BACOLOD, Philippines — A peasant group under the communist National Democratic Front of the Philipppines (NDFP) in Central Negros rejected proposed localized peace talks backed by local chief executives, saying any peace process that bypasses national negotiations with the NDFP would not address the roots of the armed conflict.
In a May 26th statement, the Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Magbubukid-Central Negros (PKM-CN) said “localized peacetalk” initiatives being pushed by local government units were “empty” and “deceptive,” arguing that genuine peace would require land reform, national industrialization and negotiations with representatives of the broader revolutionary movement.
The statement came after the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros-ACE) said it supported localized peace engagements in Negros Occidental. Cadiz Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr., Negros-ACE president, said local officials remained open to community-level peace processes to “prevent further bloodshed” after military operations in Toboso and Cauayan within the past month claimed 24 lives.
Photo Source: Digicast Negros
During the April 19th Toboso military operation, 10 communist rebels as well as 9 reported civilians and minors were killed, which included a community journalist, youth leaders, and human rights advocates. Meanwhile, 5 rebels were slain in a May 16th military operation in Cauayan which included the killing of a former UP Cebu student leader.
Both operations have been condemned by progressive groups and rights monitors, saying that militarization of Negros Island has led to a myriad of human rights violations and potential breaches of international humanitarian law.
Negros-ACE lamented the deaths as a tragic loss and urged rebels to abandon armed struggle, while reaffirming support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has also rejected the revival of national-level talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF, saying centralized negotiations “prolong insurgency and weaken democratic institutions.”
PKM-CN rejected that framing, saying there can be “no peace when there is hunger.” It blamed landlessness, low farm wages, rising prices, debt bondage, militarization, and the “power of landlords and local political elites” for continuing unrest in Negros.
The group said localized peace efforts reduce the conflict to surrender and reintegration programs rather than negotiations over social and economic reforms. It also declared support for the New People’s Army’s Leonardo Panaligan Command and for the NDFP as negotiators in any national peace talks.
Paghimutad 