STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL ADG JONATHAN E. MALAYA

November 1, 2024 Community Billboard

The CPP-NPA-NDF has woven so many lies and falsity in its more than 50 year existence that it has started to believe its own propaganda. The latest of which is its unfounded claim that notorious CPP Chairman Baylon Villarico,
terrorist NPA leaders Porferio Tuna, and Simeon Naugsan are “peace advocates” and are therefore immune from arrest under the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantee (JASIG) signed way back during the Fidel Ramos Administration. In fact, Ms. Julieta De Lima of the NDF said yesterday that the 1995 agreement is still effective because it requires formal procedures for termination and cannot be removed through media statements alone.

We wish to underscore for the record that the JASIG was terminated by the Government way back in 2017 when the peace talks collapsed. The Government formally served a notice of termination to the NDF dated February 7, 2017 which took effect 30 days later or specifically on March 9, 2017. The termination is based on the provisions of the JASIG which states that it can be terminated by either party through an official notice to the other Party, and shall be
considered terminated 30 days after receipt of the other party.

Moreover, the JASIG cannot be considered resurrected after its formal termination in 2017 because there has been no such agreement to do so between the Government and the CPP-NPA-NDF. What the Joint Oslo Communiqué of 2023 merely provided was to “to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation with the aim of achieving the relevant socioeconomic and political reforms towards a just and lasting peace.” Clearly, the Oslo Joint Communique never resurrected the JASIG as there was no such agreement between both parties.

Therefore, it is preposterous and baseless for the CPP-NPA-NDF to claim that its leaders are immune from arrest and detention, and therefore above the law. Villarico, et. al. were arrested based on standing warrants of arrests issued by courts of law. It’s about time they face these cases squarely before the courts and not hide behind false arguments to evade responsibility for their crimes against the Filipino people.