(Eagle News) — Government chief negotiator Silvestre Bello III said there was “no reason to declare a unilateral ceasefire,” despite the Communist Party of the Philippines’ announcement on Saturday that it would declare a unilateral one “not later than March 31.”
“Right now, there is no reason to declare a unilateral ceasefire because our President is more interested in obtaining a bilateral ceasefire agreement,” Bello said in a press conference in Malacanang on Thursday.
According to Bello, “as a matter of fact,” the first agenda to be tackled upon the resumption of the peace talks, now on its fourth round, on April 2 “will be the issue of bilateral ceasefire agreement.”
He said both parties “have already exchanged drafts as to the terms, conditions and parameters of the agreement.”
“Paguusapan diyan ang maseselan na bagay like the definition of buffer zones, the collection of revolutionary tax..Very important din sa bilateral ceasefire ang choice of referee,” he said, noting that many countries such as Switzerland, Canada and Australia, wanted to take in the role.
“Ang pinakamahirap diyan ang revolutionary tax, and to define buffer zones. Kung hanggang saan pwede pwersa nila at pwersa natin,” Bello said.
In their statement, the CPP added it “looks forward to a similar unilateral ceasefire declaration by the (Philippine government) as mutually agreed upon in the March 10-11 backchannel talks.”
The group also encouraged the government to “slow down its ongoing all-out offensive military operations and aerial bombing and shelling campaigns against rural barangays, to help create a favorable atmosphere for the mutual ceasefire.”
