(Eagle News)– The government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) on Thursday gave the go signal on an accelerated timetable drafted by the Reciprocal Working Committee (RWC) and Reciprocal Working Groups (RWG) to complete substantive agenda of the peace talks in less than a year.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said in a press release that both sides had agreed on matters in “record time”.
“We, in the government panel, were surprised that the RWC and RWGs came up with agreements in so short a time. Discussions only lasted from nine minutes to 30 minutes. It was really morale-boosting for both panels,” said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, concurrent chair of the government peace panel.
Meanwhile, both panels have promised to complete Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) within six months.
CASER seeks on issues such as agrarian reform, national industrialization, and foreign policy.
Bello noted that the CASER is considered the “heart and soul” of the peace negotiations , and it would determine the result of the talks.
He added that the sooner the CASER is tidied up, the better it is for both sides.
“Fast-tracking discussions on CASER means accelerating the process of seeking political settlement with the NDF and ending almost half a century of armed conflict with communist guerillas,” Bello said.
The talks already resolved three of five major issues on discussion. President Rodrigo Duterte is optimistic to end one of the longest insurgencies in Asia which started in 1969.