ANAD Rep. Jun Alcover scored a new government’s silence on what transpired during the 7-day 1st round of formal peace negotiations in Norway.
In his privilege speech yesterday (February 21) at the plenary hall of Congress, Rep. Alcover said that it seems that the government of President Benigno Aquino III showing its adherence to the very infamous Code of Omerta, as practiced by the Mafia of Sicily and the US.
“What happened to President Aquino’s policy of transparency in public service?” asked Rep. Alcover as he pointed to President Aquino’s policy that government now has deprived the people, alluded to by President Aquino as stakeholders in the peace negotiations, of the essentials on what transpired during the talks.
“We are left in the dark especially on the position that government has during the 7-days 1st formal peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway,” he pointed out.
Reacting to the Luis Jalandoni’s call for the release of Allan Jazmines, Rep. Alcover slammed the NDFP leaders’ propensity to use the provisions of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) to spring from detention arrested Maoist terrorist leaders. “This tactic really stinks so much,” Rep. Alcover stressed.
In the same speech, Rep. Alcover scored OPAPP Secretary Teresitas Quintos-Deles for insinuating that government too was guilty of using force and arms to win. Quoting from an article of the Manila Bulletin, pp 4, dated February 7, 2011, entitled: Political settlement is good start to achieve peace – OPAPP, where in her speech during the opening of the formal talks, Sec. Deles said, “. . . both parties have been guilty in the past of believing that arms will win the way. However, although there may be a great gap between the two parties, “there is (still) much which unites us,” Rep. Alcover described her statement as unbelievable and sickening!
“This is unexpected from a high official of government whose primary task is to seek out ways for peace to rein back in this insurgency-battered country,” Rep. Alcover pointed out. Rep. Alcover explained that a constitutionally established government, like the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, is duty bound to call on its security forces to quell public unrest, especially insurgency and rebellion, in order to restore public order and peace.
“I challenge Secretary Deles to make a clarification,” Rep. Alcover said even as he commended the military and police for enforcing the warrants of arrest against Tirso Alcantara in Lucena City, Dionisio Malapit in Nueva Ecija, Rizalde Canete in Davao City, and lately Allan Jazmines, all top personalities in the Maoist terrorist CPP-NPA-NDF.-30- Rey Salas, ANAD
