Roundup: Philippines says possible to sign peace deal with rebels within year

The Philippine government said Monday it was possible to sign a peace agreement with communist rebels within a year as the two sides resumed peace talks in Norway's capital city in an attempt to end Asia's longest-running insurgency.

Talks are scheduled from Aug. 22-26 between the negotiating panels of the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the umbrella organization of Marxist groups including the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed group, the New People's Army.

Both sides have a common understanding about speeding up the peace process and "we have imposed a timeline of nine to 12 months," Silvestre Bello, the Philippine labor minister and head of the government negotiating team, told a press conference after an opening ceremony of the talks.

His NDFP counterpart Luis Jalandoni also said that the peace process could be accelerated as both sides showed their commitment for peace recently, including the two sides' declarations of a ceasefire and the government's release of about 20 rebel prisoners who are needed in the peace negotiations.

"With the commitment for just and lasting peace, declared by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and the leadership of the NDFP, Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army, we are confident we can decisively move forward towards achieving a just and lasting peace," Jalandoni said in his speech at the opening ceremony.

Norway's Foreign Minister Borge Brende said it was good to see the parties gathered in Oslo on a historic day and Norway felt a great responsibility as a facilitator for the talks.

"We shall have five very demanding days here," Brende was quoted as saying by NTB news agency.

Philippine Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza, who is also in Oslo as a leader of the government delegation, said last week that the talks were expected to tackle "social and economic reforms, political and constitutional reforms, end of hostilities and disposition of forces, a ceasefire, joint security and immunity and the release of political detainees."

The peace talks came after the Philippine government declared after midnight on Sunday an indefinite ceasefire to pave the way for the Oslo talks and the rebels also declared a seven-day ceasefire beginning at the same time.

The rebels said in a statement earlier Monday they are considering to match the indefinite ceasefire declared by Duterte if the government will release five more detained rebel leaders who will act as "consultants" in the talks plus the 520 other "political prisoners" who are still in jails.

But Duterte in a news conference early Sunday said he was not inclined to release more prisoners, saying he had already released 20 including the two highest-ranking rebel leaders who are already in Oslo.

The Duterte administration is trying to forge peace with the communist rebels. Talks between the government and the rebels began in 1986, but failed to lead to a resolution over the years.

Norway has facilitated the peace process since 2001. The last formal round of the negotiations took place in 2011.

The communist rebellion began in 1969 and reached its peak in 1987 when it boasted 26,000 armed guerillas. However, the movement has since dwindled due to differences in strategy and tactics and the arrests of many of its top leaders in the late 1980s. The Philippine military estimates the current number of communist armed rebels to be around 4,000. Endit