NDF: Alex Padilla is ‘biggest failure’ in history of peace talks

Alex Padilla INQUIRER PHOTO

DAVAO CITY – Former president Aquino’s chief negotiator is the “biggest failure” in the history of the negotiations with communists, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines said.

The NDFP peace panel issued a statement on Tuesday as a response to Alex Padilla’s projection that the present track of the talks would fail.

“In fact, Padilla is the biggest failure in the history of the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. During his stint as head of the GRP negotiating panel, the talks did not progress even an inch,” the NDF peace panel said.

The NDFP said Padilla was allegedly moving backward by “negating what had already been achieved by trying to tear apart all the important agreements already signed.”

“He attacked the all-important document that is The Hague Joint Declaration as being a document of perpetual division because he did not agree with the basic principles stated in the document, that the holding of peace negotiations must be in accordance with mutually acceptable principles, including national sovereignty, democracy and social justice and no precondition shall be made to negate the inherent character and purpose of the peace negotiations,” the NDFP said.

The Hague Joint Declaration of 1992 sets the structure and direction of the talks where both parties agreed to tackle substantive agendas including human rights and international humanitarian law, socio-economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, end of hostilities and disposition of forces.

“He did not agree with the principle of mutuality and reciprocity because he wanted to impose the authority of the GRP over the NDFP and the revolutionary movement,” the NDFP said.

The NDFP accused Padilla of undermining the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms claiming that the Aquino government was already implementing it.

“That is why under his watch as head of the GRP negotiating panel, the talks could not proceed on CASER, which even the GRP panel under Silvestre Bello acknowledges as the ‘heart and soul’ of the peace negotiations,” the NDFP said.

The communist movement said that Padilla is “spreading intrigue in his claim that the NDFP leaders engaged in the current peace negotiations do not represent the revolutionary movement.”

“He also implies that President Duterte and the rest of the GRP panel are stupid for talking to these leaders,” the NDFP commented.