ANSON-ROA RENEWS CALL FOR CEASEFIRE DECLARATION IN NEW GOVERNMENT-NDF PEACE TALKS March 28, 2004 KNP senatorial candidate Boots Anson-Roa renewed yesterday her call for the government and National Democratic Front panels to declare a bilateral ceasefire before taking up the talking points on their agenda at the resumption of their peace negotiations next week in Oslo, Norway. "I don't understand why the two sides have been leaving out the ceasefire issue since the start of their peace negotiations in Oslo several weeks ago," said the multi-awarded actress, one-time voted "outstanding alumna" of the University of the Philippines. Anson-Roa expressed grave concern over the rising wave of election-related violence during the current election campaign. The cases were blamed on both the government armed forces and the New People's Army, the NDF's military arm. Anson-Roa, quoting Commission on Elections figures, said 47 persons, including six politicians, had been killed and 110 others were injured in poll violence since last December. The KNP bet said the Philippine National Police spokesman, Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, had tagged the NPA as a serious threat to a peaceful election, prompting the military to raise its alert level against the communist rebels. Some cases of election violence were blamed on the NPA when in fact, these were the handiwork of politicians, according to reports received by Anson-Roa. It was Anson-Roa who first raised the call for a bilateral ceasefire when the government and the NDF panels opened the initial phase of their peace negotiations sometime ago in Oslo. "The resumption next week of the peace talks will amount to nothing unless the two panels first declare a joint ceasefire declaration," Anson-Roa said. "It will appear to be just a moro-moro." She said continued hostilities by the AFP and the NPA imperil the conduct of a clean, peaceful and orderly election this coming May.