(Eagle News)– The Office of the President Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on Wednesday revealed that the government peace panel and the National democratic Front (NDF) have already resolved three out of five major issues in Oslo, Norway.
These three major issues are:
-Affirmation of previously-signed agreements;
-Reconstitution of the Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) list; and
-Accelerated process for negotiations, including the timeline for the completion of the remaining substantive agenda for the talks: socio-economic reforms; political and economic reforms; and end of hostilities and disposition of forces, including the Joint Monitoring Committee.
The government said it only took four hours to settle the mentioned issues during a session on Tuesday.
However, Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III, a chair of the government peace panel, admitted that there were heated moments during the talks.
“In fact, we have to call a break on several occasions to cool off. But the general atmosphere was cordial as the session was punctuated by laughter and light banter,” Bello said.
According to Bello, all agreements signed from the time of late President Corazon Aquino were reaffirmed, but will be “subjects to enhancements”, since “we do not want to be tied down by the rigidity of the past.”
The agreements reaffirmed are:
-The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992
-Breukelen Joint Statement of 1994
-the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees
-Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRHIL).
Both sides also agreed to mobilize the Reciprocal Working Committee on the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) and the Reciprocal Working Groups (RWGs) on Political and Constitutional Reforms (PCR) and End of Hostilities-Disposition of Forces (EOH-DOF).
Bello also added that both panels have also agreed to try to resolve socio-economic reforms within six months.
