Declare ceasefire and resume talks

We welcome the release of Surigao Mayor Henry Dano and his two military aides and the four jail guards by the New People’s Army.

This release increases our confidence in the peace process. In the final analysis, we all want lasting peace to become a reality in our country. Now is the time for both panels to sit down and declare a truce and resume peace talks.

Talking peace is not at all possible when we are shooting at one another. A ceasefire is a must.

We all look forward to the day when we finally have lasting peace. We must continue to strive for it and achieve it in our lifetime.

As a former student activist during the Marcos dictatorship, I am well aware of the cause the NDFP espouses. When the roots of armed conflict are addressed by a government committed to genuine change then the path to peace must be given a chance to succeed.

We urge the GPH and the NDF to immediately declare a ceasefire as a means to give way to formal talks. A new generation of Filipinos deserves to see lasting peace achieved in our lifetime. We look to the future wherein the guns of war are silenced forever. The peace process must pave the way for economic growth and development in the rural areas. Only when we succeed in developing our rural areas--creating gainful employment for our people in the countryside in an atmosphere of unity and peace--can we truly progress as a nation.