By LUIS G. JALANDONI
Chairperson, NDFP Negotiating Panel
On behalf of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), I wish to announce that preparations are being made by the Negotiating Panels of the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) for the resumption of formal talks in the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway sometime in August 2009.
The GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels have agreed on the implementation of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) for the purpose of enabling persons covered by JASIG to participate in the preparatory meeting and formal talks of the aforesaid parties in August. Legal teams of the two panels are currently working and cooperating to ensure the implementation of the JASIG.
The GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels have also agreed to exchange within July their respective drafts of the Joint Statement that shall be unified in a common draft by the aforesaid preparatory meeting and that shall be further discussed in the formal talks for approval and signing by the panels. The Joint Statement shall embody the agenda and points of agreement of the panels in the formal talks.
As Third Party Facilitator, the Royal Government of Norway has helped the representatives of the GRP and NDFP Negotiating Panels to meet in The Hague last 15 June 2009 and agree on the necessary preparations for the resumption of formal talks. It is now making the arrangements for the preparatory meeting and formal talks to be held in Oslo in August 2009.
