The Christians for National Liberation (CNL) – the underground political organization of revolutionary Christians, and allied organization of the NDFP, recently chastised Carlito Galvez Jr. for saying that Marcos Jr. is “committed to peace.” Galvez Jr. is the head of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines’ (GRP) Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity.
In a statement released 29 July, the CNL cited Marcos Jr.’s several claims in his recent state of the nation address (SONA) professing his so-called commitment to peace. The CNL stressed that his regime’s war crimes against the Filipino people belie this and said that contrary to these claims, the Marcos administration’s continued use of military force against Filipino communities, with the full support of the US government including through the Balikatan war exercises, contradicts any semblance of peace he claims to pursue.
“The Balikatan exercises have been increasingly used in operations that devastate local communities, destroy homes, and disrupt livelihoods. Last May, fishing communities in Ilocos Norte were forbidden to fish in the seas declared as “no-sail zones” to give way for the 2024 Balikatan war games effectively displacing fisherfolk in the area from their only source of livelihood.
The said war games are also being used as cover for the direct involvement of US military in “counterinsurgency” operations such as in the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Trident commanded by US military that killed and tortured NDFP peace consultants Benito and Wilma Tiamzon and eight others in 2022,” the CNL emphasized.
The CNL said that if Marcos Jr. was truly “committed to peace” as Secretary Galvez puts it, his regime should cease the fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) counterrevolutionary operations that have been devastating rural communities since he took power three years ago. The relentless bombing campaigns in Bohol, Cagayan Valley, Masbate, Mindoro, Negros, Panay Island and other parts of the country in recent months, the CNL said, not only betrays the very principles of peace and justice but also violates international humanitarian law that protects civilians in the context of armed conflict.
The CNL cited the AFP’s continued lockdowns of several barangays in Catubig, Northern Samar since May this year as part of the 20th Infantry Battalion’s focused military operations. Reports from the ground indicate how the AFP have forcibly prevented farmers in Barangay Hitapian and Barangay San Vicente from accessing their farms since July 19, 2024. Similar lockdowns have been imposed on these barangays in November 2023 and February earlier this year.
“For true peace to be realized, the Marcos Jr. administration must halt its relentless military operations immediately and seriously engage in peace negotiations with the NDFP,” the CNL stressed.
