This photo taken on July 30, 2017 shows a guerrilla of the New People's Army (NPA) walking in the Sierra Madre mountain range, located east of Manila. Fuelled by one of the world's starkest rich-poor divides, a Maoist rebellion that began months before the first human landed on the moon plods on even though the country now boasts one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Noel Celis, AFP/FileMANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s peace adviser is hopeful for a political settlement with communist rebels by June 2028, saying talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines have continued since the parties agreed in November to prepare for a resumption of peace negotiations.

In a statement read separately by government and NDF representatives, they said they had "[agreed] to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict."

• Gov't, communist rebels agree to resume peace talks

Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. on Wednesday said his office is "looking forward that we will be having a final agreement, maybe during the term of the President."

He told the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel news forum that "the dialogue does not stop" in seeking an end to the armed conflict with the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army. NDFP represents the CPP and NPA at peace talks.

"We are also continuing the local peace engagement that we have with the [local government units]," Galvez also said, referring to government efforts to convince individual rebels and CPP-NPA-NDFP sub-units to surrender and avail of reintegration programs.

The CPP has rejected the "localized" peace talks, saying these will not address the root causes of the conflict.

• Marcos Jr says administration committed to implementing peace agreements

Formal talks during the Duterte administration, as well as the informal ones that led to the 2023 declaration, had focused on social and political reforms to address landlessness, corruption, and foreign interference that the CPP-NPA-NDFP says have led to poverty and inequality in the Philippines.

"We are confident that we might have the final political settlement — and we aspire for that — before the end of the term of the President," Galvez said.

He clarified that the government has yet to enter formal talks with the communist armed movement.

"Ang ano pa rin namin is yung continuous dialogue," he said.

(We are still at the stage of continuous dialogue)

He said formal talks would need the creation of negotiating panels for both sides, which has not happened yet.

"What we are doing is that we are just ironing out different issues," he also said.

Galvez, who was part of the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front when he was a military general, said that all "major issues and hindrances" between the two parties must be ironed out before negotiations can happen.

"We have to clear the road.. meaning we have to shape the environment first... maraming magsimula yung talks ng maraming spoilers," Galvez said.

'PEACE BEGINNING TO REIGN IN MINDANAO'

Meanwhile, Galvez said, the end of insurgency is already "in the outset" in Mindanao as many members of armed groups in the Bangsamoro region have laid down their arms.

"After the Marawi siege, no major conflict. Maraming sa Abu Sayaff at [Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters] (Many of the Abu Sayaff and BIFF) decided to lay down their arms and reconcile with the government," he said.

He added that Sulu and Basilan have been declared "kidnapping free" since the signing and ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law in 2020.

More than 26,000 former combatants of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and 2,000 from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have been decommissioned, Galvez said. Decommissioning means training and helping former combatants to return to mainstream society.

• Commander Bravo, 794 ex-rebels seek amnesty

"Marami nang foreign agencies ang pumupunta sa BARMM. Wala na tayong major operations against the Moro groups (Many foreign agencies have put up office in the BARMM and we no longer launch major operations against Moro groups ) ... The atmosphere of Mindanao is now changing," Galvez stressed.

He added that 832 amnesty applications have been turned over to the National Amnesty Commission, with a majority — 688 — coming from alleged former members of the CPP-NPA-NDFP.

"'Yung mga top commanders at saka po yung mga central committee members ay nag-submit po ng amnesty doon po sa ating mismong chairman, kay Chairman (Leah) Armamento," Galvez said.

(The top commanders and central committee members submitted their applications directly to Chairman Armamento)

The National Amnesty Commission will review the applications before the government releases the applicants' names, Galvez said. — Sherrie Ann Torres. ABS-CBN News