US embassy cable - 05MANILA3632

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 003632 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/PMBS, INR/EAP, S/CT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/05/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PTER, PINR, RP, NO, NL 
SUBJECT: TENSIONS SPIKE BETWEEN GRP AND EXTREME LEFT 
 
REF: A. MANILA 3373 
 
     B. MANILA 3371 (NOTAL) 
     C. STATE 136723 (NOTAL) 
     D. MANILA 3350 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: Political Officer Joseph Saus for 
Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  The GRP announced on August 2 that it was 
suspending the immunity from arrest for National Democratic 
Front (NDF) officials, who had been participating in the 
negotiation track.  The NDF sharply criticized the 
government's move.  A congressman with close links to 
Malacanang told us that members of President Arroyo's staff 
are "infuriated" with recent calls for her to resign by the 
Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (the NDF 
is the negotiating arm for the CPP/NPA) and are aiming "to 
isolate" the extreme left.  At this point, while tensions are 
rising, there is little sign that either side is planning to 
expand its military efforts.  End Summary. 
 
GRP Suspends Immunities 
----------------------- 
 
2.  (C) The GRP suspended indefinitely on August 2 security 
and immunity from arrest guarantees for 97 members of the 
National Democratic Front (NDF) -- the negotiating arm of the 
FTO-listed CPP/NPA.  The NDF personnel had been involved in 
the negotiation track.  The suspension was in response to the 
NDF's withdrawal from formal talks with the GRP.  (Note.  As 
reported in ref D, NDF leaders emphasized their intent to 
cease talks and negotiate with a successor government to that 
of President Arroyo in a statement issued last month.  End 
Note.)  The GRP's suspension of the Joint Agreement on 
Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) comes into effect 30 
days from its announcement.  The Armed Forces of the 
Philippines (AFP) has announced that it will focus on 
arresting NDF members with pending criminal charges, 
proceedings, or outstanding warrants beginning September 3. 
 
3.  (C) Carla Villarta, Secretariat Director of the GRP Peace 
Negotiating Panel with the NDF, told poloff August 5 that the 
GRP remains committed to peace talks with the NDF and she 
underscored that the JASIG was "not canceled, but suspended." 
 Villarta noted her understanding that the Norwegian 
government (as third party facilitator) is still working to 
"bridge differences" and sponsor another round of 
back-channel talks.  (Note.  Talks between the GRP and the 
NDF have been stalled since both sides issued a joint 
statement in Oslo on February 14, 2004.  The two sides also 
held back-channel talks in June and December 2004.  End 
Note.) 
 
NDF Reaction 
------------ 
 
4.  (C) The NDF maintains that the GRP cannot justify the 
suspension, contending that the Hague Joint Declaration, the 
Oslo Joint Statement of 2004, and the 1998 Comprehensive 
Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law 
continue to be "binding and in effect."  Luis Jalandoni, 
Chairperson of the NDF Negotiating Panel, said in a July 21 
public statement, "(GRP) Executive Secretary Ermita is dead 
wrong in presuming that the postponement of formal talks (by 
the NDF) amounts to the termination of the peace 
negotiations."  The NDF says it has not issued a notice of 
termination of the peace negotiations, merely a "postponement 
of peace talks with the Arroyo regime."  Jalandoni went on to 
assert that the GRP had never fully applied the immunity from 
arrest guarantees and had arrested some NDF members despite 
the agreement. 
 
Comments By Congressman 
----------------------- 
 
5.  (C) In an August 4 meeting with Acting Pol/C, Congressman 
Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno, who maintains close links with 
President Arroyo, related that members of her staff were 
"infuriated" with the recent calls for her to resign by the 
CPP/NPA.  Puno said "hardliners" in the government were now 
in the ascendant after the departure of Teresita "Ging" 
Deles, who recently resigned as the Presidential Adviser on 
the Peace Process.  Puno said Deles had been considered by 
some to be "unfocused" in her efforts to deal with the 
CPP/NPA and that National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales 
was pressing for a much tougher stance, as were some elements 
in the military hierarchy.  Their overall idea was "to 
isolate" the extreme left.  Acting Pol/C noted that any 
effort to launch a crackdown on the "legal" left and its 
representatives in the House would be a mistake.  Such a move 
would be widely seen as a ploy and would likely alienate wide 
sectors of Philippine civil society, churches, moderates, and 
others.  Puno said he agreed with those points and commented 
that he saw no indication that the GRP was planning to take 
any steps against legal left parties like Bayan Muna and 
Gabriela. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
6.  (C) As flagged by Puno, we have heard from other 
pro-Arroyo contacts that Malacanang is very disturbed with 
the left and its engagement in anti-Arroyo activities, as 
well as the CPP/NPA's withdrawal from the talks.  The GRP's 
latest action regarding the suspension of immunities 
crystallizes this viewpoint and formally hardens the 
government's stance.  There is no further indication of 
planning for a crackdown against the legal left, which would 
further aggravate tensions (ref B).  There is also little 
sign that either side is planning to expand its military 
efforts.  Nonetheless, friction between the two sides appears 
likely to continue. 
 
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MUSSOMELI