#PeoplesSONA2017 / Research group IBON said that the interruption of peace talks between the government and the NDFP also interrupts important discussions on economic reforms. The group said this in the aftermath of the announcement of Jesus Dureza, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, that the back-channel talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines are being cancelled because due to the absence of the “desired enabling environment for the conduct of the peace negotiations”.
“The majority of Filipinos are poor and face social and economic turmoil daily,” said IBON executive director Sonny Africa.
As a socio-economic research institution, IBON launched a campaign to promote social and economic reforms with or without the peace negotiations. An agreement on social and economic reforms is supposed to be a current substantive agenda of the talks.
“The comprehensive agreement on social and economic reforms (CASER) being negotiated will benefit millions of Filipinos, and IBON is concerned that this risks being lost with yet another collapse of peace talks,” concluded Africa.