How about a nationwide ceasefire?
President Marcos declared last Nov. 6 a state of national calamity following the deadly Typhoon “Tino” in the Visayas and Supertyphoon “Uwan” in Luzon but with a practically nationwide range. Warranted indeed. But how about also declaring a unilateral nationwide ceasefire for calamity-related humanitarian purposes in relation to the local communist armed conflict?
Ideally, it best be a declaration by both sides involving the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (NPA). Even if done only unilaterally by each of the two sides, it would practically amount to a bilateral ceasefire. Also ideally, since we are in the third “ber” month already of November, might as well extend it to the fourth and last “ber” month of December to include the traditional ceasefire occasion of the Christmas to New Year holidays break.
Such a calamity-related humanitarian ceasefire extended to the Christmas to New Year holidays break would allow both the AFP and the NPA to devote more attention to their respective disaster risk reduction and management services instead of their respective military offensives, whether tactical or strategic. This would give some welcome respite from the armed conflict not only for the mostly rural communities in the crossfire of that conflict but also the soldiers and Red fighters themselves. They can put that respite to good use like, among others, disaster rescue, relief, and rehabilitation assistance.
The challenge to declare a unilateral nationwide ceasefire for calamity-related humanitarian purposes is thus hereby addressed to both sides. The people, buffeted by natural and man-made calamities, await and will judge your response to this challenge. Better if both sides respond positively. In which case, it could or should be the stepping stone for something more than just disaster relief and fighting respite.
Such a ceasefire may as well also be the “specific measure of goodwill and confidence-building to create a favorable climate” for the political leaderships and negotiators of both sides to—no longer unilaterally but it has to be bilaterally—revisit their supposed breakthrough Oslo Joint Statement of Nov. 23, 2023 on the occasion of its coming second anniversary. Remember its very first paragraph:
“Cognizant of the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues, and the foreign security threats facing the country, the parties recognize the need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict.”
Perhaps restart or reboot peace talks by “urgently addressing” first “the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues” highlighted by the recent natural calamities and the flood control and other infrastructure projects corruption scandal. If the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) cannot yet somehow agree on the roots of “the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues,” they might agree at least on concrete effective measures “to urgently address these challenges” even in the short to medium term.
Again, even if the parties do not yet agree on “the roots of the armed conflict,” their sincere and serious discussions “to urgently address … the serious socioeconomic and environmental issues” could and should consciously contribute “to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation with the aim of achieving the relevant socioeconomic and political reforms toward a just and lasting peace”—as envisioned in the third paragraph of their Oslo Joint Statement.
This of course all depends IF the parties are sincere and serious about the peace negotiations for “Resolving the roots of the armed conflict and ending the armed struggle shall pave the way for the transformation of the CPP-NPA-NDFP” per the second paragraph of their Oslo Joint Statement. On the occasion of its coming second anniversary within this month of November 2025, that sincerity about the whole process of peace negotiations itself is perhaps what the parties should more fundamentally revisit.
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Soliman M. Santos Jr. is a retired regional trial court judge of Naga City; a longtime human rights and international humanitarian lawyer; legislative consultant and legal scholar; peace advocate, researcher, and writer on both the Communist and Moro fronts of war and peace; author of a number of books, including “How do you solve a problem like the GRP-NDFP peace process? Part 2” (Sulong Peace, 2022) and “TIGAON 1969: Untold Stories of the CPP-NPA, KM and SDK,” (Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2023).
