Forum ensures peace to reign in Bohol

[MikeLigalig.com]

Forum ensures peace to reign in the land
September 3, 2006 - Bohol Standard Newspaper

WHILE cause-oriented and left-leaning groups elsewhere in the country fear for their lives with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaration of an all-out war against insurgents, leaders of such groups in Bohol are “textmates” with Col. Arthur Tabaquero, commander of the Philippine Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade based in Katipunan, Carmen town.

Tabaquero and the “marked” leaders exchanged cell phone numbers during a dialogue yesterday. Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak, chair of the Local Peace Forum here – one of only three in the country – and Gov. Erico Aumentado who is the co-chair convened the LPF, to address issues like peace talks and political killings. Tumulak is the military vicar and concurrently the administrator of the Diocese of Tagbilaran.

Local Bayan Muna chair Victor Olayvar, Hugpong sa mga Mag-uumang Bol-anon (Humabol) chair William Boybanting, Humabol chapter leaders Felipeneri Bejasa, Tomasa Santos and two others claim to be in a liquidation list allegedly drawn by the military.

Tabaquero categorically denied having such a list. To allay the fears of liquidation expressed by the peasant leaders, Aumentado and Tumulak suggested that they exchange numbers for the leaders to easily reach the top military commander here in case they notice suspicious persons shadowing or conducting surveillance on them.

The leaders claim that the “list” comes from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) but Tabaquero said such list does not exist.

Finding the dialogue fruitful and beneficial, presiding officer Aumentado steered the LPF into passing a resolution urging the continuance of the stalled peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its political arm, the National Democratic Front (NDF), and to allow such talks in the local level.

To note, party leader Jose Ma. Sison now exiled in the Netherlands, and the hierarchy of the CPP-NDF and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) do not allow peace talks at the local level.

The LPF also passed a resolution urging the CPP-NPA-NDF to stop collecting revolutionary taxes.

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