arrest of NDFP peace consultant Vic Ladlad in Novaliches, Quezon City.
READ: Lorenzana: NDFP's Ladlad nabbed in legitimate operation
The 69-year-old, whom his wife says has emphysema, was nabbed for illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Dureza acknowledged that the government has a pending bid for the proscription of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army as terrorist groups.
Proscription would allow the government, if authorized by the Court of Appeals, to subject members of the groups to wiretapping and to look into their bank accounts.
The Human Security Act of 2007 also allows the warrantless arrest of members of proscribed groups based on information from wiretaps and financial probes.
'Localized' peace talks
In the meantime, Dureza said, the government is focused on "localized" peace talks, which he clarified, is for helping "those who want to leave and want to have a peaceful life."
He said that the government has the Expanded Comprehensive Local Integration Program, which includes housing programs and cash incentives for former rebels to turn in their weapons.
He said although the program has existed in previous administrations, "there is more extensive work in that direction."
The military has been reporting that thousands of NPA fighters and supporters have been surrendering in batches, but the CPP-NPA has disputed whether the supposed surrenderees really are communist rebels.